East African Association of Grantmakers

One on one with the enigma behind a Small Act Film: Human Rights Lawyer and Philanthropist Chris Mburu

Thank you very much Chris for agreeing to honour the East African Philanthropist with an opportunity for an interview. I will straight on shoot my questions.

Briefly tell us who Chris Mburu is and what drives him?

I like being referred to first and foremost as “the happy boy from the village” because that is what I essentially am. I had very humble beginnings, growing up in a village that epitomized poverty, no paved roads, no electricity, no piped water, no medical facilities, and not much hope for a future. The school I went to did not have glass on its windows, none of us wore shoes, most families had to endure hard labor in the coffee plantations to get insignificant sums of money to buy necessities,  and many children did not have enough to eat at home. Yet this village was all I knew when I was growing up; Mitahato Village was my idea of the universe –and indeed a happy universe. I found Mitahato a happy place because in spite of all the problems  we faced caused mainly by poverty, people were generous with the little they had, wore smiles as if the hardship caused by poverty was just a passing fad, and to a large extent treated each other with kindness and respect. This is the society that shaped me, and everything I see today, every country I visit, every situation I encounter, I find myself instinctively applying the lessons I learned from this rural Kenyan village. I have lived in many other countries since I left Kenya almost two decades ago, but Mitahato is still the one place I feel mostly at home, and at peace. I guess you can say I left my village but the village has never left me. I think in my life I am driven by this desire to create a society as idyllic as the Mitahato I grew up in, only without the biting poverty and lack of opportunity for many of its children. I think I want to see a world in which children have equal opportunity and are not robbed of their future by poverty, like so many of my friends in the village were

Has your past in any way influenced who you are today?

Yes, I can say my past largely informs my present. I treat people with respect and I enjoy it when I can extend a gesture of kindness, just as I saw most people in my village do when I was growing up. Also, the fact that this Swedish woman, Hilde Back, decided to support my education when I needed help, has influenced to a great extent how I perceive people in need. Whenever I see someone in need, my instinctive reaction is to ask myself: what can I do to help this person?  And if I can, I do something, however small. That is why I started the Hilde Back Education Fund, in honor of Ms Hilde Back, as small way of carrying forward the generosity I had received both from Hilde Back herself and the people from my village.

Your story has captured the imagination of the entire world especially after the release of the film “A Small Act”. Why did you make the film and did you expect such a reception?

Let me set the record straight here. I did not make this film, and in fact I was quite shocked when I was told that a film could be made out of my story. To me, what had happened to me had happened to many other people and I was no exception. I had been a poor child growing up in a village full of poor children, and then received support from a stranger for my education. And as a result I decided to help other children the way I had been helped. I saw absolutely nothing of a film material in this narrative. But I realized when I had my initial phone conversation with this film director from Hollywood, Jennifer Arnold, that my story was interesting and worth telling. I became even more interested in cooperating with Jennifer when she told me that my story might inspire people to support children in the situation I once was. And I said to her, “if that’s the case, let’s do it”. The rest is history. What I thought was going to be a simple film ended up becoming this major global phenomenon, changing my life in a significant way, substantially altering the fortunes of the small charitable foundation I had started in Mitahato years ago,  and inspiring people from all over the world to sponsor the education of hundreds of poor hopeless children in Kenya. I definitely never expected such a spectacular reception to the film. I never knew anything I did in my life would ever bring me into personal contact with global icons such as Bill Gates and George Soros, or win praise from the likes of US entertainer Harry Belafonte, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki Moon, Jordan’s Queen Noor, etc. I never knew that being the subject of this film portraying humble simple life in Mitahato village would take me to the world’s prestigious film festivals including Sundance and Edinburgh, or put me at the centre of  glamorous events in Hollywood attended by famous actors such as Ewan McGregor, Jodi Foster and others. So in the end Jennifer, the film director, was right: my story had the potential to inspire people. And it has definitely inspired people to help others, which I think is the greatest thing to happen out of this whole undertaking.

In your opinion who is a philanthropist and what are the characteristics of a philanthropist?

