When we hear clearly, when we know clearly, then our decisions, our walk will be, you know, sure and it won't be hesitant, right? And we will be people of faith because faith comes by hearing the word of God, right? So whatever the word he quickens to our heart, faith comes by that. And we have the privilege of hearing the now word of God, the rena of God. So that produces faith in us. And also the rena word of God is also the weapon, the sword of the spirit. So it's very important that we hear clearly and also whenever we feel that, okay, Lord, I'm not able to hear clearly, you know, in the spirit seems to be some things that are blocking some things that are creating confusion. It's best to just seek Him and say, Lord, what is it? You know, what is it that's a thing? Is it something that's that I'm doing? Is it some habit? Is it some my attitude? And just seek Him and say, God, you know, I just want it removed out of my life. I want that.  So that's something that we can pursue to pursue the voice of God to pursue hearing Him. You know, that's because that's our privilege, right? Okay. Okay, let's turn, let's turn to Corinthians and what we've been studying so far. Okay. So we looked, we were studying last class, we looked at chapter seven, right? And chapter seven, we didn't finish chapter seven. I think we went up to verse 20, verse 23, I think, right? Or verse 24. Okay. So verse 24. So interesting, Paul writing about, writing to the Corinthian church very specifically about marriage, about, you know, sexual relationship within marriage. And then very clearly, you know, he's laying down certain instructions. If a person is married already, and then they come to the Lord, right? So the situation is like people, they don't know the Lord. Now they get married, they become believers. And one of them, like one of them becomes a believer, the other person is still not a believer. And they, and then, you know, challenges that arise out of that. So he addresses that.   Continue to live together. But then if the, if that person wants to leave and go, then, like, you don't have a choice, right? So let that person go. But you stay, you know, you do your best to stay in that, in the relationship and so on. So, and, and then he talks about, I think we looked at verses 17 to 24, right? Saying, you know, if you are called, like when you are called, you know, the remain in that, in that, what is the word he uses? Remain in that calling is what he, what he says. But the context is marriage and or, you know, social status and all that, right? He's saying verse 20, right? Chapter seven and verse 20, let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called. And of course, he's talking about being married, unmarried and so on. So the thing is, if you are married, then, you know, don't say, you know, I wish I, you know, I was not married, then I would serve the Lord better. Or if you're not married, just, you know, don't keep complaining saying, you know, I wish I was married, then I could serve the Lord better or I could be a better Christian, you know, in that way. So don't worry about that, right? Serve the Lord in whatever way you are.  So that's how he starts, finishes that thought in verse 24. Let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called. So that's the context of that, right? Of that verse and these verses, say, like verse 24 and also verse 20. Now let's look at verse 25 onwards. Okay, let me just read a... As one whom the Lord in His mercy has made trustworthy, I suppose, therefore, that this is good because of the present distress, that it is good for a man to remain as he is. Are you bound to a wife? Do not seek to be lost. Are you lost from a wife? Do not seek a wife. But even if you do marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she is not sinned. Nevertheless, such will have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you. But this, I say, brethren, the time is short so that from now on, even those who have wives should be as though they had none and those who weep as though they did not weep, those who rejoice as though they did not rejoice, those who buy as though they did not possess and those who use this world as not misusing it for the form of this world is passing away. But I want you to be without care. He who is married cares for the things, unmarried cares for the things of the Lord and how he may please the Lord, but he who is married cares about the things of the world, how he may please his wife and so on. Like verse 34, there is a difference between a wife and a virgin. The unmarried woman cares about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy both in body and in spirit, but she who is married cares about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. But this I say for your own profit, not that I may put a leash on you, but for what is proper that you may serve the Lord without distraction. Verse 35. So this is what he says. Now he starts by saying now concerning virgin. So people who are not married, the word used there, Parthenos, it means people who are yet to get married, people who are of marriageable age, people who are of marriageable age, people who have not had a physical relationship in marriage. So it could be a woman, it could be of either gender. So he's speaking to unmarried people right now and he's giving his recommendation. Notice how what he says, he says, I have no commandment, but I give judgment. So looking at what is good, what is best, what is not good, I'm giving a judgment. So judgment is when you decide, when you pronounce a decision based on what you have heard. As a judge, you'd hear both sides of the story, you'll hear the good, you'll hear the bad and then you give a decision. So that is what judgment is. So he's saying as one who is whom the Lord has made in His mercy, He had made me trustworthy. So as one, as such a person, I give judgment. So he's saying it's not a commandment, but I'm giving judgment. So this also we can, it is for us to consider with a lot of weightage. Because it comes from a man who was used by the Lord. It comes from a person who was used by the Lord in powerful ways and was trusted by the Lord. And that's what he says, made trustworthy in His mercy. So I'm giving this judgment. But the wonderful thing is that he makes a difference between a commandment of the Lord and a practical wisdom which comes from him. From all those years of ministry and having been trusted by the Lord. So this is what he says. I suppose this is good because of the present distress. So he's talking about the present condition, probably the persecution of the church and troubles and everything that the believers, the Christians were facing at those times, the church was facing. So he's saying it is good if you're already married, then don't seek to be separated. But if you're not married, then you can choose to remain as you are, is what he's saying. And it's not a sin. And even if a person who's of marriageable age marries, then she has not sinned. The lady has not sinned. So this is what he says, verse 26. Nevertheless, he says, such will have trouble in the flesh, but I would spare you. What is this trouble in the flesh? So does that mean that something will happen to me physically just because I get married? What is he talking about? If you remember, he talks about this thing about destruction of the flesh. And where did he talk about it? He talked about it in chapter 5. He's talked about that person who was sexually immoral and he was part of the phallus way, part of the church. And then he says, I pronounce judgment and I hand them over to Satan for the destruction of the flesh. You remember that. And what was that act of handing over? It was like asking him not to be part of the phallus. Because he was continuing in sin. He was not listening, obviously, to whatever correction. He was continuing to have that lifestyle. And so he passes, pronounces that kind of a judgment. Now, the same usage here, he's saying you will have trouble in the flesh. So flesh, that word of course, it refers to a body, physical body, physical flesh. It's made up of flesh and bones or flesh. The Greek word sarks refers to that. It also refers to a bodily appetite. And it generally refers to human beings also. Because the Lord says, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. So what does it mean that on all people? So it refers to people also. And also it could refer to the carnal desires, the fleshly appetites, the sinful appetites of the body. So it has all these meanings. So saying you will have trouble in the flesh. So he's saying you will have responsibilities. You will face pressures, the pressures of marriage, the pressures of daily life and so on. So that is what he's referring to. It's not like you will get some sickness or you will have some trouble in your body. So understanding what the context is or how he uses the word flesh. So we see that. And then he goes on to say that those who are married should be, even as if they are not married and even those who are unmarried should be as though they are remaining that way. And then also about using the world. Those who are using the world, not misusing it for the form of this world is passing away. So what he's saying is that time is short. If you're married and you have your day-to-day responsibilities, time is short. And we need to serve the Lord. Please the Lord serve him and whatever the call