Rescue and Empower African Women and Children - Annual Gala

Alexander B. Cummings, Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, The Coca-Cola Company
Rescue and Empower African Women and Children - Annual Gala
Herndon, Va.
March 5, 2011

As prepared for delivery

Good evening.

Let me start by telling you a story you may have heard before. It's about a humming bird.

The hummingbird, along with many other animals, was caught in a great forest fire.

As the other animals fled, they stopped at a stream to watch their habitat burn; and, they saw the humming bird. Back and forth the bird flew, from the stream to the forest, each time taking one drop of water, and dropping it on the fire.

The other animals scoffed, even tried to discourage the hummingbird, "Your beak is too small. The fire is too great. There is nothing you can do."

The tiny bird took only a brief pause, to say: "I'm doing everything I can."

There are times when it is easy for all of us to feel that we are like that tiny bird. Our will is strong, our actions are courageous. But, the impact of our actions may seem imperceptible.

That can be particularly true when we think about the challenges facing the women and children of Sierra Leone and Liberia, and all across the African continent.

Today there are more than 56 million orphans living in Sub-Saharan Africa.

15 million of those children were orphaned by the death of one or both parents due to HIV/AIDS.

12 million are, themselves, living with AIDS.

In West Africa, home to Liberia and Sierra Leone, 150 of every 1000 children will die before reaching the age of 5.

To put that in perspective, consider that just down the street from where we are tonight; nearly a thousand children will arrive for school on Monday morning at Hutchinson Elementary. If the West African mortality rate of 150 was applied, five full classrooms of children would not return next year.

These facts are heartbreaking and it is daunting. Yet, the power of each of us here tonight to have tangible, lasting impact on the lives of the children of Africa, their mothers, and even their own children to come, can be equally powerful. That power is real, it is in you and it is in me.

The story of the hummingbird has been told many times by famous environmentalist, Professor Wanagari Maathai of Kenya, whom I've met on a few occasions. Professor Maathai was recognized with a Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for her efforts to organize women to combat deforestation. From the start of one woman's actions, forty million trees were planted in Kenya. And, the program has been replicated in many other countries.

The idea, inspiration and will of one person or in some cases, more than one, can begin a movement.

Only seven years ago, two graduates of Stanford, Fred Swaniker and Chris Bradford got together to pursue a dream - a dream for developing new, young leaders within Africa to help overcome the problems facing the continent. They joined with two other men, Peter Mombaur, a native of Germany and Archa Leke, born in Cameroon, and the four quickly built a powerful network of advisors and began to raise funds - to build a school.

In 2008, The African Leadership Academy opened its doors in South Africa, attracting the brightest young minds from countries across Africa.

Today, graduates of the school are recruited with full scholarships to the most prestigious universities in the world.

The idea, the inspiration and will of just... a few people.

Returning for a moment, to the children, our children, of Africa; the number one cause of child mortality rates in Africa is disease, including Malaria.

In 2005, a group of Episcopal Church members visited a remote community in eastern Zambia. They found so many people suffering and dying from malaria; and, most of what they witnessed was due to lack of understanding - about the causes of malaria and the use of netting that can prevent the spread of the disease.

The Church visitors returned with a simple idea: to teach prevention, and to provide insecticide-treated mosquito nets to communities that are beyond the reach of most health organizations.

That idea led to the formation of Nets for Life, an initiative that has drawn support from corporations around the world... including Coca-Cola.

Many of you may know that I am proud of my work with The Coca-Cola Company. In the years that I was running our business in Africa, we doubled our earnings on the continent. It was quite an achievement.

But, my greatest pride in that work was in establishing The Coca-Cola Africa Foundation. Just ten years ago, the Foundation was born out of passion - for the tremendous future of the African continent; and commitment - to its people, its communities and its health.

Through the Foundation, Coca-Cola is involved in areas central to life in Africa:

•  providing safe drinking water and sanitation
•  fighting and preventing diseases that threaten families and communities,
•  education,
•  fostering a culture of entrepreneurship.

In the early years, I used to tell our leadership team, "Shame on us, given this opportunity and the fact that we're so successful as an enterprise, if we do not give back to a continent with so many needs."

It is how I still feel today.

All of us here have such success and power within our reach. We also have the tremendous honor and obligation to help the men, women and children of Africa.

We must ask ourselves, are we like the hummingbird? Are we doing everything we can?

Certainly there is one who is.

When Frances Crowther visited the Hebron Orphanage in Liberia, she was reduced to tears. Each of us would be moved by what she saw.

But Frances moved to action. Frances and the Rescue and Empower African Women and Children organization provide a tangible, direct connection between these beautiful tables tonight and the urgent need to help those in a land we love.

Frances, I speak for all tonight in saying we thank you; we congratulate you; and, we join you. I also want to thank your Board for their involvement and support.

We must all work with passion, we must work together. We must each carry our drop of water from the stream. A thousand drops of water. A million drops of water.

We have an opportunity and obligation before us. We must do everything, we can.

I leave you now, with simple words of West African author and spiritualist, Sobonfu Somé,

"With one person, it is hard to see very far. With two people, you can see a little more. But if you have many people around you, caring about you, you can fulfill your purpose."

I thank you and wish you a wonderful evening.