My roots
“A film on The Life of Indian businessman and philanthropist Adatia Rizwan, titled RIZWAN will be screened during the eagerly awaited FESTAC AFRICA festival 2024 in Kisumu,” City Bite Magazine has most recently been told. Via a telephone conversation, Adatia narrates his life story, his work as a philanthropist, why Africa is so dear to him, and the bearing of the FESTAC AFRICA festival on the growth trajectory of Africa. Mr. Rizwan is the founder of RAF Global, an international organization whose main objective is to catalyze development among marginalized communities and families in India, Africa, and other parts of Asia.
“I was born in Western India, Gujarat to be specific. My story began in Porbandar, the same town as the legendary Mahatma Gandhi. I come from an extremely humble background, a family of seven siblings. Growing up, my father was the sole breadwinner and he had to take extremely casual jobs to provide for us and fund our education. As such, at some point, I could not manage to proceed with my education and decided to quit school. Afterward, I ventured into religion, because I made peace with the fact that God and spirituality were above all forms of vanity. I started getting up early in the morning to practice self-care and meditation, morning prayers, and with time, yoga. As I grew into my morning routines and religion, I gave myself to God at the age of 14.”
“As a young man out of school and looking at my father’s struggle, I decided to look for a job in 1985, which I got and as such I started to earn 175 rupees ($10) per month. Being fed by my parents, I did not have much to do with the money, so I donated a significant part of it to struggling friends and family. I would support them in purchasing basic commodities and foodstuff. This emanated from my inner drive to support those in need. God works in his ways and at 17 years old, he opened ways for me in Kinshasa, DRCongo. This was back in 1986. In my new job, I earned a monthly salary of $200. With this improved salary, my passion for helping people grew deeper and I decided to help poor people in India and D.R.Congo, my new home. “
“At the beginning, I didn’t know a lot, and balancing between helping people and personal development was a herculean task. But as I grew, I realized that the more I was helping, the more satisfied I became. It was extremely fulfilling to lend a hand and my soul was serene. For me, in life, personal development is more important than everything, but when you help another person, there is immense value to your individual growth. Note-worthy also is the fact that I continued to meditate and practice mindfulness, and religion, which played a pivotal role in my development into who I am now. I could wake up at 3.00 am as I said before and meditate for three-four full hours before getting into my daily businesses.”
What is RAF Global?
RAF Global is a non-profit organization that works with marginalized communities to catalyze their development across Africa, India, and other parts of Asia. It was founded in the year 2015 and since then we have made an impact on the lives of over 1.5 million people. Out of these, 700,000 are in Africa alone while the rest are spread across India and other parts of the world. It is, in fact, amazing to look back and see the beautiful results of consistent small acts of random kindness in such a short period. Our core objective in Africa and the marginalized communities that we work with is to promote development at the grassroots.
At the onset, we were only based in D.R.Congo, Mozambique, and India but currently, as we speak, we have offices in over seven countries across different continents. The aforementioned three countries are extremely dear to me because I was born in India but both Congo and Mozambique made me who I am today, having spent 22 years in the former and 13 years in the latter.
Our mission is to work with the most marginalized individuals and families to support development using modern technologies and education. We tap into technology to improve the quality of life while we also advocate for better policies for the welfare of the general society. Our approach to achieving our main objectives is pedestalled on synergies and pulling of resources together, to maximize impact through synergy.
Another ironclad part of our core objectives is to alleviate food insecurity among the communities and families we serve. This therefore informs our commitment to capacity building in natural organic farming and sustainable agriculture. Education, as they say, is the ultimate equalizer, and as a development agency, RAF supports the education of young children from vulnerable families. Across our scope, we have supplied books and learning equipment to many young people. An educated youth is empowered to courageously face the harsh realities of life. They are given the instruments to deal with whatever comes their way in the world. This is why we insist on supporting the education of young people.
As I mentioned earlier, I was born in an extremely humble background. I did not find the privilege of going to school and only found refuge in religion. Watching my father struggle with casual jobs to fend for us motivated me to work hard to become a better person. A part of being a better person is to add value to communities especially the needy and the vulnerable. This was my bottom line from the beginning. Additionally, you can see from my background that the organization started in three countries, India, D.R.Congo, and Mozambique. This is because, as mentioned earlier, the three countries played a pivotal role in my development. I left India as a boy, but I became a man in Africa and that makes the continent so dear to my heart.
