The Power of the Invisible Sun

Saffron Aldridge commends the remarkable work and inimitable spirit of Bobby Sager and his philanthropic family

There is something very reassuring knowing that you have a friend who is out there making a difference to the messed-up world we live in and, for me, Bobby Sager is that friend. I first met the awesome character Bobby back in 2002 and was quickly struck at his ability to throw everything at life and make each breath count. This lust for wanting to live as full a life as possible is what made entrepreneur-turned-philanthropist and his family pack up convention and venture out to some of the worlds most war-torn areas, such as Afghanistan, Rwanda and Iraq, to try and make a difference. They wanted to start from the ground up and meet the people facing devastation themselves – as Bobby says, to make “eyeball-to-eyeball” contact.

The Power of the Invisible Sun is the visually arresting result of many journeys taken in the Sager family’s quest to open people’s hearts and minds to a new way of thinking and doing. The book brings together photos Bobby has shot over the past 10 years and is deliberately focused on children. “I chose only to use images of children because it is through the strength and possibilities you can see in their young eyes that the power of the invisible sun can become so compelling. That’s also why I made the images life-size in the book. I wanted the reader to see what I see, feel what I feel, and have their hearts open up in new ways.”

The photos, which wouldn’t look out of a place in National Geographic magazine, are beautiful, touching and do open your heart. Landscapes of Kabul remind us of how desolate it is and you can’t help but be moved as you see deep into the eyes of Moise, a former child solider from Rwanda, who by the age of seven has killed three people, yet turn the page and through Bobby making contact the mask of fear has come down and the child appears, quite simply, a happy smiling child again.

I found myself drawn to the portrait of a little girl in Kabul in her clown suit; again, turn the page and you see the view from her house, where there is nothing. And while I sit at home looking at her, she is still there and I have to ask: what can I do? You don’t have to travel the globe to make a difference. Bobby inspired me to volunteer at The Marsden, a little closer to home, which I now do each week.

“I didn’t write The Power of the Invisible Sun to be a bestseller. I wrote it to stimulate people’s thinking about how to live a more connected and impactful life,” says Bobby. He is right to make us stop and think – even if making a difference to someone’s life is on your own doorstep and not as far flung as the Sagers dare. It’s about connecting your own dots and having friends out there like Bobby reminding us to be thankful for our own lives and, as he puts it, to be selfish, as the more you do for others, the more your own soul is fed.

All the proceeds from the book (£125 large; £30 small edition, from Borders UK and Blackwell’s) go towards a non-profit initiative called Hope is a Game-Changer, which will deliver indestructible footballs to kids in the most difficult places around the world. Each book bought represents you sending a ball to a child.www.poweroftheinvisablesun.com

For more information on what the Sagers do and volunteering opportunities, go to www.teamsager.org

- Saffron Aldridge is the women’s editor of GQ

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Tags: Africa, pro bono, Travel

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