I am glad you ask this question because I think a lot of people have the wrong idea of what constitutes philanthropy. It is not uncommon to hear people say that they will become philanthropists when they become rich, or when they have accumulated lots of extra wealth.  This is a false premise and is in effect a misrepresentation of philanthropy. To me, any act of generosity that goes to support another person in need or contribute to common good, however small the act, is an act of philanthropy. Real philanthropists in my view do not have to wait to make millions to become donating to a just cause, they can start at any time with small gestures towards the rest of humanity. We have been witnessing this phenomenon where people start to get known for philanthropy only after they become billionaires. This is bad for philanthropy because it gives the impression that only the super rich can qualify for this the title of “philanthropist”, and it serves as a disincentive for ordinary people to give for causes they care about. When we see the Oprah Winfreys, the Mo Ibrahims and the Oppenheimers of this world giving large chunks of cash to charity, we sometimes think that we have to be in their social league to be considered philanthropists. Nothing is further from the truth. The fact is that you can be considered a philanthropist for giving Ksh. 1000 to change someone’s life or lift them out of some misery.  Also, what we forget is that some of these billionaires who are known to give large amounts to major causes do not give because they are philanthropists, they give because it gives them a better public profile, or it promotes their business brand, or it reduces their tax burden, etc. These people in my opinion do not qualify as philanthropists although their gifts may lift people out of need. A philanthropist is a person with compassion whose heart is moved by a particular situation affecting humanity and decides to provide help or relief, with no expectation for anything in return. The amount given is usually secondary. What matters is the connection that this person feels with those who are suffering to want to lift them out of their misery.

You currently work in Europe and have travelled widely around the world , how do you compare African philanthropy with philanthropy in Western countries?

I think African philanthropy has been underestimated simply because it is not always possible to compute it in dollar terms. But if you look around you will notice that most Africans have helped someone in need in their lifetime, whether it is letting a person without means reside in their house as the person looks for a job in the city, letting landless people cultivate a part of their farm to feed their families, inviting the poor for holiday feasts at their home, donating time to educate other people’s children about their culture, etc. And now we are seeing a lot of modern Africans giving money to causes that they hold dear, such as education foundations, foster homes and orphanages, churches, sports organizations and victims of war and natural calamities. In Europe, philanthropy just happens to be more structured and officialized, with the governments stepping in to make it easier for its citizens to give, for example by giving tax incentives and other forms of official recognition and motivation. Plus more Europeans happen to be financially better than Africans, which leaves them with more to donate to humanitarian causes. It does not mean that they are more philanthropic than Africans.

Tell us a little about the Hilde Back Education Fund (HBEF)?

I founded the Hilde Back Education Fund in 2001 as a way of saying “thank you” to this woman, Ms Hilde Back, who supported my education when I was growing up as a poor boy in Mitahato village. I wanted to do something to other people’s children as a way of “paying it forward” for the help I had received in my youth. I named it after Hilde Back in order to honor her. The organization supports the education of bright children from poor families. The organization also advocates for the right of education for all; I think many people forget that education is one of the fundamental human rights which should be enjoyed by all without exception. The fact that education is perceived at times to be a privilege is a major indictment of the society we live in. Nobody should have to pay to exercise his or her human right! However, we live in a society in which this is the reality. HBEF has been very lucky to get increased support over the last two years since this film came out, and we have so far been able to help over 200 children at the secondary school level. Next year we hope to admit over 150 more children into the program. The organization has a committed staff led by Ms Lizzie Chongoti, the Director, and has now expanded the number of districts in which it has been getting beneficiaries. We are very proud of the children we have in our program, and we are happy to see that most of them have absorbed the philanthropic values on which the organization is founded. Many of them have promised us that they will in turn help their communities in the future when they have jobs, as a way of “paying it forward” for yet another generation. We at HBEF believe that if societies promoted this kind of giving, we would solve a lot of the challenges we currently face and we would live in greater peace and harmony.

Why did you choose to give towards Education and not any other sector?

