What happens when you live your life for others?

This question crossed my mind when I read an interesting story of a poor high school teacher who graciously went on to become an eye of the world. Peter Tabichi, a Kenyan and it might not be a new name to you is and will always remain a symbol of hope. Despite the low payment and often delayed salaries that teachers continue to receive.

Peter proved himself a different human not only as a great teacher but a religious scholar whose life is and was more of a blessing to many students most of whom were or are from disadvantaged communities.

Peter was recognized not only as a life changing teacher but a philanthropist who help pay school fees of students who were by that time unable to do so due to circumstances that we all know most of which we experience on our day-to-day life.

This selfless work in 2019 (and it will to continue to open new doors for him) earned Peter a global award amounting to $1 million or Kenyan shillings 100 million and this year the same work of generosity enlarged Peter’s pockets with similar or greater award in London, United Kingdom all because of his good work.

And now a reader can imagine how poor Tabichi was years before he won this prestigious award but he still went on to be a beacon of hope to many hopeless students some of whom are now pursuing their bachelors in different fields and at different higher institutions of learning through him. The work of this teacher should teach us a lesson and it is a lesson that we must not only as human beings but as South Sudanese apply in our daily life.

How? Let me begin, you as an individual has something to offer and it can make and leave a lasting impression in the world. It is not money or accolades. There is something that you have within you that when it is realized early and put into use can change the world. Maybe it is counseling or preaching or giving or whatever, name it.

The world as we all know is a very dangerous place and everyone is looking for something to give them HOPE and courage to carry on but not sure where to get it. There are also times when you alone as an individual feel like you were somebody else but not sure how to make it because the creator of the universe has created you the way you are and though you are not contented with your physical appearance you will have no choice but to accept the sad reality that it is you and nobody else.

But sometimes and it is very sad we do suffer from identity crisis. The pain we go through and the suffering combined make it even harder to fathom if there is really an exit strategy. But what do we need as humans to recover from these human problems?

It is okay. The truth is and it hurts, the problems of this world are going to be there and they will never go away but when we act like Mr. Peter Tabichi who sacrificed his entire life for the wellbeing of poor students, we can solve most of the world’s problems and leave the world a better place than we found it.

 Problems increase where there is hatred and disrespect for humankind because there will always be people who will think like they are more important than the rest and this is where problems find their breeding ground. However, in a society where inequality and hatred are the norms. Death will happen will always occur and poverty finds its home.

This is what is happening in South Sudan. There seems to be no love for humanity. There is competition over the country’s resources and the powerful, mostly the political elites get the benefit while other classless South Sudanese struggle over the crumbs to survive which most times take its toll on these people.

When you walk around our streets right now. You will come across several people most of whom are elderly and children, disabled combined with toothpick-like hands outstretched with plea for compassion. In other parts of the country people go to bed with empty stomachs and thousands of children are not in school with reasons related to school fees problems.

There is suffering in the country simply because we don’t love ourselves and we don’t know that we are one South Sudanese. The story and I must repeat of the Kenyan teacher turned-global -figure should teach us these missing values that you are not human enough when you don’t mourn with your mourning friends or brothers or even sisters.

This is to say that for us to claim that we are humans, we must act like we are humans and this is when we start helping each other and you should get my point clear. I don’t mean that our help should always be based on materialism. No, it is not like that and I don’t mean that.

Love is one of the best helps that we can offer in our life because it strengthens the downtrodden. Outside there, there are people who have never been loved since they were young and they are entangled in unfathomable abyss of misery and pain. These people need your love. And it is no wonder even a little “hi, how are you doing?” “I love you” “You are the best” or “We are in this together and we will win no matter what comes around”. Can make a different.

 And I mean, these words may seem nothing to you or they may sound powerless but they can really get somebody back on their feet. You even know it yourself when you are loved and when nobody cares about you. When you are loved.  You feel great but when you have nobody to tell you that you matters to them. The only thing that can come into your mind is suicide and misery. This is why it is very important to love one another and wish others in their pursuit of happiness and success because in doing, we get lot of successes and happiness in return like this high school teacher who devoted his entire life to the servitude of financially challenged students. The little money that he was using as their school fees was not as important as the true love he had for these students and this love gave these financially disabled school children courage to work harder in class. Looking back now, I mean those who are in their final years at the university, they will remember how a great blessing Peter Tabichi had been in their lives and how impossible it would have been to reach that far if Peter Tabichi was not born.