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
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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?
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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.
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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.
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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
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