From 12th to 14th August this year, Kenya's Asian Foundation organised Stawisha Maisha - Support Lives - the first exhibition of its kind dedicated to philanthropy, an activity in which the South Asian community has always been actively engaged.I agreed to moderate a panel discussion about the merits and demerits of the philanthropic agenda. I was also primed to narrate a 20 minute documentary film on South Asian philanthropy. I attended the opening of the exhibition at the Visa Oshwal Centre in Westlands. The tall and dignified David Maraga, newly named Chief Justice and President of the Supreme Court, was the guest of honour.Given my forthcoming concerns, these words stood out, in particular, from his key note speech: 'Why is our society so sick, so delinquent and so poor? The fact that well over 40% live below the poverty line, 54 years since independence, in my view is a serious indictment against the entire country and an issue we must all address.'Before being entertained by young singers and dancers, the CJ was then taken on a grand tour of the more than 45 exhibits involving almost all the South Asian communities in Kenya.The panel discussion was on the evening of Day Two. It was preceded by the documentary film. The seven panellists included: Asian Foundation chairman Dr Chandu Sheth; Dr Manu Chandaria, captain of Kenyan industry; Siddarth 'Sid' Charterjee, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative; Janet Mawiyoo, Executive Director of the Kenya Community Development Fund; Senior Counsel Pheroze Nowrojee; Tiffany Chen Nyaggah, founding Executive Director at the non-profit organisation Dignitas; and Vickie Winkler who had moved on from having been Founder President of HEART - the Health Education Africa Resource Team - which had established a dozen or so community-based organisations committed to the socio-economic empowerment of women.So my plan for myself in this instance, is neither to give a blow by blow account of what was said and done, nor to highlight some exhibits as being better than others, nor to suggest that some South Asian communities seemed more philanthropic than others, nor to criticise certain initiatives, nor to make suggestions for improvement. I would much rather share some of the thoughts which I had after this experience.Read Sibi-Okumu's full thoughts on awaazmagazine.com→