Joseph Lekuton is a man from Kenya, who only went to school because a man held a gun to his father's head and told him to choose a son. He is the only man in his family to attend school. After walking miles to get to school, he was handed a candy, which told him this is where he belonged. He attended high school and got a scholarship to attend university in the United States.
Once Mr. Lekuton was finished university, he stayed in the U.S. to write about American history, while continuing to visit home. Every time he came back from Kenya, he couldn't stop thinking about the poor drinking water and poor infrastructure that Kenya contained.
During one visit home, Mr. Lekuton heard a story from the Elders that explained how people can work together to achieve a common goal. After hearing this story and being asked for help by the elders, who promised to be his feet if he would be their eyes, Mr. Lekuton decided to run for office.
Mr. Lekuton now holds office in Kenya and is working to produce a massive change in Kenya. He is sending students off to school to develop a "comprehensive group of people who can come back to help the community grow", even though they are in an economic recession. He wants to clean the drinking water, build new infrastructure, and to be a model for other communities to follow.
This video was very powerful and encouraging. If a young boy from the middle Kenya can grow up and make such a profound difference in an entire country, imagine what one teacher can do in a single classroom. I have nothing bad to say about this video. I am extremely impressed by how much change this one man is doing. He is working to get people the education that they need to help the community. He is asking for help from his friends and the American citizens to help him with his goal. I admire this man for what he is doing. He has realized the power of education and how it can be used to change the lives of millions of people.
The story that the Elders told him is a story that I think we all need to hear. If a blind man and a man with no legs can find a way to escape angry enemies, than anyone can find a way to save themselves. We just need to work together. This pertains to how we should be working in schools. Yes, when you close that door to your classroom, you can teach anyway you want, but why not collaborate and let someone else be your eyes if you come to a problem that you don't know how to solve. Though we all have the power to make a difference in the lives of our students, imagine the difference that we can make if we work together.
Joseph Lekuton has brought a new purpose to his life through education. He changed how his life was and is changing the life of many. Is he doing it on his own? No, he is enlisting the help of many. Such incredible change can not be the project of one person, it needs to be the project of many. The more man power there is in helping that change occur, the faster and the more profound that change will be. We all need to take a page out of Joseph Lekuton's book and work together so we can change the lives of our students and hope that one day they can grow up to be as profound of thinkers and activists as Mr. Lekuton, in their own way and for their own battles and beliefs.
Let's all work together to make this:
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| Copyright: Fotoksa |
a classroom with unengaged and non-enthused students
become this:
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| Copyright: Monkey Business Images |
a group of engaged and enthusiastic children
ready to learn!
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