is, you need to pursue the call. So time is short. So don't get too engrossed or don't get caught up in the things of the world. So if you are in the world, you use the world. Of course, we use the world meaning there are things that we engage with the world with regard to money, with regard to domestic life and responsibilities. He's saying, yeah, we need to. But don't get too engrossed with the world. And it says because the form of the world, the external things, the form of the world is passing away. So let your focus, let your primary thing be about pleasing the Lord and serving him. And verse 35 says, this I say for your own profit. This I say for your edification rather. I'm saying this so that you will be benefited for your own benefit and not that I want to restrict you and put a leash on you in any way. The word that he uses there for your own benefit or for your own profit so that it will be helpful to you is what he says. And I don't want to put it. It's not to restrict you in any way. It's not to put a leash on you. And so that is the thing so that you might serve the Lord without any distraction. So this is the reason he is sharing this. So it's good advice. He's not saying that in any way he's not downplaying marriage. We know that because when we look at a lot of other scriptures, Ephesians 5, 1 Timothy 4, we see that 1 Timothy 4 is actually talking about a group of people who are giving man-made wisdom. And also he's saying forbidding a lot of things. Forbidding to marry should not marry. If you don't marry then it's greater spirituality. He's talking about those kind of people in 1 Timothy 4 and he's saying these are teachings of demons. These are not scriptural. So you know that he's not downplaying marriage. He's not in any way saying don't get married. But he's actually talking about the reality of marriage, the reality of responsibilities of marriage. And he's saying let your focus be on the Lord. And yes, there are some real life challenges that are there. And responsibilities that are there. And he's bringing that out. And then he's saying let your primary responsibility be towards the Lord. So he's just very clear about that. We need to understand that. So then from verse 36 till the end of the chapter, let's read that. This is a slightly, especially this verse 36. The context in which he says it obviously makes it slightly complex to interpret it. Let's read it. 36. But if any man thinks he is behaving improperly towards his virgin, if she is past the flower of youth and thus it must be, let him do what he wishes. He does not send let them marry. Nevertheless, he who stands steadfast in his heart, having no necessity but has power over his own will and has so determined in his heart that he will keep his virgin thus well. So then he who gives her in marriage does well. But he who does not give her in marriage does better. So verse 36 to 38, this is what he says. So what is he saying? So like certain translations of the Bible translated differently. There could be two examples or two scenarios here. One is that this person here, whom he is referring to, is a father. So is a father who has a daughter who is a virgin. And we know as in India and also during those times, biblical times, the parents and typically the father would take the responsibility of finding a person for the daughter to be married to. So that is what he is referring to. So one scenario is that maybe it's talking with the father. So he's saying let him do what he wishes, let them marry. Let him give the daughter in marriage. The other thing scenario is that maybe it's referring to a young person who is engaged to be married, who's considering marrying a woman whom he's engaged to. And he's considering that. So it could refer to that. Why? Because it says that he who stands, let's say, verse 37, he who stands steadfast in his house, having no necessity, but has power over his own will, but has so determined in his heart, does well, he will keep his virgin and so on. So it could be two scenarios. So certain translations translate it that way. And certain translations translate the second scenario. But the NIV translation gives both, like in the Bible, in the main scripture portion. It translates the first, sorry, the second scenario, I think, right? About, let me just check that. Yeah, he's talking about in the scripture portion. It's talking about the second scenario of a person who is engaged to be married. Whereas it also explains in the footnote about a father who has a virgin whom he wants to give in marriage, right? Or he's, you know, maybe making a decision not to get her married. Okay, two scenarios. So, but whatever it is, right? In either case, the fact is that verse 38, he says, so he who gives her in marriage does better. He who gives her in marriage does well, but he who does not give her in marriage also does better. So what he's saying in conclusion is that either way does not matter. Okay, so either, you know, decision is fine, right? If that is what you want, that's fine, right? If you choose to remain single, that's fine. If you choose to get married, that's fine. So he's saying either way, it's okay, right? So that is how he concludes that particular instruction, right? Verse 38. Then verse 39, a wife is bound by law as long as her husband lives. But if her husband dies, she is at liberty to be married to whom she wishes. And only in the Lord, meaning that the other person also needs to be somebody, you know, a believer, right? So this is what he says that, you know, this person is free. You can do if the husband dies or if the wife dies, you know, either way, right? The person is free to remarry, to marry again. And he says she's at liberty to be married to whomever she wishes, only in the Lord. Verse 40. But she's happier if she remains as she is according to my judgment. And I think I also have the spirit of the Lord. So he's saying that, you know, because of what he shared earlier, right? Yes, there are, you know, there are responsibilities. They have priorities.  So when it comes to serving the Lord, well, you need to take care of this as well as that, right? You need to take care of domestic responsibilities and priorities, priorities to the spouse, to the family, right? You need to take care of that as well as, you know, what the Lord is interested you in terms of ministry and so on. So we need to take care of this and that. And he's saying that she's happier if she remains as she is, as she is according to my judgment. So he says, I also think I have the spirit of God. So with that, he ends the chapter seven. Okay. Now, any questions, any questions based on what we saw, you know, this is a slightly heavier topic, right, with regard to marriage, with regard to, you know, domestic responsibilities, with regard to physical relationships in marriage and so on. So any questions that you might have or any clarifications that you might have can feel free to ask or anything that you want to add to whatever we shared just now. Any questions? Anyone? No questions? So you have clarity, you know, about chapter seven, verse 20. Let each one remain in the same calling in which he was called and also verse 24, brethren, let each one remain with God in that state in which he was called. Okay. So you understand in what context he's calling. I mean, he's mentioning about the calling and the state in which one person is called to remain in that state, to remain in that calling, right. It is in the context of marriage. It is in the context of even work or, you know, social standing, right. He's talking about slave and freed men and so on, right. So you understand that, okay. And also this verse, right, verse 36, verse 37, okay. So we need to understand that, okay. In the Greek, okay, which the King James and the new King James, you know, it just translates literally and then leaves it at that. And now it could be, it could be referring to either the father or a young man who's engaged. So, but in either case, you know, we know that this would be the application, right. If they do not married, if they are married, it's fine. If they choose to remain unmarried, that's fine, right. If the father gives in marriage, that's fine. If the father decides, okay, you know, not to, that's also fine. But of course, it's not something that is forcing, you know, when it comes to father-parent-child relationship. It's not something that the father is forcing on the child, right. We know it involves the free will of the daughter as well, right. So we know that, okay. So the important thing is also to understand verse 35, you know, that the law Paul says that it is for your benefit. I say these things, it's the benefit that I give this instruction, this wisdom. And it's not to put a leash on each, not to restrain you in any way.  It holds the dog close to the master who's taking the dog for a walk. And the dog does not have much freedom. It cannot run, it cannot, you know, go wherever it is. That's a leash, right. So you say, I'm not putting a leash on you. I'm not restricting your decision, restricting your choice, restricting your freedom in any way.  