Interview By: Leza Raley-Labrador & Ellen Alveraz

Written By: Leza Raley-Labrador

I believe the best education in life is travel and life experiences.  Most see the world from inside of a fishbowl, getting a glimpse of the joy and tragedy around the world from the evening news, or from the internet within the safety of their home.  Then there are those who explore the world, taking advantage of great pleasures and being witness to life’s great disasters.   A world of love, laughter and miracles awaits those who dare to discover the world’s vast treasures.  Humanitarians are made when a person realizes that there is beauty within life’s misfortunes and when that person makes a conscious decision to stand up to the wrongs in this world and make a difference, so that those who are being violated, neglected and left behind, have hope.   Humanitarians are people who stand in the face of the world’s wrongs and evils and give a voice to the silent so that they may be heard.

Made in Germany, Monja Wolf spent most of her life working and traveling around the world.  Traveling to more than 40 countries worldwide, Monja has experienced life’s treasures and tragedy.  With all of her experiences and the people she has encountered on her travels; Monja made a conscious decision that she wanted to make a difference in the lives of others and founded “Monyati Initatives”, which is Arabic and translates to “A Little Wish That is Very Close to Your Heart.”

With so many crises in the world “Monyati Initiatives” is dedicated to helping all populations at risk, regardless of cultural and religious background. “Monyati Initiatives”, makes wishes come true where they are most needed.

What exactly inspired the idea of Monyati Initiatives? I knew absolutely at a very young age, that I wanted to work in the non-profit sector and to make a contribution to the world. Every person has their own path to walk and an individual goal to fulfill in life. I know helping people and contributing to the world is my path to walk.

I began at a young age traveling to countries at risk and therefore I have been exposed to different living conditions and cultures in other parts of the world. My first experience was shared with my father and brother. We were traveling often to Thailand and spending a lot of time in boxing camps throughout the world. The people at these camps that my family and I visited used their skills to gain freedom out of poverty. Sometimes boxing was their only tool for survival.

As a young girl, I accompanied my father and brother to rural areas of developing countries and spent months at boxing camps. This is when I became aware of the imbalance in the world. Watching young boys sleeping under the ring, pursuing their only opportunity to get out of the slums (sometimes the entire family depended on the success of these little ones) and yet even if they became successful boxers, these young boys made only pennies from their actual prize-money. Their promoters would make sure that they stayed poor and bound to them, by making them sign “slave-contracts”.

In the following years I started to travel often throughout the world as a fashion model. So far I have lived in more then 14 countries. As a fashion model, that time of my life was a huge eye opener as well. I become a witness to more injustices in the world. You can’t just watch the world getting taken advantage from and continue walking as if nothing is happening. You have to get involved and make a difference.

How did you come up with the name “Monyati”? Monyati is an Arabic word and can be translated into English as a “little wish that is very close to your heart”. It resembles the vision and mission of our organization: To fulfill little wishes. There are a lot of organizations out there and we want to make sure to differentiate us from the others. We are trying to give our organization a “personality” with its own energy, thus we are trying to develop a unique brand.

What significance does the originating language of the word “Monyati” play if any? Our main focus is in the Middle East. However our support is globally and we are not limited to only one region in the world.

When did you decide to seriously start working on this idea? We began at the end of 2008. People often wait to go after their dreams, never finding the right time, but in my case there was no better time then than the present. People are great at making excuses to continue to stay within a comfort zone. However passion for your dreams will force you out of your comfort zone and force you to take risks; to find the courage and faith to make a difference in the world and reach for the stars. Without risk there is no success. That’s part of life. The truth is that you just have to start somewhere and start building your dream one step at a time. God will guide you once you have chosen your true path. You will be amazed how the pieces of the puzzle suddenly fit together, lifting you and pushing you to forge ahead. People need to learn to truly listen to their heart. All answers are resting there, waiting to be heard.

How was the team formed/selected? The team is made up of my friends and people who are passionate about the organization and believe in what we are trying to accomplish.

One section of our team is based in Germany, where they use their skills and energy building a support group in Europe. However, as for now most efforts are done from within the UAE / Middle East.

What were some challenges you had to overcome to get things started? One challenge is the financial aspect. We are very proud to announce that we pay for all expenses from our own pocket (administration, website, flights, travel costs etc). This way all donations go directly into our current project. Not one cent is lost. We don’t only invest our time, but also our own assets and by all means we are not rich in money or in time.

Another challenge is to focus on projects, which will be the better value for our money and our time. This means in the charitable realm we need to develop projects that have the strongest impact and ensure self-sustainability. We want to avoid just becoming a mere drop in the ocean, but to develop and implement projects that guarantee a long term impact.

Did you ever talk about what you were feeling with your family at the time? My father is also committed to charity and while I was growing up we always spoke and discussed the imbalance in the world. These conversations with my family have surely shaped my mindset today.

How much of your time does this project involve? Every member of our team has a full-time job. So we utilize our free-time to push the development of “Monyati Initiatives”, to create a solid foundation in which we can grow and expand to continue with our goal of helping those who need it the most.

