Against All Odds

Everybody has a story to tell. This is what makes the world we live in a unique and diverse one. Everybody has something that they care about, and that which they can devote their lives to. Our lives are shaped by where we have come from and in direct relation to where we are going and what we want to achieve. In between what we desire and its realization, there are massive twists and turns, heartaches and heartbreaks, and unrivalled odds. This is the story with everyone, just that all these odds are unique to each person. The antidote to these odds is inside of each one of us, and when we face them, we are required to reach deep within and unearth our resilience, determination and grit. Of course we do get help from time to time from God and the ‘angels’ that he sends our way, but I have come to learn that the help He sends is in response to our determination and the spirit of never giving up. My story, set between 1978 and the year 2006, is written for the sole purpose of inspiration and encouragement. I intend to bring to light the fact that there are some internal strengths that individual human beings have been bequeathed with that can virtually trump any opposition that they face. From all the corners of the world, we do know that time and time again, when a human being with determination has faced insurmountable opposition to their life, comfort, purpose and pursuit, they have found strength from the invisible world both within them and also from above them (from the Divine) to break through. My heart goes out to the girl child all over the world who faces trouble at every turn, being disadvantaged as compared to the boy child. This is not to say that my story of inspiration will not serve the boy child in any way. Rather, my intention is to inspire with my personal story, people from all walks of life who are facing critical opposition and odds in their lives as they wish to have a much better life than that which they find themselves in. I want to make sure also that the message of educating the girl child is echoed around the whole wide world. It is just a generation ago in my culture that the girl child was never a priority in being educated. That is the culture in which I grew up in. My story shows how despite all these odds that I faced including being an orphan and destitute, I found strength to carry on with the greatest pursuit in my life: Education. I most certainly would love to inspire hundreds of thousands of ‘angels’ around the world: people who go out of their way to do random acts of kindness to other humans, not knowing that such acts have massive effects that can easily reverberate throughout eternity. My intention is to rally all of us to look around us, take a stock of what we have and consider being a blessing to anyone around us who is deemed less fortunate. You are the extension of God’s hands here on earth, his feet, his bank and his voice. You might not need to be opulent and rich to make a difference, you just need to care.