I think that most of us would say that ubuntu basically speaks about what it means to be human.

We are each made for goodness, love and compassion. Our lives are transformed as much as the world is when we live with these truths.

Look at Nelson Mandela. Why did people want to follow him? He's a lousy speaker. If he hadn't got all the other things, you wouldn't spend time listening to him. But people actually don't listen to what he's saying, in a way. They are listening to him because he has communicated that he is ready to put his life on the line.

The truth of who we are is that we are because we belong.

I'm not an optimist. I'm a prisoner of hope.

We must be ready to learn from one another, not claiming that we alone possess all truth and that somehow we have a corner on God.

I have seen firsthand how injustice gets overlooked when the victims are powerless or vulnerable, when they have no one to speak up for them and no means of representing themselves to a higher authority. Animals are in precisely that position. Unless we are mindful of their interests and speak out loudly on their behalf, abuse and cruelty go unchallenged.