Have you looked at other means such as grants to help with the financial aspect? Our aim is to move away from the dependency of grants or donations. We would like to establish a self-sustaining structure in the future. It is a learning curve and hopefully with each project we will understand the needs and demands better and thus can move away from the dependency of donations. Muhammad Yunus (his development of Grameen Bank, Grameen-Danone and his social business concept) is my leading model and “mentor” for this goal and the future growth of Monyati.

Please tell us about your “Monyati Initiatives” Nepal Project? For our Nepal project I visited an organization in Kathmandu/Nepal. Despite having experienced many very poor countries and countries that are at risk in my lifetime, I was still shocked and saddened by the hardship and poverty level of the Nepalese people. Today, Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, most people living on less than $1000 a year. Almost 80% of the population still makes a living from agriculture. The rate of unemployment is almost 50% and poverty levels are rampant. Many children (mainly girls) are orphaned, abandoned, homeless and living on the streets. At every corner, on every street you will see young children sleeping outside, making the streets their home and sniffing drugs to escape the harsh reality of their life. Women with young babies are on the streets selling paper-souvenirs or begging for money just to survive. Children walk miles each day, eager to learn, attending schools that look more like open barns then a traditional school. The schools are deteriorated from time and lack of money to maintain them. Rain seeps in from the corners of the roofs and the cracks in the walls. What the western world would abandon as a building lost, children unite just appreciating having a roof over their head and the chance at an education.

In the middle of a Himalaya Mountains, hidden between rice-fields, children passed by, excited to see us, smiling and shouting at us in broken English, “Hello where are you from”. One of the boys, who knew more English, told us how thankful he was to have some kind of school at all to attend. He didn’t mind walking 2 hours each day to his school, without any food during the entire day. This child so grateful, took my breath away, it was unbelievable!

This Nepalese charity takes care of those orphans and children from parents at risk, offering them an education and home to sleep. I had the opportunity to speak with all involved in this wonderful program, the founder, manager, teachers and children. It is such a well-organized organization (kids get also taught German by the way and are corresponding in German to their ‘godparents’ in Europe) and I’m very impressed by the steady growth and fulfillment of the founders-vision. This organization started with only 15 children in 2002 and they now have a proud number of 203 children.

Nevertheless their possibilities are very limited and they need and appreciate any kind of support. I spoke with their founder Siegfried Mayer, who is from Austria. Upon my request to utter a wish for his organization after my first trip, he shared with me that they urgently need 10 gas radiant heaters since their students have to study and live in freezing conditions without any heater during winter. During the winter season, in Katmandu temperatures fall easily below 0 Degrees Celsius, with an occasional snowfall. We have successfully bought and installed heaters for the children, so they may stay warm while attending class. These heaters will allow the children warmth during the cold season and hopefully help the children stay healthy enough to continue their education. With our help and the help of others, the children of Katmandu and other countries at risk will have a chance.

Tell us about the Kashmir project you just recently completed? We have just completed our latest project in Kashmir where we supported the setup of a vocational training center for girls and young women. We have linked with the local based organization in Kashmir, “Kotli KDRC” and everything is in place now to start the 6 months long sewing courses.

This trip to Islamabad and Kashmir presented a special challenge due to safety issues in this region. However, equipped with a veil so that I wouldn’t be recognized as a foreigner and together with my companion Yesmin Wazir and her brother Nigel, we achieved full success and completion of our goal: 92 sewing machines delivered and installed for the vocational training center in Kotli.

There will be two teachers and two classrooms with 15 students in each class. The center will be linked with the “Board of Kashmir”, so that they receive a formally accredited diploma upon successful completion of their exam. They will attend school five times a week from; 8.30am till 2pm and will have to do homework during the afternoon and evening. Once they pass their exam each girl will get their own sewing machine. This way they are enabled to set up their own small business unit. Thus content of this course is not only sewing, but also additional skills that they might require for business development and sustainability (e.g. marketing/design).  Yesmin will also arrange to link them to the local design universities in Islamabad, so that they have the option to further their career and support will be offered to link them to relevant contacts and potential clients.

The girls will not be charged any fees and will receive the education free of charge so the selection criteria ensures that the girls will be able to manage this new challenge and opportunity. In order to create a sustainable concept, the girls will pay back each month approximately 5 Dirham (about 1,3 US$ or 1 Euro) over a three year period for the machines they will receive upon completion.

What might be your next project? We are currently exploring different options in Africa and liaising with local NGOs and schools there to understand their needs and support them then accordingly.

Monja, if someone would like to get involved with “Monyati Initiatives”, what are you most in need of? We are always interested to link with like-minded people and organizations. I believe most valuable asset in any organization and business is experience and knowledge and as such we welcome those who are interested to trade thoughts and share their experience. Power is created by uniting different parties.  Other than that financial support is of course essential for us.

For more information, please visit “Monyati Initiatives”: www.monyati-charity.com