We want to take a moment to share our thoughts on the recent executive order barring citizens and refugees from certain countries from entering the United States.
Here at the Flame Tree Initiative, we believe in certain core values that dictate our interactions with our friends, our neighbors, and every individual we work with both in the US and abroad. Those values include a belief in the basic human rights of all people and a commitment to fighting discrimination in all aspects of our organization. We cannot and will not stand for an order that is so clearly incompatible with the interests of both U.S. citizens and our friends abroad.
In addition to being unethical and counterproductive, this ban is contradictory to our mission to rally innovation, vision, and strong leadership around Malawi’s business community. We have partners from across the globe who represent many different religions, races, ethnicities, cultures, genders, sexual orientations, socio-economic classes, mental health conditions, and abilities and each one offers something integral to our programming and to our vision of generating sustainable social impact.
Our work in Malawi is inextricably bound with the rest of the world. We are grateful for our differences because they generate the kind of creativity and diversity of thought that are required to solve this generation’s most pressing challenges.
The Flame Tree Initiative welcomes applicants, partners, and colleagues from all backgrounds and we remain committed to uniting entrepreneurs, mentors, and supporters from across the globe in the pursuit of building a more equitable world for all.
