We must all seek to learn from these examples

Feb 04, 2020 Letters

DEAR EDITOR,

For centuries, until the advent of democracy and the victory of civil and human rights, the organisation of society around ethnicity, religion and class had ordained an individual’s position in society and ability to substantially affect their circumstances.
The evolution of society, particularly in the western hemisphere, has witnessed the emergence of sports and entertainment, and education, as the principal vehicles of upward mobility for many of the structurally disadvantaged.
Every year several hundred underprivileged, but physically gifted, persons from Africa, the Americas and the Caribbean are recruited through the athletic, basketball, football and other popular sporting programmes through scholarships and internships sponsored by universities, clubs and leagues, into the ranks of the economically mobile, and serve as the inspiration and example for others desiring to better their lives.
The concept of the modern student-athlete, promoted mainly in the U.S.A, has created opportunities for many with limited educational, employment and entrepreneurial prospects to receive a quality education, as well as sports development training and employment as highly paid professional athletes.
Some of these athletes who attained fame and fortune due to their skills and exploits in the sport entertainment arena are sometimes remembered more for the notoriety and extravagance of their lifestyle while others, like Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, are remembered and appreciated equally for their activism, philanthropy and service to their communities as for their athletic prowess.
Sports enthusiasts and basketball aficionados will forever debate their relative positions in the NBA pantheon, but what can never be refuted is their commitment to assisting others, mostly underprivileged children and youth, through mentorship and the creation of educational opportunities and support to enhance their lives.
In addition to his 5 NBA championships, 2 Olympic gold medals and the numerous professional accolades, Kobe Bryant was also the official ambassador for After-School All-Stars (ASAS), an American non-profit organization that provides comprehensive after school programmes to children in several U.S cities, and his Kobe Bryant China Fund contributed to health and education programmes in China.
Together with his wife Vanessa, Kobe founded the Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Family Foundation, which goals are “helping young people in need, encouraging the development of physical and social skills through sports and assisting the homeless”.
At the time of his death, he was working with Brazilian author Paulo Coelho on a children’s book aimed at inspiring underprivileged children, which has been discontinued. Kobe clearly exemplified the John D. Rockefeller maxim that “every right implies a responsibility; every opportunity, an obligation; every possession, a duty”.
LeBron James, who followed Kobe to the Los Angeles Lakers and whose accomplishments to date are considered, by most, to have surpassed Kobe’s and possibly Michael Jordan’s, is also an ardent supporter of non-profit organizations, including ASAS and Children’s Defense Fund, and has his own charity foundation, the LeBron James Family Foundation, which channels support for educational and cultural institutions and scholarships for thousands of children.
It has been a little over a week since Kobe’s tragic death, but the example of his professional career and short, but distinguished life – his discipline, determination, purpose and commitment to hard work and excellence – are qualities which cement his greatness. Former U.S. President said that “the rising tide lifts all the boats”. This is unquestionably true of Kobe’s exemplary life, and that of a few like him, like LeBron James.
We must all seek to learn from their examples, and here in our own country and time, President David Arthur Granger who, from the onset of his Presidency, has championed the 5 B’s (buses, bicycles, boats, books, breakfast) programme, pledged the re-introduction of free education at UG, and has underpinned his Decade of Development Strategy with a programme that will “witness the emergence of a world-class education system” has done more for education in Guyana than any other modern politician, and will cause him to forever be known as the Education President.
Sincerely
Oscar Dolphin

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