Ejaz Bhalloo is an outspoken student who lectures on Religion, Politics and Humanity.
His message was first spread within his religious community in Dar es salaam, Tanzania. He soon realised that people appreciated his share of beliefs, thus he embarked on spreading his knowledge to people across East Africa.
For the past year Ejaz has travelled as far as the Middle East to give lectures and to share his vision with others.
Ejaz has held a number of events where big name entrepreneurs, public speakers, authors and celebrities were present, all in support of his drive and passion to spread positivity and love. He managed to catch the attention Richard Mulvey, Anthony Luvanda and Jane Goodall.
As an author, Ejaz has published 3 books, the latest one being Oh World Let Us Unite. He has been able to achieve all this whilst completing his high school education at the Aga Khan Mzizima Secondary School.
1. Where are you from? What role has your childhood played in your success to date?
I was born in Dar es salaam, Tanzania and pretty much have lived here all my life. From an early age, I loved speaking and whenever I came back home from mosque, I would wrap my mother’s scarf on my head as a turban and act as if I were a speaker.
Moreover, my family has always emphasised on ‘giving’. Therefore, there were times where I would share my food with others and have nothing to myself. My uncle Mustafa Panju was a living example on how one should share with others and never get tired of giving. All of this pushed me to explore the world of public speaking.
2. What exactly inspired you to become a social activist and an author ?
As a teenager I began delivering small lectures and speeches, as I grew into the world of speaking I realised how to important it is to read books. Thus I began reading books on topics that I was most passionate about: Religion, politics, fiction, humanitarian. The best way to deliver a message to a larger audience is through a book. Eventually I was able to publish my first book ‘Serving Humanity’.
In terms of social activism, I’ve always loved serving people whether it is for my diploma program or my religious duties. Although I did that for a long period of time, I felt like I wasn’t doing enough, therefore I decided to join the Lions Club International District 411b, Lifting Lives TZ and United We Serve. Soon I started organizing events and trips to the orphanage.
3. Why do you think it is important in the modern day to preach about unity and positivity?
Preaching should be done in a way that that everyone’s ethics, values, perspectives and religions are respected. In modern day we face many problems that force separation and hatred such as xenophobia, sexism and prejudice.
I stated in my Tedx Talk that I do not believe in ‘tolerance’ rather I believe in implementing pluralism. This is where everyone can accept one another for who they are. In modern day, this is the mind-set that people lack.
4. Have you ever been discouraged from doing what you’re doing or faced any criticism?
Yes, of course. Anyone who does anything in life will be targeted. In the past I would always worry about my critics and that would affect my speech. However I tried focusing on the positivity and recognized the people who loved me for what I did. In actual essence, I was always encouraged by parents, family, friends and society to continue with my work no matter what obstacle I encountered.
5. What do you plan to do in the future? What do you have to say for the East African youth?
To begin with, I really want to start my own NGO. I believe that East Africa has a lot of young talented individuals, all we need is to work together towards the progression of our nations. We as the future of East Africa need to join hands to solve certain problems that we have been facing for a very long time in relation to eradicating hunger, tackling human trafficking, racial segregation and improving the literate rates within our respective nations.
Thank you very much for your time Ejaz, and all the best for your future endeavours!
Related links:
- Ejaz on Instagram
- Ejaz delivers a talk on empowering women
- Ejaz interviews his Mustafa Panju
- Creativity, Action and Service at the IB
- Other posts tagged with “Education” on Vijana FM
