I hope that everyone had a safe and happy holiday and happy new year! I’m grateful to have each of you in our work to support rural students in Zambia achieve their potential. I hope you found some restoration and peace over the holiday season, and look forward to an amazing 2023!

In reflecting back on 2022, especially near the end, the world lost some of our brightest stars. Pelé, aka “the greatest”, died just a few days ago at the age of 82. Pelé was born Edson Arantes do Nascimento, in Brazil in 1940, where he grew up in poverty in the state of São Paulo. He was taught the game of soccer/football by his father, often using a makeshift ball like a sock stuffed with newspaper (not unlike Marizani used to make). He initially played for a few amateur teams, and began playing for Santos at age 15, and the Brazilian national team at 16. He’s the only player to win three FIFA World Cups, and throughout his career he averaged almost a goal per game. He went on to not only be remembered as Brazil’s best football player, but also an advocate for those in poor conditions.

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”

Photo Credit: Joop van Bilsen (ANEFO) under CC0 1.0

At the beginning of the year, the world lost Sidney Poitier, the first Black actor to win an Academy Award and paving the way for Black entertainers in film. His credentials are stunning – a Grammy award, two Golden Globes, countless honoraries, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, Knight Commander, and more. Poitier’s rise coincided with the rise of the civil rights movement in the 1960s, and he supported the movement in multiple ways. He marched on Washington, posted bail for civil rights protestors, hosted activists in his home, and chose not to act in roles based on racial stereotypes. And while Poitier did so much to further the work of Black actors and actresses, he continued to face racism and threats on his life as he grew older. I was moved by this story I heard about Poitier once: He was reading one of the newspapers on his dishwashing shift and an elderly Jewish waiter was sitting nearby and asked him what was in the papers. Poitier responded that he wasn’t a strong reader, and the man offered to read with him. But he didn’t just offer once or twice – he sat with him every night, helping him with grammar, phonics, syllables, and pronunciation. Poitier remained forever grateful to the man, mentioning him in interviews, thanking him in acceptance speeches, and regretting that he never had the opportunity to thank him. He went on to win a place in the American Negro Theater and got his start in acting.

Photo Credit: John Mathew Smith & www.celebrity-photos.com under CC BY SA 2.0

And of course, just before the new year, Barbara Walters died at the age of 93. Walters was an American journalist and broadcaster, best known for her unique interviewing style. She was the first woman to co-host NBC’s Today in the 1970s and she went on to become the first female co-anchor of an evening news program in the US. She interviewed every sitting U.S. president from the Nixon administration through to the Obamas. She paved the way for women anchors, but also charted her own path in so many ways. She blurred the lines between what was news, and what was entertainment, often probing into the personal lives of her interview subjects.

"To excel is to reach your own highest dream. But you must also help others, where and when you can, to reach theirs. Personal gain is empty if you do not feel you have positively touched another's life."

Of course there are more, but these are the ones that have stayed with me as I have reflected back over the year. In particular, each has a story that highlights the power of education and learning in order to open doors for the future. And each highlights the way in which we can carve our own future, and blaze our own trail, in order to create the future we so deeply want. Walters didn’t get the opportunity to see women like her on the news, asking questions from notable figures. But because of her, generations of women grew up seeing a version of themselves on the nightly news. Poitier didn’t see many Black actors and entertainers in big roles when he was growing up, but there was some drive in him that persisted until he could thrive with those roles. Because of him, generations of Black entertainers have seen a version of themselves honored at the award shows of Hollywood. And of course, before Pelé, some have argued soccer didn’t have a real ambassador. His enthusiasm on the field was so unique in his time, and his love for the sport came through in every game. Because of him, generations of young people have been inspired to love the sport as he did.

For me, it’s these stories that inspire me as we close the books on a year and start anew. And it’s in these biographies that I find hope for our students as they start a new school year next week. Our aim is to help them see their potential, and know that their path is waiting to be set ablaze too.

Let’s get to it.

Happy New Year and all of you and your loved ones.

Reshma

"Success is no accident..."