I believe education lies at the heart of all development, and to me it is the key to a brighter and peaceful future for any country or community. In my work with the United Nations, I have been in countries which have been wracked by civil conflict, and I have always observed how ignorance among the population has contributed to these conflicts, with power-hungry politicians and warlords exploiting this ignorance to their benefit. I have always felt that if more people were educated, there would be less conflict, especially in Africa and the rest of the developing  world.  So to me, having been a UN peacekeeper, I very much believe that education equals peace. Look at the kids who fought as rebels in Sierra Leone, or those who fight in Northern Uganda, or the members of many militias in the Congo; they are hordes of uneducated youths who would have preferred to do something different had they been presented with a choice. And this is what I say in the film, that education to me is a life and death issue. If you really want to change a society you will start with educating its people, and this is what we have decided to do at HBEF. I agree 100% with Nelson Mandela when he says that education is the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world.

Where do you see HBEF in the next 5years?

I would like to see the organization make greater impact and lead to the education of more needy children , not only in Kenya, but also in other countries in the region where failure to provide education for poor children is resulting in the loss of generations of future leaders. We also hope that in 5 years we will have started to build a school or some sort of a centre of excellence where we can place all our beneficiaries and inculcate positive values and leadership skills on them to increase their future impact on our society. But by then, the real hope deep inside me is that HBEF will be doing more policy work on education issues as opposed to paying for the education of desperate children, a role that I hope will by then have been taken over by the governments themselves. As I have said over and over again, it should not be the work of charities and NGOs to educate children. Governments are there to do that and I pray earnestly that they will rise to the occasion. Governments should ensure that all education at all levels is free and of a high quality. This can be achieved if Governments got their national priorities right. But in the meantime, we in the charity world are forced to step in and help.

Do you have to be wealthy to give back to society?

As I have said before, you do not have to be wealthy to give back to society. This is in fact the message we have been trying to send to many Kenyans in an effort to get them to start their own “small acts” of charity to address the needs in their societies. In Kenya, it costs two to three thousand shillings a month to take a desperately poor child through a good boarding secondary school and open up the child to limitless future opportunities. It is clear that one does not have to be wealthy to afford this amount of money. The question is, why aren’t there more people seeing this reality?

What has been the impact of the film a small act not only on HBEF but also the children you support?

The impact of the film has been tremendous for HBEF. The film resulted in a substantial increase in donations for HBEF, and this has enabled us to offer scholarships to more deserving children. We started in the small village of Mitahato with 3 children ten years ago, but now we are present in four provinces in Kenya, with a beneficiary count of over 200. We anticipate supporting over 150 more children in the year 2012, and plan to expand to several more provinces in Kenya. All because of the support we have received since the film came out. The children we support have benefited from a focused motivational and leadership program, again thanks to the increased funding we have enjoyed as a result of the film. Some of our past beneficiaries have now been employed, others are at the university, others have recently graduated from university and they are now reaping the fruits of their education. Yet others are waiting to join universities in Kenya and elsewhere. One of our girls who scored an “A” in her “O” levels last year has just been admitted to a program run by Zawadi Africa, another amazing education charity, where she will be sent to a university in America for her first degree. And we know she will be  an effective ambassador for us out there. Because of this film, “A Small Act”, the HBEF flag will soon be flying high, in Kenya and indeed all over the world. Our hope is that these kids will do their own “small acts” in the future and help develop their communities in the same way they were helped by HBEF.

There are critics who hold that getting involved in social development makes governments abdicate their responsibility. What are your comments about this?

While there is some shred of truth in this reasoning, I would like these critics to tell me what to do when the governments do not or are not able to shoulder this responsibility that I admit is essentially theirs. It is true that educating children should be the role of governments, not of NGOs or charities, but when as a compassionate individual you are faced with a need, the best thing is to see how you can fill it without passing the buck. Given the state of education in the developing world today, assuming that governments will immediately begin taking care of all needy children is tantamount to burying one’s head in the sand. We need to face reality: we have to provide the much-needed support in the education sector while at the same time encouraging the governments to do more. That is exactly what HBEF is doing.

Are our African governments doing enough to support philanthropy?

Sadly, no. While a number of governments have begun to value the contributions made by individuals to promote their communities, the concept of philanthropy –and in particular local philanthropy- remains very poorly understood, and in some instances openly shunned. There are some leaders who see local philanthropists as political threats who put the name of the government in disrepute, especially when the intervention is in a sector that is very clearly the responsibility of the government in question.  As a result, some of these governments treat international philanthropists in a better way than the local ones, which I think is regrettable. Progressive governments should embrace the work of local philanthropists and engineer legislation to create a conducive legal atmosphere for local philanthropy to thrive.