So we need to understand that also, okay, fine. So let's, if there are no questions, no other thoughts, let's move on to chapter eight, okay. Chapter eight is about idols, about eating food offered to idols, okay. So that is the topic of chapter eight, which he also addresses in chapter 10, okay. So chapter eight is one part of it. Chapter 10 is the other part of, he continues with the topic of food offered to idols and worship of idols and so on. So this is one part of it. So when we get both the chapter eight and when we study chapter 10, then we get the full picture of this whole topic of food offered to idols and what to do, what not to do, et cetera. Okay, so we are looking at one part of it. So let's read, right. Chapter eight, now concerning food offered to idols. So he starts by saying, okay, now I've talked about all this. Now concerning the things of which you wrote to me, you know, that's how he starts verse, chapter seven, verse one. Then chapter 10, sorry, chapter seven, verse 10, he says, now to the married, I command. And then verse 25 of chapter seven, he says, now concerning virgins, and he gives the instructions. And so in chapter eight, he says, now concerning things offered to idols. Okay, so that is what he's going to be talking about. So chapter eight, verse one, now concerning things offered to idols, we know that we all have knowledge, knowledge puffs up, but love edifies.  But if anyone loves God, this one is known by him. Therefore, concerning things, concerning the eating of things offered to idols. We know that an idol is nothing in the world, and there is no other God but one. Okay, so he prefaces that before he goes into this. Things offered to idol, he's actually referring to the things that are offered of food that is eating of the things that are offered to idols. Okay, so which is food, right? Food offered and maybe consecrated or in an act of worship of the idols that some food item, something that someone can eat, right? So he's talking about that, referring to that, obviously. But then he starts with saying concerning things offered to idols. So he says, we know that we all have knowledge regarding this, regarding this subject. Okay, which means that he has probably talked about it and maybe when he was there. Now because the Corinthian culture is a idol worshipping culture, right? They worshipped idols, they had these temples and obviously they were idol worshippers. Okay, so when we say idols, first of all, we know that an idol could be something that is a physical image, right? A physical, maybe like a statue or something. You can also refer to something which is in our heart, right? In the sense, something that we substitute for God. Something else that we substitute for God and maybe you consider something of more value than God in your heart. That can also be an idol, right? Maybe how you spend your time, you don't consider spending time with God as something very important. But spending time doing something else, maybe entertainment or sport, as more value than spending time with the Lord, maybe reading the Word and so on. And you're giving that more time, that becomes an idol, right? That's a substitute for God in our lives, right? So that's something that is in the heart, right? Internal. But Paul here is obviously referring to physical idol worship of images that were things, you know, statues, image, whatever, that were offered or that were worshipped as Gods, okay? So he's very clearly referring to that. And we know that the Corinthians had these temples and when we studied the thing, they were having the idol worship, okay? So what he's referring to is that saying, okay, with regard to this, you might have knowledge or you might have understanding what you should do, what you should not do, okay? Now, either the thing could be maybe you're in the temple or in the vicinity of the temple and you are offered something that has been offered to the idol, okay? Someone offers it to you to eat and that is the typical thing scenario, right? You're in the vicinity or you're in the temple for whatever reason and this happens. Or it could be something that is sold in the market and you know that, okay, it has been consecrated by an act of worship to the idol. It has been consecrated for blessings. It has been offered to the idol and after that it is sold in the market as food. So that was also done during those days in Corinth, right? So these two possibilities were there. But then they were specially marked as these were things that were offered to idols and then specially marked as that and sold in the market. So Paul is addressing that and he's saying that, okay, now maybe you knew the truth. Okay, now he's saying, you know, you have knowledge so you know the truth, okay? But what is the thing? He's saying that knowledge puffs up but love edifies, okay? So he's pointing to people who had the knowledge but who are looking down on others, meaning that putting down people and considering others as inferior who did not have this knowledge, okay? Or maybe who did not obey the truth about this particular thing. So he's saying that knowledge puffs up but love edifies. If anyone thinks he knows anything, he knows nothing yet as you ought to know. So he's saying that, hey, yes, you might have this truth and you might think that you know this thing. But then there are many other things that you don't know yet, right? And if you think, you know, I know it, I know everything, that means that you don't know yet. You know, there are so many things. So don't be proud because of knowledge. Don't become proud because of knowledge and especially regarding this matter, this matter of things offered to idols. Yes, you know the truth.  Don't consider others as inferior, okay? And he says, you know, if anyone loves God, this one is known by God. That's the better thing to love God and to be known by God. That's the right perspective, right? Whether you know the truth, you know the truth. But the fact that you love God and you are known by him, that's important, okay? So he says, love edifies. Love builds us up in the inner person. There is spiritual progress. You're built up on the inner man, you know, because of love, okay? And knowledge, when you have knowledge or not, you need to have love, okay? So, which means that when you love God, when you love God's people, then, you know, then this attitude will not be there, right? This knowledge, even though you know the truth, it will not puff you up because love would have edified you, built you up and kept you humble, okay? So, verse 4, okay? Again, he comes back. Therefore, concerning the eating of things offered to idols. We know that an idol is nothing in the world and that there is no other God but one, okay? So, even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth, as there are many gods and many lords, yet for us, there is one God, the Father, of whom are all things and we live for him. And one Lord Jesus Christ through whom are all things and through whom we live, okay? So, what is he saying here? He's saying, you know, I know that, again, coming back to this thing of concerning things, eating of things offered to idols. We know that an idol is nothing in the world, okay? So, the thing is that, okay, here's an image. Here is a, you know, here is an image, here is a carving or whatever. We know that there is, it's nothing. Why? Because there is only one God. There is only one true God and there is one Lord Jesus for whom are all things. You know, we know this is the truth. So, this is actually nothing. This idol is nothing. Okay, it's really, you don't have to fear it. You don't have to be afraid of it or, you know, you don't have to reverence it, etc. So, you think idol is nothing. Okay, so this is one part of it, right? So, in chapter 10, he will talk about the other part of it.  However, there is not in everyone that knowledge. For some, with consciousness of the idol until now, eat it as a thing, offer to an idol, and their conscience being weak is defiled. So, what is he saying? He's saying that, you know, there are some who don't have that kind of a knowledge, that kind of a confidence that when they look at the idol, you know, they don't look at it as, you know, that idol is nothing. You know, there's nothing to be feared, fear it. There's nothing to, you know, reverence it, because it's nothing.  So, but not everyone has that understanding. Not everyone has that knowledge. So, when they look at an idol, these people who do not have the understanding, who do not have that knowledge, he's talking about believers, still consider an idol as something, okay? And if there is a situation where they are eating the food that is offered to idol, then they consider it as something that is offered to the idol, you know, which means that idol is something, and that they are actually eating something that is offered to. Therefore, they are, what is happening? Their conscience is, because they are, with that, with this kind of consciousness or understanding, since they are eating, their conscience is weak and it's defile. Okay, so they are feeling guilty, they are feeling condemned. It's their consciousness. Conscience is defile. Okay, verse 8, but food does not commend us to God, nor, you know, if we, neither if we eat, are we the better, nor if we do not eat, are we the worse. So, you see, food, it does not draw us to God, it does not take us away from God. Okay, so, this food is nothing. You know, it's not going to commend us to God or take us closer to God. This idol is nothing. Okay, so, he's making it very, very clear. Now, these things that are offered to the idols, you know, just by eating it, it's just food. Now, it's not going to, you know, commend us to God or take us away from God, because the reason is that idol is nothing. Right, so that's the understanding, right? This is nothing, because there's only one true God. This idol is nothing. So, if anyone eats this thing, it's not going to affect in any way, right? So, he makes it very clear, in verse 8. For if we do eat, nor if we do eat, do not eat, are we the worse. Verse 9 gives the reason, but do where? Okay, but do where? What is he saying? Careful of what?  