I want to tell you about Roger, my friend, who died today.
Roger was born during the Depression, and grew up in a small town in Massachusetts. He became an insurance guy, helped people with financial planning. When he and his wife Jeanne hit their sixties, they decided that at last they would go on their dream vacation.
They went to East Africa (Kenya and Tanzania) on safari. It was 1996. They saw the exotic animals. They were blown away by the landscapes.
But Roger saw more than the animals and the landscapes. He saw the people. He always wanted to sit next to the driver to ask about what life in Africa was like, how people could get good-paying jobs, how they got credit and mortgages, how they got healthcare, how they could get education. They stayed at a lodge, and Roger fell into conversation with a young waitress, who told him how much she wanted an education. Most of her salary went to pay for the high school fees for her many younger brothers and sisters, so she could get no education for herself.
Most people, I think, would hear that story, and would go back to their ordinary lives. That's not what Roger did. He came back home in a state of shock, thought about what to do, and decided to do something.
He decided to start a nonprofit, and called it "Growth Through Learning."
He started asking his friends, and relatives, and neighbors, if they would help him sponsor the education of girls in Africa. That first year, 1998, Growth Through Learning sponsored twelve girls. The next year, 32. The year after that, 57. This year, 317. It just kept growing, and he kept talking to everyone he met about what they could do to help.
By the time he died, thirteen years later, he had changed the lives of 766 girls, in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, giving them hope for a better future. Those 766 girls are now changing the lives of those around them. He had also laid the groundwork for his work to continue, by recruiting a great board of volunteers and staff passionately committed to the cause.
I find it amazing how one decision by one person can spread and grow. Roger was never one of these super-wealthy guys. But he found something he really believed in, and he left the world today far better than he found it.
These are some of his words from last year, before his final illness:
The act of giving of oneself is the most worthwhile and satisfying act imaginable. Amazing, isn't it, that giving of oneself doesn't necessarily cost anything? In most cases it is extremely easy to reach out to others who need a helping hand. Perhaps they need a ride, or someone to run an errand, or just to stop by and have a visit.
Why then do some of us constantly search for wealth and material goods? I believe that the answer lies within us in terms of love, and the more we love ourselves, the more love we have for others. Generosity becomes an act of love for our fellow human beings. Ego has little to do with it, as in many cases the recipient of our goodwill does not even know who we are.
Just think of how peaceful and happy the world would be if we [all gave like this]. Stress and discord would be eliminated, wars would become non-existent, weapons of mass destruction could be done away with. We would experience a new peace, harmony and serenity that have heretofore escaped us.
We all have that power within ourselves. Whatever we do, may we all find the courage to change the world, in whatever way matters most to us. I hope that when my day comes, I will too have left the world better than I found it. But today the world lost a man of great compassion.
And like the man said - it's easy to do - help someone out today. Run an errand, visit a neighbor, give that friend a call you've been meaning to call. If you do, leave a comment below, and let us know what you did to make the world a little brighter. I think Roger would have liked that. And tell me, too, ways that people you know have left the world brighter than they found it.
Bless you, Roger. I will miss you a whole lot.
Update [2010-5-1 21:16:1 by calibrit]: I was only away for a few minutes, but it looks like this diary is on the rec list. Wow. Thank you all so much!
Update [2010-5-1 23:15:1 by calibrit]: CKendall dug out some other words of Roger from the Growth Through Learning website that I hadn't seen before, and I wanted to share them.
CKendall writes: "A number of Roger Whiting’s essays are posted on their web site and this is from one of them, written in 2004.
...I am happier than I have ever been in my entire 63 years. I am working harder than ever before - more hours, more energy, more enthusiasm, more worry, and a heck of a lot more fun."
How could that be when I'm not making any personal income from my current project, Growth Through Learning? In fact, I finance my own return trips to Africa. I made a very good living from the insurance and financial services industry. It allowed me to support my family in reasonably fine style, and even provided a few luxuries along the way. What was it then that caused me to take a "step back" from this relatively easy life and become an advocate for the benefit of a people that are so removed from anything I had ever known?
In 1996 I went on a two-week photographic safari to East Africa. Prior to my journey I knew virtually nothing about the people who lived there. I only knew that our group was going to enjoy the splendor of the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater, and the magnificent animals that inhabit those vast plains. Little did I know, or even dream, that it would be a life changing experience - a virtual transformation from the American corporate philosophy of "how much money can you make for us, and secondarily for yourself?" Instead, my thoughts have reversed to the concept of, "how much can I give back to the world?"
Could there possibly be a more powerful statement to put alongside the endless stories of corporate greed?"