I'm in South Africa this week for my work to grow the Diamond Empowerment Fund (D.E.F.), a non profit I co-founded last year to support educational empowerment programs in African nations where diamonds are a natural resource.
Traveled to Sun City, a couple of hours from Johannesburg at the invitation of the Diamond Trading Company (DTC) to speak to the Sightholders about diamonds for good and how they can get involved in supporting greater opportunity for young Africans through access to higher education. Varda Shine, the Managing Director of the DTC and a D.E.F. Board Member, gave us
this important platform for D.E.F.'s cause and goals of getting the international diamond jewelry industry on board. FYI, the Sightholders are 78 companies from all over the world that have the exclusive opportunity to buy diamonds directly from the DTC, so having a chance to speak with these people was a very good step for this movement.
Festus Mogae, the former President of the Republic of Botswana also spoke and delivered a great keynote about the kharmic response to giving already in motion. He believes the greater focus on philanthropic, social and economic empowerment efforts by D.E.F. and other programs lead by the Sightholders is leading to better opportunities for everyone. Botswana is the undisputed worldwide leader in how diamonds can build a nation and empower its people so when he speaks I listen closely! He just joined D.E.F.'s Advisory Board which is a great new development for us.
In Johannesburg, where I just spent the day with the students of CIDA and the Maharishi Institute and their founder Taddy Blecher. CIDA is D.E.F.'s first named beneficiary of our fund raising efforts, and the Maharishi Institute is a new school that I got to see for the first time today. The original CIDA organization (Community and Individual Development Association) started 20 years ago teaching free transcendental meditation for disadvantaged communities.
I was introduced to CIDA in 2006 by Jennifer Oppenheimer after meeting her at the Clinton Global Initiative, I found a beautiful school with 1,500 students who were practicing yoga and meditation as a balance to their academic studies. The combination was magic to me - and the proof was in the success CIDA students had in getting jobs that helped them to support not just themselves but often their extended families. CIDA needed help to grow a $35 million endowment for sustainability and to pursue long term strategies for continued growth. I've focused my energies on this goal and over the past year CIDA and Maharishi have received gifts from De Beers, Anglo American, and other individuals in the diamond jewelry industry of more than $9 million. This is a good start but there's so much more to that needs to be done. More on this tomorrow...
-Russell Simmons