So, he's talking about that in verse 9, but beware, lest somehow this liberty of yours, this freedom of yours, okay, become a stumbling block to those who are weak. Now, these are weak, a weaker brother or a sister, right? A Christian who is not strong, a believer who is not mature, maybe a person who has just come to know the Lord and who still does not have clarity about these things, right? Someone who is weak. So, don't become a stumbling block, don't become a barrier, or don't become a reason for someone to fall. A stumbling block refers to that, right? A stone or something, which causes a person to stumble, trip on it and fall, okay?    They feel that food offers idol is actually an act of worship. They are made to stumble. Their faith is, you know, and their progress in spiritual life is halted or stopped because of your freedom or the decision or the choices that you make because of your freedom, okay? So, that's what he says. If anyone sees you who have knowledge worse than, or if anyone sees you who have knowledge eating in an idol's temple, okay? You can look at this believer, strong believer, maybe he's in the temple who is to share the gospel, whatever, you know? So, if anyone sees you in the temple eating food offered to idols, right, in an idol's temple, will not the conscience of him who was weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols? So, you know, now, first of all, that person is weak, that person is not strong and will he not also think it's okay to do this? But then for him, it will be like an act of worship. He still is not strong.  So, he will not the conscience of him who was weak be emboldened to eat those things offered to idols and because of your knowledge, shall the weak brother perish?  And because of your knowledge, shall the weaker brother perish for whom Christ died? Okay, verse 11. Okay, so we'll take a break and we'll come back with the same topic. Okay, we'll take a break now.


So many people have been speaking about the climate crisis, but the real question is why is it that we're still not acting at the scale and speed that is necessary? For 150 years, we've built up a world based on the assumption that we can exploit the planet for free and it translates to very dramatic impacts happening right as we speak. The climate crisis is a threat multiplier, which means it exacerbates existing inequities in our society. We need to remember we're on the same planet and this is the planet that we need to make sustainable for the whole of humanity. Making much faster progress toward all 17 sustainable development goals is the best pathway to adjust the future for all and public-private partnerships will be absolutely crucial to this transition. We know that this transition will require a fast adoption of a lot of new technologies and the question today is how to find the appropriate way to finance this technology. Younger generations are demanding a sense of purpose. They want to look at companies and say, I am investing with you all for this reason. The solutions are there. What we need is governments to regulate, to invest and we need business to act with values. History will look at us, people, politicians, corporate leaders. These times require not only solutions but speed. There is nowhere else to look than the mirror. We are the ones that need to do this. Good morning from New York. Good morning from the studio of the World Economic Forum on the occasion of the main week, the high level week of the United Nations Journal Assembly. As part of the Sustainable Development Impact Meetings of the World Economic Forum that we are convening here throughout the week with different coalitions of purpose that are working across the 17 SDGs. Today we are here for a specific discussion around how we can really accelerate partnerships and new models of cooperation in terms of helping the most vulnerable around the world in different geographies and it is in the framework of an initiative of the World Economic Forum Humanitarian and Resilience Investing which started in 2019 but is entering a new chapter also here during the week. Just to say that of course the stakes could not be higher. We know 50% of the 17 SDGs are marking week progress, 30% are stalled or even reversing and you can feel here in all the discussions this week that there is really this hunger to accelerate, to find innovation, creativity, find things that are actually working and scale them up and this is really the spirit also of this initiative since its inception but I do have to say that I think now we are entering a new chapter where this is even much more pronounced. I am joined here for this discussion with leaders from different stakeholder groups of this ecosystem exercise that we have within the initiative so I'd like to welcome them here namely Peter Maurer who is the president of the Board of the Basel Institute on Governance in Switzerland. You're also a former head of ICRC. You're also co-chairing the Humanitarian Resilience Investing Initiative of the World Economic Forum. Thank you for joining us Peter. Minister Anne Beate Tvindereim, Minister of International Development of Norway and you're also a co-chair of the initiative. Thank you so much for joining. Runa Alam, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder Development Partners International in the United Kingdom, a major private equity firm focusing on Africa. Welcome. Thank you. And last but not least Peter Benhur Nyeko, Co-Founder and Managing Director of Manduli's Energy. You're based in Uganda. I want to welcome to you. Thank you. So we'll have a discussion here. We have about 30 minutes for the discussion and so I'd like to start with you Peter if I if I can. I said we've been at this now for some years since 2019 and so it would be great if you could introduce a little bit the initiative in detail what we are trying to do how have we evolved and then I will go back to you on this specific thing we're doing here today which excites me because we're trying to really accelerate things as well. So over to you. I think in 2019 when we started with this initiative there was a general recognition that humanitarian crises were increasing that the combination and complexities of war, conflict, poverty, climate change would leave us with an important amount of humanitarian challenges and we couldn't leave these challenges just to humanitarian organizations and to humanitarian response and therefore from its inception the basic idea was to bring multiple stakeholders together and to see how we can capitalize on each one's strength and insights and how we could connect these actors in order to have bigger impact and market based impact joining the sort of eight dimension which of course was always preponderant in humanitarian crises and I think with the acceleration of problems that we have recognized this week here in New York I think at highest levels there is an increased necessity to change gear and to recognize that we can just do business and continue the way we have done business in the past and none of the actors and stakeholders humanitarian organization foundation states multilateral institution investors ventures all of us needed somehow to have a different mindset and to come together in a different way and in a different modus operandi and as you alluded to I think this is a little bit the fork in the moment event where we do believe that the call to action comes in because it signals that we have understood that we need to change gear thank you and so if I could just follow up on that so you mentioned the call to action we had a an in-depth meeting here with I think it was at least 70 people in the room where we discussed that length what we can do with this call to action so we're releasing it as we speak also to the media through other channels but if I could go to you Peter to say what the call to action actually is what we're trying to achieve with this I think three things first and foremost one I alluded to it's really about connecting actors in an ecosystem in order to create better impact for people and we are talking about basically the bottom two billion which are fragile and in difficult circumstances the second comes out of the consultations we had in the work towards the call to action and it is the recognition that today when we look at the private sector it's still focusing first and foremost on financial impact and financial impact doesn't do the trick as the market can't do the trick we need somehow a more comprehensive way of looking at impact and we need to have a common grammar on how we measure and how we assess impact and the third issue is really the recognition that at the present moment we have in all the efforts which are done already we have still insufficient transparency on what is actually achieved what is done and in order to create a market you need transparency and I think that's sort of summarizing almost two and a half years of work of consultations of recognizing