PEOPLE NEED PEOPLE: MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Dr. Tesfa G. Gebremedhin
West Virginia University
It is a pride to observe that we have unbelievable success stories of many of our children in Diaspora. It gives me pleasure to hear that some of our children are graduating from highly respected universities and colleges with distinction and honor. Many of our children also have achieved great success in the employment sector and business world. However, it is sad to see some of our children drop out of school and get involved in drugs and substance abuse. Some stick with the wrong crowd and join the gangs, while others have problems with the law and frequently visit or make prison a permanent home. Girls become pregnant at a very young age and run away from home. Thus, our concern should be focused on those children who are in trouble. Obviously, the main source of many of their problems is either lack of a comfortable home or lack of proper parenting associated also with lack of community participation in raising children. As the saying goes, “It takes the whole village to raise a child.” It means that the son or daughter of an Eritrean is the same son or daughter of all Eritreans. It is our moral responsibility to make a difference in our children’s lives by being the change we wish to see in our community. The following story from a friend tells what it takes to make a difference in a child’s life.
Mrs. Solomon, a 5th grade teacher, on the first day of school like most teachers stood in front of her class, looked at her students, and said that she loved them all the same. That was not true because there in the front row slumped in his seat was a little boy named Naod. Mrs. Solomon had watched Naod the year before and noticed that he did not play well with other children. His clothes were messy, he was unpleasant and his school performance was not good. At that point in time Mrs. Solomon did not pay particular attention to Naod. However, at the school where Mrs. Solomon taught, she was required to review each child’s past records and she put Naod’s file off until the last. When she reviewed his file, she was very surprised. Naod’s first grade teacher wrote: “Naod is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners.” His second grade teacher wrote: “Naod is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness, and life at home must be a struggle.” His third grade teacher wrote: “His mother’s death has been hard on Naod. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn’t show much interest in his son, and his home life will soon adversely affect him if some positive steps aren’t taken.” Naod’s fourth grade teacher wrote: “Naod is withdrawn and doesn’t show much interest in school. He doesn’t have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.” By now, Mrs. Solomon realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright papers except for Naod’s present. His present was clumsily wrapped in heavy and dull brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Solomon took pains to open his present in front of the students. Some of the students started to laugh when Mrs. Solomon found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children’s laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Naod stayed after school that day just long enough to say, “Mrs. Solomon, today you smell just like my Mom used to.” On that very day, she cried for an hour. Then, she decided to quit teaching her regular classes and began counseling and teaching troubled children. Mrs. Solomon paid particular attention to Naod. As she worked with him his mind began to come alive. The more she encouraged him the faster he responded diligently. By the end of the year, Naod had become one of the smartest children in the 5th grade class. And despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Naod became one of her favorite students. A year later she found a note under her office door from Naod telling her that she was the best teacher he had ever had in his whole life. Six years went by before she got another note from Naod. He then wrote that he had finished high school third in his class and she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole life. Four years after that she got another letter saying that, while things had been tough for him at times, he did well in school and that he would soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. Again he assured Mrs. Solomon that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had. Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. After he got his bachelor’s degree he had decided to go a little further in school to become a medical doctor. She was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had. The story does not end here. Naod sent one more letter telling Mrs. Solomon that he had met this girl and he was going to get married soon. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago, and he was wondering if she might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the parents of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Solomon was very glad to come for the wedding. She wore that same bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing she got from him on Christmas. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the same perfume that Naod remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together. Both Naod and Mrs. Solomon hugged each other, and Naod whispered in her ear: “Thank you so much for believing in me, for making me feel important, and showing me that I could make a difference.” Mrs. Solomon, with tears in her eyes, whispered back to him. “Naod, you have it all wrong; you were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I did not know how to teach until I met you.”
The moral lesson is that we all can make a difference just like the teacher who helped in making a miracle to happen for a very special child. Since people need people, many of our children also need help from their parents and others who are willing to help. It is commonly observed that ordinary people can make an extraordinary difference because there are always many little things we all can do to make a significant change. Deep within each one of us lies the ability to step up and care for those in need because every one of us prefers to be of use and to act in service of what we care, even though we often feel overwhelmed by some trivia and petty things. Making a difference doesn't just mean helping others; it also means changing our own lives because helping our children in our own communities and gaining a sense of accomplishment are all great reasons to change our own lives. Quality of life lies not in the things we acquire but in the things we are required to make the difference on somebody’s life. We, scholars and professionals, should take this honorable opportunity to help our own people and make a difference by identifying problems in our own backyard and giving our time to help solve those problems. We all should be committed to help ourselves find a rewarding and fulfilling way to rebuild our own communities by making them to be reliable and sustainable for our children to grow up in a very favorable environment. We can never tell what type of impact we may have on our children’s lives by our actions or lack of actions. Since it is a blessing to be able to make a difference in our communities, we need to consider this fact in our venture through life, and just try to make a difference in someone else’s life today.
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