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Social justice activists Kumi Naidoo,Barbara Lee honoured in New York

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A South African civil society activist and a United States Congresswoman were honoured for their work in the pursuit of social justice as a prestigious gala in New York on Tuesday.

Amnesty International’s Secretary General-Designate Kumi Naidoo and Congresswoman Barbara Lee were both honoured for their contributions in the struggle against Apartheid and their subsequent work to uplift the marginalized and disadvantaged around the globe.

The event also featured a tribute to the late jazz icon Hugh Masekela.

Shared Interest is a nonprofit social investment fund, founded in 1994, that raises capital in the United States, allowing it to facilitate financing from financial institutions to disadvantaged communities in southern Africa, particularly South Africa.

Their annual spring benefit here in New York also honour individuals that have had a positive impact on communities in Southern Africa.

The group’s Executive Director Donna Katzin, says, “Year in and year out, since Nelson Mandela was elected as SA first democratic president, we have stood with people of South Africa to try and help finish the job. The political system was democratized. However, the economic system still needs some work and we are here to do that work with the people of South Africa and beginning now, some of the people in other countries of the region.”

Over the last 24 years, Shared Interest in partnership with the Thembani International Guarantee Fund has provided loans worth over 1 billion rand to benefit low-income communities.

“We look at different kinds of impact, we also look at working with South Africa’s financial institutions to help them discover new markets and to begin to bank in new ways. So we are delighted to say over the years, we have worked with all of SA’s major banks and they are discovering those new markets. The impact that people are most used to hearing from us are the individual stories, the people who are starting small businesses.”

New York’s Mayor Bill de Blasio also dropped by in a show of support for the work Shared Interest is doing in South Africa.

“New York City, for so many years, has been a hotbed of support for the people of South Africa. And you go back to the anti-Apartheid protests all over this city, at universities and neighbourhoods all over this city, you go back to the time that Patrick (Gaspard) and I were working together for Mayor Dinkins and we welcome Nelson Mandela as a head of state to be, who was at Yankee Stadium that night. That was one of the most beautiful moments in this city’s history. And for years since, NY City remains a place focused on supporting the evolution of South Africa as a free and democratic society.”

Congresswoman Barbara Lee was honoured in absentia with the Advocate for Justice Award for among others her work in co-authoring the PEPFAR legislation to combat HIV and Aids in Africa while civil society activist Kumi Naidoo received the Champion Award for People and Planet.

“The good news I wanna say to you is that the planet is just fine. The planet doesn’t not need saving. Because if we continue on the path that we are and if we continue with our addictions to dirty energy; if we continue with deforestation, the end result will be we warm up the planet to a point where we do not have water; we do not have soil; and we cannot produce food. So, let’s be very clear that if we continue on the path that we are on, the end result is that we will be gone. The planet will still be here. In fact, once we become extinct as a species, the forests will recover, the oceans will replenish and so on. So, don’t worry about saving the planet. Understand the struggle that we’re engaged in here is to ensure that humanity fashions a new way to co-exist with nature for centuries and centuries to come.”

Hugh Masekela’s spirit loomed large with this tribute to the icon who passed away in January 2018 featuring Lesedi Ntsane on the trumpet.

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