What are some of the challenges you have encountered both at a personal level and as HBEF in your pursuit to give back to community?

The main challenge is of course the whole difficulty of having to pick and choose from an already poor community the children who are going to benefit from the HBEF scholarships. It is sometimes heart-wrenching to see children who have worked so hard to get a scholarship lose this life-changing opportunity to their peers. Those who have watched the film have felt the emotion associated with this. It is not easy for me, or for my board which has to do the selections every year. How are you going to explain to a 13-year old applicant that you are unable to accommodate them in the program, when to them that is all the future holds? I have other challenges. Many times, back in my village of Mitahato, I have to face children of my friends, or of my own relatives, who apply and fail to get HBEF scholarships. It is not easy explaining to their parents that HBEF has strict selection criteria, and that as the founder and chairman of the organization I cannot veto the decision of the selection panel. It is not very easy to simply tell the unsuccessful kids to work harder next time. For many of them, there is never a “next time”. Fortunately, many people respect me and my board for sticking to our strict selection criteria, which is essentially based on two things: examination results and family need.

What is the place of the African Diaspora in philanthropy?

The African Diaspora has been responsible for a lot of laudable philanthropic initiatives, and I have a lot of respect for most of its members. In particular the diaspora in Europe and North America has given back a lot to the continent by way of philanthropy. I lived and worked in America, I have spent long periods of time in Canada and currently I have my base in Switzerland, and I can say that I have seen a lot of good actions being initiated by those who want to make it better for their people back in Africa. During my recent travels after the film came out, I have met many East Africans who have told me they loved the film because it helped them finally take action on community projects they have been dreaming about back home. I have never met anyone out there who did not have a project in mind they were thinking about. The only challenge, they point out, is that it is not always easy to make the desired social impact when one is so far away from home.  I think the diaspora has a big role to play, especially because they are more likely to mobilize financial support for community projects back home in countries where they find themselves. They are also in a unique position to raise the awareness on the problems in Africa, and to advice the international community on the best strategies of providing support. The diaspora should also be at the forefront in lobbying African governments to create the conditions for philanthropy, and to provide successful philanthropic models that can be adapted in their countries back home to make philanthropy an integral part of Africa’s sustainable development.

What does the future hold for philanthropy in East Africa?

When I attended the recent summit of the East African Association of Grantmakers in Arusha, I was struck by the energy that I witnessed among the participants, and was totally impressed by the depth of the discussions at that forum. It filled me with hope about the future of East African philanthropy and demonstrated to me once again that HBEF is not alone in the struggle to change our communities for the better. East Africa is changing rapidly. All over the place, economies are booming, more companies are getting genuinely interested in establishing CSR projects, governments are becoming more sensitized on the need to embrace philanthropy and to give space to those who want to change our societies. Individual philanthropists are beginning to come together to address the structural impediments to philanthropy in the region, beginning with efforts to change laws that make it difficult or expensive to give to community projects. In my view what remains is to sensitize as many people as possible in East Africa’s expanding middle class about the need to give back to their communities and not just aim to accumulate wealth just for the sake of it. People need to see the need to share and to perceive themselves as members of a community first and as individuals second. We also have to preach the importance of small acts, so that people are not waiting until they become “comfortable” in order to give. As East Africa takes off economically, we have to take our poor communities along with us, otherwise they will pull us back and plunge us back into renewed economic misery. We need to know that unless our communities are secure and free, none of us can ever claim to be.

Any philosophies that inform your philanthropy?

Just one very simple one, and one that I got from my beloved mum, Regina Gathoni, years ago: the more you give, the more you get. Do not ask me about the mechanics of this dictum, but I can attest to the fact that it is wholly true. Some people are afraid of giving because they think they will end up with less, but I have talked to many people in the philanthropic world who tell me how their fortunes changed for the better when they learned to give to those in need. You better believe that it works. And anyway for some of us who believe in God, this is really a no-brainer