At the time his statement caused a stir, but his recent interview with popular journalist and talk show host, Charlie Rose, explain it all. Gate wasn’t always the philanthropist that he is today. Matter of fact, it was in the process of taking computers to Africa he had a change of heart.
He thought it irrational to take computers to people who
were ill and impoverished when he saw their living conditions. Bill explained why in his one on one time with Charlie Rose.
He said, “Well, the idea that a computer was relevant to the problems they were dealing with, where getting enough food, having decent health, getting any electricity, a reasonable place to live, it was pretty clear to me that, hey, I love this computer, and I thought it was neat and kids should have access, but they had to rig up a special generator so I could do this one demo. And they borrowed this generator. It wasn’t going to be there when I left. So the idea that there was a hierarchy of needs … While still believing in digital empowerment, that was not at the top of the list. That was pretty eye opening for me.”
While this was an eye opener for Bill, the bigger moment came when he visited a hospital in Africa that treated people with tuberculosis. Bill’s wife, Melinda Gates gave Charlie her account of the story:
“We often call each other when we are the road, almost every day. But it was a different call. Bill was really quite choked up on the phone … Because he’d seen first-hand in a TB clinic hospital how awful it is to have that disease … He literally said to me, ‘It’s a death sentence. To go into that hospital is a death sentence.”
That moment pretty much marked a turnaround for Gates. He made a decision not only to give money to that particular hospital, but to alleviate the poor living conditions of people as well. From that single encounter, Gates became a man on a mission to change the lives of millions.
For 15 years, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation have recorded quite a number of successful life changing projects. In 2010, the Serum Institute of India got funding from the Gates Foundation to develop MenAfriVac, the first meningitis vaccine to be pre-qualified by the World Health Organisation, to be used at temperatures of up to 40C for up to four days.
Gates Foundation has partnered with Coca-Cola to take health services to the most remote places in Africa. His foundation also funded the development of disposable-syringe jet injector for needle-free immunisation to prevent cross-contamination and injuries to medical staff.
Clearly a man on a philanthropic mission, there’s no stopping Bill Gates in his quest to change lives.
By Hadassah Egbedi
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