from the different stakeholders that we need it still to do the plumbing the hard work to come to a common framework a common language a common understanding on how we deliver impact for people in order to change the dynamics in which we are today thank you so much peter to really lay this out so clearly and and just to announce that the call to action aims to mobilize 10 billion dollars in commercial and catalytic capital to enable 1,000 local and international businesses to scale in frontier markets by 2030 and as you said actually it is of course the beginning of the road it's not the end of the road but it is a way to be very concrete about what we can do across all these sectors across all these stakeholders to move the needle and maybe even have a reach a tipping point where where then more scale can be achieved madam minister if I could go to you next Norway is such an important country overall when it comes to humanitarian assistance when it comes to development aid so we've done a little bit of mapping with peter of the initiative and and so also in this spirit of mapping I would just if you could just at the beginning maybe mention what are the key pillars of the work of Norway in this space overall but then why are you part of this specific initiative and why do you think it's so important to have these partnerships and innovate to create more resilience in these fragile communities you know the world is not on track to reach the sggs and we need to think out of the box as minister of international development I cannot this we have to stop doing business as usual and the big bus in the development community now is how to bring private capital on board for the big challenges and that is extremely important and there are many innovative mechanisms of de-risking guarantee schemes etc to get private capital on board but now we are talking about the frontier markets you know the humanitarian settings the really tricky challenging environments but if we are serious about leaving no one behind we need to think out of the box in these environments as well and here obviously ODA official development assistance will still play a major role but we need private initiative and private thinking into these settings because you have private companies have a different mindset like you said Peter the technologies the know house and let me mention one other big challenge that we are really you know dealing with and which is which is we were trying to wrap our minds around in in our in our work and that is the protracted crisis we know that humanitarian crisis are lasting for longer and longer and we have to think resilience and how to build sort of market based solutions from day one when we invest in these in these settings you know whenever I put Mandi on the table for humanitarian investments I'm investing in a frontier market but I need private business on board to do that in the right way so that it becomes resilient and that we start thinking long term rebuilding from day one I think that link also I think we've we've since we've been in touch with Peter quite a lot on this this link between the humanitarian field and the development field I think it's crucial if we were to achieve true resilience in these communities could I ask I here actually this week I had a conversation with an unnamed development finance entity and so we had a discussion about how do you for example de-risk investments in these communities and obviously there is there is a role for countries like yours there is a role for multinational actors but I think that person told me about the core of it is really the national governments and then the national institutions that they have in place to actually do this kind of work do are you because I'm sure you're partnering with these governments in your work do you see new approaches emerging and things we should know about in that sense I think I feel that there is a lot of traction from governments and from private sector but we need to talk to each other and sort of unlock the potential there and what we do from the Norwegian side and we have been doing for some years is that we through one of our directorates Innovation Norway are working with the humanitarian sector and the business the business segment to create sort of a common ground for how we can do this and you know in as a minister I have tools in my toolbox for de-risking for setting the scene so that it can be easier for private businesses to come on board in these these markets but sometimes we make it a little bit too difficult for each other so my appeal is you know let's work together don't be shy you know what do you need from public sector from governments to make it easier for you to take that risk and go into these markets and and we are seeing results on the ground but there is a huge potential out there and could you mention maybe some examples in some markets that that you are let's say very proud of in terms of some innovations that Norway has been able to put in place well we have one heartwarming example from Somalia for example where we threw a de-risking mechanism with the World Bank was able to get a Norwegian company to set up solar panels close to the Alshabab frontier in Baidoa in in in Somalia obviously a very very challenging market nonetheless it is possible if we work together no thank you so much Peter if I could go to you next the other Peter mentioned we have a whole ecosystem of entities or players that we're trying to put together to really think through this together connect the dots so you are an entrepreneur in the energy field based in Uganda and you operate in markets that are that are um fragile that were really the entrepreneurial spirit is really is really needed um and I was sitting next to you in the other discussion that we had and you sounded very upbeat and and you said that you see so many opportunities there in your work um in the environment that that you work so I would love if you could just share a little bit about your company and and yourself and then maybe the things that make you so upbeat and opportunity driven in your work thank you so much thank you so I'd like to begin by saying thank you to innovation Norway we're one of those examples we co-invested alongside innovation Norway in a project the other party on the on the non-profit side was actually UN FAO and you know during the pandemic we're able to de-risk our deployment of our technology and our solutions to live a clean cooking solutions to over 7500 households in refugee communities in Uganda so it is working my my self personally I'm from Uganda born in Uganda I was a refugee for 20 years I've lived in the camp environment but I've also kind of gone through and become an aerospace engineer on the other side and then now back in Uganda working with mandu list energy trying to figure out how to turn anything that's wasted wasted opportunity wasted products wasted ideas into what is more valuable and so it comes down to an approach really and what makes us so excited is you know um if you look at a conflict area or you know a challenging area like a refugee ecosystem there's always waste people eat and when they are cooked there's a waste from the cooking there when they grow crops there's a waste from the crops but the point is what we see as waste can be converted into what's useful not just for that community but also for the greater marketplace we we's electricity is one thing that can be generated from the residues of rural farmers but can be supplied to you know large industries um cooking waste from the kind of stove we work together on can produce a biochar that can be used as fertilizer or a coal replacement for cement plants so you find a source suddenly you have non-traditional players working together you know you've got a refugee household that's now supplying you know Fortune 500 company indirectly through their waste becoming an input you go into the hydrogen sector for example and you find that you can produce green hydrogen from agricultural waste so suddenly someone in a settlement or in a camp setting can have the dignity of knowing I am part of this leapfrog you know just by simply cooking a meal three times a day for my kids so that's what makes me so positive because I see that it has been done there's willingness to continue doing the right thing and what we see as the death of the scorching earth you know in in some of these these areas even from those ashes you know the little embers of inspiration and from that we're able to light fires of hope and and move brightly forward thank you so much and really congratulations on the work that you're doing it's really impressive can I because we are of course trying to scale this we're trying to learn from each other and part of that is also Franco exchange of opinions and so I think if we were to have systemic change and this step change we would need to have everyone kind of stepping up so are there things that are not working or things that could be done are there things you would ask either of the stakeholders that are here in the room but we don't have everyone here we don't have we don't have some of the DFIs some other other you know the the foundations are not here etc so it's a full ecosystem of players and so if we were to have this frank exchange what would be the things we should work on so that efforts of yourself or others could be scaled I thank you I would say the first