One day, we were in the fields building a SELI educational playground for a school, and we had employed the services of a “labourer” to till the grounds where the tyres would be laid. He would later follow us to a few more schools, but there was something he did that won my heart and made me see him in a different light, from then.
He belonged to a church which owned a school, and he knew the school could benefit from our free educational playgrounds. He had no position in the church. Just an active, passionate serving member.
He first spoke to the project manager, who then informed me about the school. I did not pay much attention at first because we had several schools lined up for that quarter, yet this man kept persisting.
Every time I showed up on the site, after a few banters here and there, he would mention the school and how we should go check it out.
He provided the number of the Proprietor or Pastor and the headteacher. At some point, he even volunteered to foot the transportation cost for the site visit. Anything to make us make a move.
For about two months, he continued with such quiet determination until I finally gave in and agreed that we should go see the school.
We eventually visited, met with the school authorities and decided on the school. We built a beautiful educational playground there and also refurbished the old play equipment they had.
He was the happiest. You’d think he had a ‘stake’ in the playground.
During the commissioning ceremony, I singled him out, brought him before the audience and asked that they never joke with him. It is not every time you meet selfless people, people who would want you to extend your benevolence and grace to those they feel deserving of it.
The Proprietor was full of thanks. The man, too, didn’t expect such ‘’honour’’.
He came thanking me after the event, but I told him he did nobly. His action not only warmed my heart but reinforced the notion that generosity is not always measured in money but in the willingness to connect others to opportunities.
This is why we shouldn’t treat advocacy as only for the influential. It should be for anyone who cares enough to speak up. To persist. To insist. Everyone who sees a need and a potential to help out of that need.
He was proof that persistence driven by genuine concern can open doors that would have stayed shut. This was one lesson he taught us. Again.
His actions taught me that true selflessness seeks no reward, and many times, the people you least expect will be the bridge that connects others to life-changing opportunities.
This is why no one should ever be taken for granted.
You see, great impact work is rarely done alone; behind every visible success, there are ordinary people whose contributions may never make the headlines, but without whom the story would be incomplete.
This is why it is important to recognise such acts publicly because it inspires a culture of kindness.
May we always be doors that open opportunities for impact on people. When it comes to opportunities, may we be keys.
Not Padlocks.
Yours in Play,
…
Don’t forget—I’m always rooting for you.
Salt. Light. Door.
