Page 17 - DIVA_3_2009
P. 17
Interview with Steve Killelea:
Philanthropist and
founder of the Global Peace Index
Steve Killelea is a suc- next wet pei'iod. Quite often
cessful Australian busi- after ninety days the fainiiie is
nessman, a former avid over. To keep somebody alive
sufer. Today, he has beco- for ninety days at 40 US cents
me one of Australia's most per day represents very little
important philanthropist. :;J!, money.
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He is an inventor and a ..,..{0, 'a }, .. I
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genuine man of peace Q: How do you manage to
involved in many different .;:;.::2=>k'c"'=:' keep the costs down? Do
projects. We had the chan- Wa::m {aNi s m , {J,:.i: - _ you have staff on the
ff 0aiJll #.'i W s
I !(f!!;
ce to meet him in New :r4 ;.fl ai J I a'!: l ':! smi ground or do you use
ff
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York where he was pre- I agkid. P I i =.S NGOs?
%'l l{ W Il )tii gami
senting one of his most 'l J I M i 9 J W
"i W i ;l :j mw
recent projects, "Soldiers B u Mmm !;7.=" We are operational iii eleven
of Peace", a documentaiy W M 8'f"'-)i& ' countries witli twenty to tl
M \W' sy _
film about the importance :" & fflb projects ninning at the saine
m k
of peace. M a,;$/i'!tilt- tiine. Tlie average cost of tlie
&)1 projects is between
=,,Zil
Mr Killelea is also the man ),i' US$100,000 to US$300,000
behind the Global Peace per anmun.
j "t
Index, an index that mea-
sures the level of peace in We paitner witli organizations
countries worldwide. "l (liat already have infrash'ucture
wanted to show," he says, on tlie groruid. We find projects
did was in really far-flung pla- piiig world, 1% of the popula-
"that peace is more than that are not funded or organiza-
ces. The best surfing beaches tion is bliiid and 40% to 50% of
simply the absence of tions to whom we can extend
are not near cities, but rather in that is due to cataracts. Some of
war." So now we leave the funding to get thiiigs done. That
remote locations such as isola- these people have been blind
floor to this committed really works well because we
ted islands inthe Pacific. hi this for decades and with a cataract
philanthropist. like to nu'i projects for a maxi-
way, I obtained a lot of first- operation tl'iey get tlieir eye-
mun pei'iod of three to five
hand experience of poverty. sight back. What a wondeiful
Q: You were a sufer, then years. Then move on to some-
giff %
an inventor and a very thiiig else. We always look at
When I started in business, I
successful businessman. the sustainability aspect of tlie
eventually reached a point Q: Where do you carry out
Today you are a philan- prograinine.
where I had more money than I the cataract operations?
thropist. What made you
could possible use. At that
enter this field? Q: Do you think that your
point, I began tl'iinking: how We are operational in Tanzania
programmes are more
can I use this money wisely to and in Rwanda.
Iwentinto philankopy fortwo sustainable than other
help others?
reasons. The first comes from development projects?
Q: What other kinds of
business and the second :a'om
Based on these two expei'ien- projects are you involved
surfing. I would generally say "yes",
ces, I staited to focus 011 deve- in apart from clean water
becarise most liave a sustainabi-
lopment aid. I give money and cataracts?
The three companies I have lity element built into theiri.
exclusively to development aid.
established are global busines-
I give very little money inside Cild and matei'nal health care,
ses. Tbis means that, over the Let us 100k at providing water
Australia, because this country food su'vival projects on the
last forty years, I have been tra- or wells in a coininunity. Pait of
is i'ich and such money does not border of Congo and Tanzania,
vellingtheworld. Thecompany wliat we do is to set up a water
go veiy far, whereas, in the housing projects iii Cambodia,
I'm the chairman of and foun- coininittee. We monitor the
developing world, a little emergency relief in Ziinbabwe,
ded twenty years ago, water coininittee over the life of
money goes a long way. clean water projects in Kenya
hitegratedResearch-has reve- tl'ie project. By the tiine you get
aiid many more.
nues frommore than fifty coun- For exainple, I am involved iii a to the end of the project, the
tries. Forty years of tavelling water coininittee is self-sustai-
lot of clean water projects. It Fainine relief is somethiiig else
has made me conscious of ning-they know what they
costs US$20 a head to give we liave been involved in. For
being a global citizen more so need to do to keep the water
people clean water, at the same 40 US cents a day yori can keep
than being anAustralian. Thus, Ilulllillg.
tiine reducing the death-rate for somebody alive. hi many situa-
I identify myselfas being a citi-
children under 5 by approxiina- tions, fainiiies last for aborit
zen of humanity. Siinilarly, for a food secui'ity
tely 25%. Sinfflarly, cataract iiinety days. Fainiiie offen hap-
project, it is all about training
operations cost about US$40 pens at the end of the diy sea-
Secondly, a lot of the sufiiig r people ui tlie tight agi'icriltiiral
dollars a liead. hi tlie develo- sons before evolviiig iiito the
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