thing to work on is you know paradigm shift you know and paradigm shift from looking at the base of the pyramid as an opportunity to lift up the plateau that's that's the first thing you know and when the plateau is lifted up everyone wins and then secondly to look at the people the base of the pyramid as an opportunity to realize some partnerships some synergies some some some ideas mapping out a refugee community and figuring out where are the ideas there you know where is the talent um you know and and and and where are the opportunities to strengthen the interventions being planned for that then we look at the systems we may have and systems that maybe were designed for a very difficult ecosystem but as we have a lot more hope and a lot more you know willingness to move forward could some of these systems be made more able to work alongside different partnerships so that the private sector can work in tandem with the public sector in tandem with the humanitarian sector so it's just it's I I'm praying for a paradigm shift really and I'm praying for innovation first and I'm praying for you know a belief that it is possible and that you know positivity can realize results yes thank you because in our work we also have a work stream on organizational readiness and there we focus a lot on how do we equip the different organizations in the ecosystem to maybe just first talk to each other better and have the skills that are complementary so that they can work together better again in in the markets that you work do you see enough of at least dialogue or cooperation among the different players between also I don't want to create a dichotomy between the humanitarian development but among the actors or I I see a lot of work which is going on yeah and and I applaud that yeah um and and there's incredible work that has been done especially if you look at you know um linking up smaller initiatives to more global opportunities the opportunity I see is opportunities to look for opportunities to do things the other way as well to look at smaller solutions that might support the more global ecosystem to make it a more interesting multifaceted movement of ideas movement of wasteful movements of potentials to have success rethinking the idea of risk rethinking the idea of opportunity and rethinking the idea of viability and you know and and having a more open conversation around that so I think we've started I think we've done an amazing job but I think yes we can you know it's um we can't give up you know we've all of us together the whole ecosystem have been at this for you know decades and decades but I'll say one thing I was in a camp as a refugee in the 80s I see where things are today I see the conversation we had earlier kids growing up today in these camps will have even better situations than I've had in life so I see hope and all I need to say is we should not fear anything we should not fear thinking massively big we did put humans on the moon so we can definitely think beyond the horizon thank you so much um Runa if I could go to you I was surfing your website earlier this morning so it's an impressive company you've built great track record of investing in companies in Africa so I think you're really really well positioned to to help us understand kind of how do we get more capital in let's say in this case it would be in in in Africa there is of course this other thing which we also discussed this perceived risk someone said that there is a lot of perceived risk around some some markets either it was I think a general comment and so obviously there is also a lot that maybe can be done as part of these efforts now around how development institutions either multilateral ones or regional ones or national ones are actually helping with the rating of certain markets etc but since you've been at it for a while are you actually seeing a step change in interest of both catalytic and commercial capital and let's say in this case it would be the market of Africa markets of Africa I have to say I'm seeing some changes but not a catalytic shift so let's talk about the perceived risk there is when as soon as you start getting away from Africa there's a perception of tremendous amount of risk it's not the whole market it's far away there aren't enough stories being told about successes but the reality is that there's a tremendous opportunity to invest in these fragile regions Africa and others also for Africa itself just a few thoughts by 2050 one out of every four humans in the world and some say one out of every three will be African by the same time 10 out of the 25 largest cities in the world will be in Africa we know that as people are created as they move to urban areas there's a consumer class so Peter talked about the shift in paradigms so to get around the perception you have to think about a shift of paradigm of thinking about some of these vulnerable populations but also some of the wealthier populations in these regions not as people that just need help but as consumers and what's interesting in in Africa but all over the world is that there's digitization so with digitization it actually becomes easier for companies to reach the lower income peoples with goods and services that they absolutely buy and they pay for so it's less it's less expensive so more efficient and so actually that paradigm shift can help companies increase revenues and also efficiency to increase the cash flow of the companies this is 100% in what companies think about what private sector companies think about so a great opportunity to invest and with investment comes the once we get companies to invest they understand the market and the markets can be different but actually equal opportunity once they understand the market and their success there's no going back so definitely a perception of risk but also great opportunities in these markets thank you I've always been very interested in how how capital reaches the micro entrepreneurs I'm a little more familiar let's say with the Middle East I spent a lot of time working there and quite familiar for example with some of the refugee populations in in in Jordan and and so there is a lot of micro enterprise a lot of micro entrepreneurship and so I had I think it's public that for example the African Development Bank they have now special landing vehicles I don't know what the term they are using by its landing vehicles to really lend to younger people that are micro entrepreneurs but is it enough how do we if if if let's say there are bigger investment entities that would want to consider then entering these markets and they really want to then have and drive step change in among let's say refugee populations and they know that most of it is really at the micro level do we have mechanisms to do that I don't know if for example within your firm you are actually reaching also these entrepreneurs at the micro level yeah so there's really two ways of doing that there's many ways but two main ways one is that in Africa our venture capital industry has grown quite a bit that comes from a history of undersea cables being laid the regions where they first reached Africa whether it's Nairobi or Lagos or other parts of Africa there is a ecosystem that's been built up of technical people of engineers and of entrepreneurs and many and these are young people many of those you know areas are really spawning founders and companies and there's an organized way of funding them we're starting to do that ourselves so this is classic venture capital but of course adapted to Africa and so funds putting in money helping the founders with hands-on help also and then growing them over time we also have unicorns already in Africa which demonstrates that others should be coming in and in fact in Africa we have people investors from the Silicon Valley and other places who have come in in the last five years to invest one of our own companies M&T Halon went from a few years to handwriting loans to a unicorn so that demonstration effect is making that ecosystem work then you have the other part which is not maybe digitized or tech companies but still micro entrepreneurs and there I think what we've been talking about in the last session and here is very important we have to build an ecosystem there is a role for everyone to play for governments to essentially you know provide the ability of either first loss capital or even funding into funds that actually invest in them or even even loans you know the debt part for NGOs and also other people like that to go from classic development work but also into investing to creating small funds with many of the classic humanitarian organizations they're actually doing and we who are in the industry are helping them by sitting on boards and doing various things so transitioning them to think about a market-based system and they are very well placed to invest in these areas because they are local and they're working with micro entrepreneurs whether they're in refugee camps or they are in vulnerable communities and really giving both the capital and the know-how for that to develop and it also means that in you know local communities people are creating funds to get capital from places like Norway and other places and having the expertise then to invest and support these entrepreneurs on their journey maybe just one last thing to follow up is so there is now a great momentum around climate finance for developing