May each of you live lives of immersion. They won't necessarily be easy lives. But in the end, it is all that will sustain us.
Jacqueline NovogratzRead
I finally understood: In order to contribute to Africa, I would have to know myself better and be clearer about my goals. I would have to be ready to take Africa on its own terms, not mine, and to learn my limits and present myself not as a do-gooder with a big heart, but as someone with something to give and gain by being there. Compassion wasn't enough
Interpretation
What this quote means
Understanding oneself is crucial to effectively contribute to Africa's development.
This quote emphasizes the importance of self-awareness and clarity of purpose when engaging in meaningful contributions to the African continent. Jacqueline Novogratz reflects on the necessity of approaching such contributions with humility and a willingness to learn, rather than with a superficial desire to help, highlighting that genuine compassion must be coupled with understanding and respect for the local context.
Themes
Self-AwarenessContributionAfricaCompassionLearning
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about sustainable development, one might use this quote to emphasize the importance of understanding local cultures.
More from Jacqueline Novogratz
All quotes →When people gain income, they gain choice, and that is fundamental to dignity.
Jacqueline NovogratzRead
I've been working on issues of poverty for more than 20 years, and so it's ironic that the problem that and question that I most grapple with is how you actually define poverty. What does it mean?
Jacqueline NovogratzRead
The poor don't live in functional market economies as the rest of us do, but in political economies where corruption and broken systems extend from local government to moneylenders.
Jacqueline NovogratzRead
Each of us can work to change a small portion of events. And it's in the total of all those acts that the history of this generation will be written.
Jacqueline NovogratzRead
Don't let people tell you to do it this way. You are on the verge of figuring out hybrid models -- with companies and nonprofits, markets, government, crowd-sourced philanthropy. The capitalist system as we know it is not working.
Jacqueline NovogratzRead
Similar quotes
That term, 'David and Goliath,' has entered our language as a metaphor for improbable victories by some weak party over someone far stronger.
Malcolm GladwellRead
The nine-to-five is one of the greatest atrocities sprung upon mankind. You give your life to a function that doesn't interest you. This situation so repelled me that I was driven to drink, starvation, and mad females, simply as an alternative.
Charles BukowskiRead
All miracles are promised to faith, and what is faith except the audacity of will which does not hesitate in the darkness, but advances towards the light in spite of all ordeals, and surmounting all obstacles?
Eliphas LeviRead
Human decision-making is complex. On our own, our tendency to yield to short-term temptations, and even to addictions, may be too strong for our rational, long-term planning.
Peter SingerRead
Atheism is having a heyday in the born-again United States.
Alain De BottonRead
Every act of violence is also a message that needs to be understood. (23-24)
Jean VanierRead