A TIMELESS PHRASE

There has been a significant number of legendary figures who have maintained in a common refrain that ‘one person can make a difference’. Although there are still so many unsung heroes who continue to make a difference and often do so at great peril to their lives, yet these folks are often unheard of. Thanks to groups such as Giraffe Heroes International and My Hero Project, and so on, we are made to be aware of such unsung heroes.

In many instances however, we need not look too far to recognize the truism when the phrase ‘one person can make a difference', is suggested or mentioned. The names that sprout up instantly in our minds when the phrase ‘one person can make a difference’ is used may include such known difference makers like Martin Luther King, Mother Teresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Thomas Edison, and so on.

Norman Vincent Peale also once evoked this phrase when he wrote that “One person can make a difference. You don't have to be a big shot. You don't have to have a lot of influence. You just have to have faith in your power to change things”.

That’s so remarkably true! Even though years ago, during my undergraduate years of study, when my activism was awakened by a turbulent reality that confronted us, I was moved by a faith to be the change. It was a time, when my urge to act was not deterred by my teenage years of inexperience. It was a time when we were attracted to a cause to promote peace, democracy and help end a sudden inferno of war in my home country Sierra Leone. It was that faith that led me to join other equally young activist and youth leaders bubbling with the desire to make a positive change.

On college campus at Fourah Bay College in the 1990’s, a host of precocious young folks of my ilk, the likes Vandy Kanyako of Peace Links, and Sheku Syl Kamara of Peace Child International, or Teddy Foday Musa and so on were already jolted to be the change. With a burning desire and hopeful to make a difference, we all worked on all fours, organized and rallied support to help raise awareness about democratic rights and peace promotion, and the impact of war on children at the local and global level. But equally profound was the activism of student union leaders like Julius Dauda Sandy, Abdulai Bayraytay, Mohamed Tunis, Sajor Aziz Kamara, and so many others who sacrificed during the war years championing various causes to help in the national agenda for peace, the restoration of democracy. Or take for instance, other young female activist on campus promoting women’s role in the democratic process and striving to bridge the gender divide even before the 1995 Beijing conference that gave a platform for action. A forum that amplified the urgency needed to ensure greater equality and opportunities for women and men, girls and boys, and which gave a robust and global perspective to this cause of women’s equality.

That was even 6 years before I could start my own national and global campaign on innovative education of children and youth affected by war. When I acted to take chance in using the vehicle of innovative technology backed by a medley of creative approaches to give voices, it was to inspire and empower youth towards peaceful co-existence by setting up the first non-profit innovative education ICT centers for peace.

And in these young college campus leaders in the 1990s, was the ripple effect that comes from their burning desire for change, and which help inspire my own sense of activism and spurred a host of others to be the change. Although Mother Teresa may have put it a bit differently, yet, she shed light on the ripple effects of making change. “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.

Best known for this statement was from John F. Kennedy, said a timeless phrase that is as simple as it is powerful: “One person can make a difference, and everyone should try”. This calls upon our collective humanity to act to make a difference in the lives of others and believing in the goodness of all of humanity to make some effort towards achieving that goal.

Sonia Johnson takes this view a bit further when she goes on to say that: “We must remember that one determined person can make a significant difference, and a small group of determined people can change the course of history”. By all indications, she is pointing to the fact that making a change is hard and this change can be achieved by people working collectively even if in a small group and must be unwavering and determined so that such desired change can be achieved. Both Sonia and Mahatma Gandhi held similar views, when Gandhi prominently said that “A small group of determined and like-minded people can change the course of history”.

Margaret Mead followed the pattern of both Sonia Johnson and Mahatma Gandhi to extoll the power of positive collective energy in people coming together for the attainment of a common goal of making a difference. Margaret Mead famously maintained that: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever has”. For Mead, this is the only true successful path towards changing the world.

During this glorious season, as we celebrate, let’s think about being the ripple effect, let’s think about joining a small group of thoughtful committed citizens, let’s use the faith in our power to change things. Let’s also think about the pain in others and caring enough about their needs to help and continue to spread your love everywhere you go with your positive thought, energy and actions as you embark on a journey to help the most vulnerable in society and be the change in 2022 and beyond.

Thank You All!

Andrew Benson Greene