The world is made richer by selfless contribution


By CAROLE MANDI

“The true meaning of life is to plant trees, under whose shade you do not expect to sit.” – Nelson Henderson



Being the good African that I am, I find that I am enamoured by institutions of higher learning. Who can blame me?

I am part of that whole education-is-the-key-to-success generation that was brought up with songs like “Someni vijana, muongeze pia bidii, mwisho wakusoma, mtapata kazi nzuri sana!”

And so a couple of years ago, when the opportunity to visit Harvard University, the oldest institution of learning in the US, arose, I jumped at the offer.

One crispy morning, a friend drove me through the various campuses of Harvard in Boston. The university, which is almost 400 years old, has retained many of its old buildings and character.

When you walk down the streets, as many others have done in the last 300 years, you sense that you are in an institution whose place in history will always be undisputed and undiminished.

I ran my fingers over the old grey stone wall of a building and walked down the cobbled street to a little bookshelf. It was all I could do not to dance.

Yet this place of learning that so enchanted me, I would later learn owed its name to John Harvard, a young clergyman who bequeathed the college his library of 400 books and £779 pounds sterling which represented half his estate at the time.

Did he, in his wildest dreams, anticipate the significance the university would have on the world of academia or that his surname would be uttered in revered tones by generations of students?

Probably not. John Harvard, in my view, becomes one of those who live their mark on posterity, thanks to their selfless contribution and body of work.

The world is left richer by those who leave behind a body of work that outlives them. Building a body of work, for many, happens over a lifetime and requires dedication and determination, passion and purpose, time and urgency.

In hindsight, it seems like they pour their lives out for this body of work, that they are compelled, even driven to serve the greater good.

Those who bequeath humanity any worthwhile legacy, understand that while they mortally stand briefly in time, what they leave behind must stand the test of time and the critical scrutiny of those who come after them. Yet they are motivated largely by contribution than recognition.

How would our perspective change if we developed a keen sense of our role and place in our community and the world? What would be different if we worked not just for ourselves and our family but also for the coming generations we would never meet?

Would we still ravage the land, cut down trees and pollute the environment? Would a work day still seem like grinding slog? Would we raise our children differently? Would we get by on average or strive for excellence?

Perhaps if we had a sense of our responsibility to the future and our contribution to history, we would build better roads, schools and hospitals.

Perhaps we would write laws that serve the interests of the majority while protecting the rights of the minorities.

Perhaps we would plant more trees and go to war less. It would be less about my village, my tribe, my race and more about the human race.