Additionally, it is common sense that service to humanity is service to God. This is a natural motivator to many if not all philanthropists. In my work, and through reading religious books, I realized that when you give back to society, God gives you more, not only materially, but also through spiritual fulfillment. We all have a moral responsibility to help others who are in need. He ventured into religion, embracing the wisdom and teachings of various faiths, finding peace in the belief that spirituality transcends all forms of vanity. The little we have, we must use to make a difference. Rizwan believes in drawing inspiration from all religions, embracing the good and positive aspects they offer to uplift and support humanity. This is because God is a kind God. He is merciful and well-meaning. As such, we must emulate his ways, so that he can bless us with abundance.
What are the thematic areas of focus for the organization?
As hinted in the beginning of our conversation, RAF Global works with vulnerable communities and families to alleviate standards of living. Our main focus is on harnessing modern technologies to better the lives of those who can access and use them to cushion their living standards, support education and educational programs, promote organic agricultural practices, and improve livelihoods across Africa, India, and parts of Asia. In this regard, our framework encompasses economic integration, climate-smart agriculture, health and nutrition initiatives, education and technology programs, good governance, and humanitarian programs.
RAF Global as of this minute has served people in over seven countries including DRCongo, Mozambique, Madagascar, Eswatini, Afghanistan, India, and Bangladesh.
What is the scope and Key outcomes of RAF Global?
Through sheer commitment, we have made an immense impact on our thematic areas such as economic integration and livelihood support for women and youth by training over five thousand young people and equipping them with varied skills in over fifteen trades. We have also supported programs of over one thousand self-help groups and over five hundred women-led small and medium enterprises. We have also spearheaded interventions in over 100 villages to advocate for and support chemical-free farming, which is not only pivotal for human health but also environmental conservation.
We have also spearheaded the culture of kitchen gardening to cushion food security, among vulnerable families. We have also established farmer resource centers to train subsistence farmers on the basics of efficient natural farming.
In general terms, over five thousand households have benefitted from the policies we have advocated for. We have also supported over one hundred Government schools with learning infrastructure, stationery, and technology for improved quality of education.
Additionally, across our scope, over one million people have gotten access to safe potable water while an additional seven hundred teachers have gotten extra training and many other key performance indicators.
What do you think about the FESTAC AFRICA Festival 2024?
First of all, allow me to commend the planners of the festival. The concept of FESTAC AFRICA is close to my heart because Africa is like my second home, ergo anything, any project that contributes to the growth and unity of Africa inspires me a lot. This is why the festival excites me. I have been to Kenya multiple times and visited cities like Mombasa and importantly Kisumu where the festival will be hosted and I can confidently say that I am looking forward to it.
In this regard, I want to come there to enjoy myself but most importantly to network and to learn. When people come together, great things happen, so said the wise men of the past, and indeed with its key objective being bringing Africans together, I expect conversations on how to amplify growth in Africa through intra-continental resources and dialogues to dominate the event.
I am saying this because I have been to different parts of the world and can say with the confidence of a cock that with unity, Africa has what it takes to outshine other continents, but that depends on her willingness to go out on a limb. These are the conversations we want FESTAC AFRICA to spearhead and to make a substance out of.
Additionally, as a young man who grew from nothing to something, a movie of my life story will be screened during the festival.
The documentary about your life story will be screened during FESTAC AFRICA Festival 2024. Can you elaborate more about the movie?
The movie was produced in the year 2022. It is entitled Rizwan as my name goes, and it tells the story of my life. This movie was produced to motivate young people and to tell them that no matter their backgrounds or race, all their dreams are valid and can come true if they give an extra effort towards achieving them.
FESTAC AFRICA, as a platform for arts and culture, also plays an important role in the promotion of cultural films. Film, they say is the only mode through which we can communicate our different cultures.
Additionally, if you look at their strategy, they have a whole segment for youth mentorship and empowerment. Screening this movie therefore will add to this specific objective. I want young people to appreciate the struggles in their journey to a better destiny by learning that every little effort they make is not in vain. I want them to also understand that not every success story is preceded by money. You can rise from grass to grace if you employ the right strategy. That is the story of Rizwan Adatia. He did not come out of nowhere, but trusted a process, toiled through the process, and became a face, known not only in India but different parts of the world for making a difference in the lives of over 1.5 million people across continents. Such is the value in what this movie brings and what FESTAC AFRICA does to all host countries.
Your parting shot?
As we end this interview, I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has contributed to my development. I want to thank, first of all, the Almighty God who has guided me thus far. Further, I would like to thank everyone who taught me the good values of hard work, resilience, and diligence. I also want to thank the people who have put their energy into ensuring that our organization is effectively run. We have an extremely supportive and instrumental board of advisors, who have immensely contributed to our meteoric growth. Additionally, I would like to thank the FESTAC AFRICA team for creating such a solid platform for people of African descent to unite and chart a path for a brighter future for Africa. I will humbly join in, take part, and make a difference.