nations and so and I'm a layperson so I will ask a very simple question how do we how do we make sure that this is such a critical situation now with of course there is pressures on fiscal situations of countries etc so that also plays a role so there is obviously a very complex situation globally and then we have this big focus on climate finance which is really really important and now with our call here how do we find maybe conversions or synergies how do how do you see that so again two parts which is first I think those of us who invest have to think about climate change and we have to incorporate it in everything we do at DPI we've done that for several years now we have several impact buckets one of which is climate change so we're not a renewable fund but we can contribute in our own way and how do we do that we at the sourcing of companies and during due diligence we develop a plan how to reduce the footprint the carbon footprint of our company and we invest in some of the largest companies in Africa so it does have some impact as well as how do we start their journey of using renewables within their companies we do an action plan and then over the holding period of our investment we make sure we do exactly that using the greenhouse gas scopes one two three as well as guidance from several dfis so doing that we essentially put in the DNA of a company even after we exit that they keep going on this journey and that is very very important to do important to measure important to report important to become essentially a entity that others look to so if we do it maybe others will do it the other part is not to ignore that these parts of the world actually need capital for straight up climate change funds and climate change companies there is now the ecosystem there with experienced fund managers but also entrepreneurs who work in clean tech who have ideas and who are setting up companies in the circular economy or consumer facing solar companies so it's all there we need to get more capital in there and again the best thing we in the private sector can do is work in these areas with this lens but give returns without that you don't attract other private capital so we have the dual purpose of yes we have to look at these areas we have to invest in these areas and we have to figure out ways that it gives returns that brings in more capital and it's real sustainability if our companies are successful and last outlast us by 20 30 years it creates that real impact sustainable impact thank you so much we're about five to ten minutes left peter if i could go back to you i think we can we also have a specific example that we discuss around northern kenya maybe you could mention that and then what would be kind of the next steps for us also in the initiative if you could share listening carefully to what my colleagues just said i think we we have still two shape deals which work at larger scale and runa you just mentioned now we have impact we have impact and return and we need to combine impact and return on many of those issues because that's the only sustainable way in which we can grow the cake uh if we have both together we all know that there are still insufficient governments which would be risk and guarantee for investments and then speaking about northern kenya we have just heard that there is still a lot of political work to do to set the legal infrastructure in place so that market-based solutions can grow if you want to make refugees work and have income and have a self-sustaining and dignified life you need to change the framework under which you operate you can't camp uh and incarcerate refugee populations you have to liberate those energies and give them the possibility to work and so that's as we all know politically complicated but in the long term immensely important and i think what we never should forget and i think it's impressive when we look at just one example which for me stands with all the experiences i have made at icrc in visiting fragile context none of these populations want to be dependent on it none want to be decapacitated from participating in the market they are by nature much more entrepreneurial than many are in the northern hemisphere where we earn our money often through bureaucratic lives in institutions and and i think we have to recognize that what has changed is the reality in the global south and that's what forces us very frankly to change our whole concept on how we deal with some of the important challenges we have there is local business there is local investment but insufficiently supported by also outside actors and here we can do more thank you peter and also thank you for your leadership of the initiative um um madam minister if if i could go to you for your kind of final reflection um because we have the call to action so we said we would also kind of look to see how each of us could actually implement it so i i don't know if there are ways and plans that that you have that you could share and then if you don't mind me asking we talked a lot about convergence among different ecosystem players etc but then of course we also see globally a lot of fragmentation so if you just look at development overall if we just take development we do see of course that we have different powers if you will not not not not not not coordinating to say the least in terms of how things are done and it could have other than of course effects in terms of multilateral institutions and how effective they are so i would i would open it up to you for any final reflections but i am curious you as the minister of international development of a major country how do you see this overall polarization of the world affecting the ability of of well you know well intentioned entities to actually help figure this out that's a big question and that's what keeps me up at night because we are in this together we have we are now at Anga the UN discussing we are meeting at COP28 in a few weeks and we really need to work together get all hands on deck and start with ourselves as well in terms of the fragmentation and getting back to this topic in terms of investments in humanitarian settings there is a lot of fragmentation out there and and that is you know the responsibility of me as a donor but everyone to really you know we have to we have to clean up this mess and then i really liked what you said peter about this is you know this is about dignity i think many people out there still have this idea of humanitarian investments as being some sort of charity and of course i mean a part of humanitarian effort is about saving lives it's short terms but like i said at the start of this conversation we see that these settings are lasting longer and longer and then we have to think out of the box and whenever i visit you know refugee camps or people living in fragile settings i see businessmen and business women and entrepreneurs and consumers so we just have to get these markets to work from day one we need to think smart and like i said ODA and you know public money will still play an essential essential role but there are so many synergies out there if we are able to to work together thank you so much peter i'll close up with you with your final reflections just to say that we of course for us this is a milestone in our ongoing work we are also preparing the annual meeting in davos where this will be front and center of the discussions and so any advice any message you would have either to us or to others who would be then trying to see okay are we making progress what would be your message my message is there is so much opportunity if we look at this 10 billion number and think backwards that's probably 50 million tons of carbon removed how do you get there it's not too difficult if you have 500 000 families you have 20 000 hectares of invasive encroacher bush which is a problem already there for drought and everything if you've got you know salty water that needs to be desalinated and useful for irrigation the investment opportunities to actually solve those problems automatically unlock that much carbon removal potential which when you talk to any of the big banks around that region they will be actually be able to get that money on the table so there is a massive opportunity you know carbon green hydrogen desalination water for irrigation clean cooking but at the same time you're able to turn all of these you know 500 000 you know people in these families but the surrounding you know rural communities who are from the local you know country into a situation where you've lifted the base of the pyramid up by lifting the plateau up and there is a business opportunity it's an opportunity to have all the flares working together an opportunity to supplement the budgets of the humanitarian institutions whose role is crucial in that whereby whoever is there is there but the private sector comes in with the innovation with unlocking opportunities and just grows it to what is sustainable and what can lead Kenya to be you know a shining light to what is possible yeah thank you so much to you thank you to all of you for the very important discussion here in the studio but also then for participating in the longer deeper even deeper discussion that we had earlier thank you also to all of you who are following us online a commitment on behalf of the world economic forum that we will continue to put this front and center of the agenda um and I think what we did today is also uh then um really speaks to the larger effort that we have which is we will continue to make sure that we put forward solutions concrete solutions that can be scaled but at the same time we'll make sure we'll continue to connect the dots to make sure that we create this ecosystem that can lead to long-term resilience thank you so much and thank you so much for watching


