‘The essence of all of us is humanity, love’

“We don’t write theses; we don’t worry about conferences; we don’t worry about studies – we just do it! Our impact: we cater for the country, the continent and the world,” said Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, the founder of Gift of the Givers – the world’s largest disaster response non-governmental organisation.

And even though many in the Global North often undermine and insult the intentions of Africans in the room – hinting that they only occupy certain spaces to fill their “begging bowls” – Dr Sooliman believes that if you walk the walk, you should talk the talk.

“So, we make sure that when we go across, we teach them who we are,” he said.

Sooliman was speaking at a plenary session during day two of the Societal Impact of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts of Society conference. The three-day event was hosted by the Network for Advancing and Evaluating the Societal Impact of Science, in partnership with the University of Cape Town (UCT); the Human Sciences Research Council; the National Research Foundation (NRF); the National Advisory Council for Innovation; the Southern African Think Tank for Ageing Research; the Sustainable Development Goals Centre for Africa; the Academy of Science of South Africa; and the Centre for African Justice, Peace and Human Rights.

The conference brought together delegates from various sectors who exchanged experiences and best practices to catalyse developments using strategies, tools and approaches to ensure that social sciences, humanities and arts will have a positive and inclusive impact on different sectors of society, including the economy, healthcare and education.

The world’s first container hospital

And there was no one better to deliver an address under the theme: “Social impact – Global South perspectives” than Sooliman himself. He spent a touch longer than 10 minutes talking the audience through how his humanitarian organisation has impacted parts of the world amid great devastation and loss.

One of their first projects in 1992 was to design and establish the world’s first container mobile hospital – developed in South Africa, using local technology and engineering, and deployed to Bosnia during the Siege of Mostar that year. The state-of-the-art mobile hospital, built using 28 containers, comprised all units available in a fully-fledged hospital, including theatres, ICUs, as well as burns, paediatrics and gynaecology units, a patient bus, an ambulance service and 10 containers of backup supplies.

“[This hospital] if it gets stuck in a war zone, it’s [able to] function for a full year without any additional supplies coming in.”

“[This hospital] if it gets stuck in a war zone, it’s [able to] function for a full year without any additional supplies coming in. When we plan, we make sure we do the job properly because we’re dealing with human life, human suffering, human dignity,” he said.

Providing humanitarian aid in Pakistan

In 2005, Gift of the Givers showed up again. A highly skilled team landed in Pakistan to provide humanitarian aid after a deadly earthquake wiped out an entire region, including 400 villages. Sooliman said hospitals, electricity and water supply, and buildings were destroyed, and thousands of lives were lost. And not a single helicopter was available to escort the team into the mountains to find survivors. As specialists in disaster management response, he said, quick thinking is a prerequisite. So, he looked around, saw a member of the United States (US) Airforce and set a plan in motion.

“I see a big, black guy and the emphasis on race is deliberate. I know who he is and where he’s from [but still] ask him: ‘My brother, where are you from?’ He says: ‘[I’m from] America.’ And I say: ‘You’re not from America, you’re black. You’re from Africa.’ He [then] says: ‘Yes, I’m from Africa’ and I say: ‘I’m from Africa too and I’ve got a problem’,” he said.

Within two minutes the member of the US Airforce organised three helicopters to transport Sooliman’s teams to the mountains to do what they do best.

“He understood the language of the heart. He understood compassion. He understood what needed to be done. Artificial intelligence is not important, technology is not important. What’s important is human values, ethics, human touch, spirituality – that’s what’s important,” he said.

How can we help?

During a question-and-answer session following his initial remarks, a member of the audience asked Sooliman what role the academy and institutions represented at the conference can play to support and help his organisation.

His response was clear: produce impactful, relevant and meaningful research that can make a marked difference in the country, the continent and the world. As an example, he said, and as a result of the country’s unemployment crisis, more research should be channelled into the kind of critical skills needed to secure and safeguard jobs and to build and develop the country. These include doctors, nurses, teachers, as well as mental health professionals to adequately deal with the local and global mental health emergency.

“The essence of all of us is humanity, love and spirituality … Produce research that is meaningful and relevant and [solves] societal problems,” he said.

Make a societal impact

Delivering the closing remarks on the third and final day of the conference, UCT’s vice-chancellor and the chairperson of the National Research Foundation board, Professor Mosa Moshabela, told the audience that transdisciplinary is critical for societal impact.

He said that during a recent conversation with retired UCT historian Emeritus Professor Howard Philipps, he asked: “What can you tell me about the story of UCT over the past 100 years?” In a nutshell, Emeritus Professor Howard said that UCT over the past 100 years can be divided into three key stages of development: a teaching and learning university; a research-intensive university, where it formed a strong foundation built on academic freedom; followed by a shift in the last 30 years where the institution has been engaged in a more social agenda.

“Then I asked him about [the importance of] societal impact. And from his own observation and recollection he said he thinks that’s the next thing we are going to have to do. The work has begun, but not at a scale that can be considered a strong agenda of an institution like UCT,” Professor Moshabela said.

“And I find that interesting because scientific impact is synonymous with UCT. But that does not necessarily mean it translates into impact in society. And the systems that we put in place to actively build bridges, [those] are necessary for direct societal impact … our social agenda is a big priority.”