It's DDK and I'm back today with another video. Two shots, you between in, if you're not subscribed, go away and subscribe to the Subscribe button. Give me a thumbs up and do not skip those ads. In today's video, guess what, baby? We have our biggest dispatch order yet. We both do that today. And I wanna say that before we get into it, we might have a problem, baby. This order says that we need a extended cargo van. And guess what? We do not have an extended van. So I really don't know if it's gonna fit. I don't know. Comment below and let me know what you think. Also, we are gonna be giving you guys some details for the van. So stay tuned to the full thing and watch us get this green. Let's go. Pick up this order, baby. I don't know where I'm supposed to go. I don't know what I'm supposed to do, but I'm gonna go ahead and talk to somebody and see what they think, baby, because I don't know. It's our first time, but we gonna go out today at the time. Maybe I gotta go that way. I don't know. Excuse me, do you guys work here? Yeah. I might have an order to pick up. Okay, I'll take you to the guys. Okay, thank you. I appreciate it. Yeah, no worries. Okay. So we're gonna be using dispatch a lot here. So if you become a regular, this will be one of your main contacts in the morning. His name is Ken. How you doing, Ken? I'm here for a pick up. So I have an order to pick up to go to Round Lake. This is an order number. 950 O.R. Give me one second, okay? Okay. That's my load. All right, please take the ball. How fast is this, man? No, it's all good. It's learning cars. My first time doing this, coming here to do this. Okay. So question for you. How often do you all do these loads today? From dispatch every day? Do you have any idea of when it's gonna come to the app or no? All it comes to the app. Huh? All it comes through the app. Yeah. So I'm trying to figure out so I can start seeing everything. I'm just pushing out here. We don't do 20 yet. We don't do 20. As you guys can see, we got everything strapped in. We deliver these solar panels, baby. Got everything strapped up. We got boxes and all that stuff. So we're about to go hit the road and get our pockets on the floor. Let's go. So I'm supposed to, where's everything going at? Off the floor, I was trying to look right now. I should have looked at that before. No, it's all good. No problem. I'm about to put this up. Guess what? We have to unload this, John, baby. Woo-hoo-hoo-hoo. You have to unload this. I ain't figured out it was a house and cell like after we were driving it already. So how long you been doing this? Three years. Yeah, you like it? I love it. That's good. You get to kind of be by yourself. So you gonna put all this stuff in by yourself? Oh, no, no. These guys are just late. Oh, okay. I'm thinking like you gotta do all this by yourself. That is my goal, though. Yeah. If they give me three days on an install, I can do it all over myself. Really? Yeah, I'm learning how to do the electrical now. That's how you gotta do it. You gotta learn everything you can learn. People look at the job and it's how they look at it, but it's learning. It's you learning, really. And it's like a trade. But it could take one guy three days. And then you could probably, would it be possible for you to do it like on the side or no? On the side, no. No. It's a contract. Yeah. We're locked in. Yeah, that's how they do it. That's how they do it. You gotta protect the investment. Pedro? Nice to meet you, Pedro. I'm Rome. Rome, either or. Yeah. Recipient name. So am I supposed to put? I don't know. Do you need the job code? No, let's say the recipient name. I don't know. You can just put Pedro. Pedro. Or if you wanna put the job code as well. Job code. Oh, okay, okay. I got this. Or else. And with that photo right quick, smack. And just like that, they just put me to work, baby. They just put me to work. I'm gonna tell you guys just before I tell you about the order and everything. Look, I did notice it said that they was gonna give me an additional payment for unloading. But I'm thinking this is a business. They're gonna have a fork truck that's gonna come in here like they did when they dropped it in there. Yeah, draw that, Joe. Drop it off. But I actually had to unload everything to get that green. Now, we're gonna get into the order. The order was on dispatch. I told you guys that in the beginning. And it was 41.2 miles. And we made 117.11. We thank God for our blessings. We got that money, my stress. It took us about two hours to do the whole thing. That's from start to finish. From getting there, waiting and all that stuff. So honestly, it probably would have took us really an hour and 15 minutes. We was waiting there for a while because they had to unload all the trucks and get everybody situated so they can go out and do their rounds and everything. But we made $74.16 for the 41.2 mile drive. And we made $42 for the unload. And then we made 95 cent for tow reimbursement, which equals 117.11. We thank God for our blessings. We got that money, my stress. Now I'm gonna get into some of the van information. I know a lot of people have been asking a lot of questions about the van. They're just trying to get them vans, baby. But stay tuned to the full video because I'm gonna release some and it's gonna be up to y'all so if y'all wanna find out all the info or not. But in order to fit up the van, it costs $54.97, enough money to pay the rent. And the gas tank holds 20 gallons and you can drive 419 miles on a 20 gallon tank. As far as weight goes, we can carry up to 3,900 pounds. Do I recommend it? No, I'll probably say max 3,200 or something like that.   Now it's time to show y'all some of the tools we got, some of the things we did to the back of the van. I don't know if y'all noticed or not, but it's looking a little different back there. Y'all ready? Let's go. Open this zone up. Now first I'm gonna ask you guys this. Do y'all notice anything different? Check it out. I know you guys are wondering why did I take, why don't you take off the pan on the van? I know it looks empty and all that stuff. It don't look as nice and everything. First things first, I wanna say this. When you're doing delivery, this is a work van now. This is a work van. I know it's gonna look nice and all that stuff, but when you're doing delivery, if you don't want nobody scratching it, nicking it, cutting all those stuff, also it's gonna benefit us later on when we have to hook stuff. Look, that hook stuff right here, you can hook stuff to all type of different things in here, but with the palette, the hooks were very limited. We only had these up here and there was only some on maybe one, even all of them. As you can see, we put the plywood down. We wanna pan around, but we're trying to get out forward, nicked up, scratched up and all that stuff. And I've noticed that a lot of people were saying stuff about E-tracks. I looked up E-tracks and everything. A lot of people use them. I just feel like, honestly, at this point, we really don't need them. We have literally 10 D-rings. We have four on this, well, five. We got one to be four right there. We got one right there. Then we got five on this side. So we have 10 D-rings and we got all this other stuff. So if we have to do it in the future, we may do it, we may not. But first thing we added was the dolly. This is not a regular dolly, baby. This is a foreign one. I'm gonna show you guys about this. This holds up to 1,000 pounds like this. Bam, look at that dome, baby. That's the stopper right there. Next up, I know you, what is this thing over here? I know you wonder what that is, baby.  You see what's going on? We got the ramp. We got that ramp, baby. Just in case we got some heavy stuff, we're gonna roll this door right in. Rant, baby. That can hold up to 1,200 pounds. So if we can fill something up with 1,000 pounds right here, we can roll it right down with no issues at all. And we have a few more other things. They're my new things, my new things. Blankets. The blank is to wrap stuff up. That's why we don't mess up nobody's stuff. We have a little miniature tool box right here. I'm gonna keep this in hand just because you gotta fix some stuff. We got that. Tools right there. We also have my impact, girl. I had this for many months. I had this for many years. Just because you gotta do something. We also have tarts. We have two tarts. And then we have strap galores. We have the smaller straps like this one. We have the bigger straps I wanted to use. We also have some bungees. And we also have some gloves. And that's about it, baby. And just like that, it is the end of the video. I hope you guys enjoyed the content. Again, if you are not subscribed, go on and smash the subscribe button. Give me a thumbs up and do not skip those ads and lock it in tomorrow because we'll get back to this bag. Why we get back to this bag? But 2023 is big bag season. We'll keep on giving them a reason. I'll see you guys on the next one. We go on, we go on, we floor and you already know the DDK and I'm on my way.