“Property is intended to serve life, and no matter how much we surround it with rights and respect, it has no personal being. It is part of the earth man walks on. It is not man. ” — Martin Luther King, Jr.
The picture you see above is a snapshot of a handful of the 1500 students who attend the “Lidia Secondary School”, in Feres Mai, Ethiopa. A school that was built through the efforts of a single woman who wanted to make a positive change in the lives of the young children in her native home. That woman’s name is Lidia Schaefer.
To understand the scale of Lidia’s accomplishment, you must first understand her story. Lidia was born in Ethiopa and immigrated to America in the 1970s to escape the outbreak of civil war. She took up work as a manicurist in Washington D.C. Had two kids. Worked 12 hour days 6 days a week for the last 30 plus years. And 20 years after she had left her native village, Lidia returned to Ethiopa for a short visit. She was stunned by what she saw. The nearest school was 18 miles away and children would walk 3 hours each way to attend classes… not in a classroom, but under a tree. She made a promise then and there that she would open a school for all those children.
But how can one woman, a manicurist, bring about such enormous change? How could she raise the funds, build the school on her own? Now if your mind started to make the leap — she works in D.C. so perhaps some of her clients are senators, speakers of the house, power players with the ability and access to grant Lidia’s wish — guess again. This is not an Oprah Winfrey fable, with Lidia using her resources and influence for good. The true reality is that Lidia is a normal, hardworking citizen with little influence and extremely limited resources. So when I said she built the school on her own, I really mean ON HER OWN.
Imagine this: working 12 hr days to pay your bills, your rent, your food and both your children’s education. And then taking everything left over, 1/3 of your salary, and putting it toward a school. How long would it take for one person to raise enough money solely on their own efforts? Lidia did it in 10… YEARS!
Clients and co-workers rally to the cause, holding raffles or buying individual windows or doors to help contribute. In 1998, a distant relative of Lidia — a young 9 year old girl named Medhine — was mauled and killed by a Hyena on the long walk home from “school”. And that was it, Lidia knew she could not give up on her promise.
By 2002, Lidia had raised enough money to begin basic construction. She had also personally lobbied the Ethiopian government to donate land on which to build. But still, she knew she didn’t have enough to finish construction. So she sold her car, and the house she’d work so hard to buy. And with over $250,000 in hand, she gave all the money into the completion of her promise.
Today over 1500 students attend the 8 building campus, that houses 16 classes, a science lab and a library. And Lidia’s selfless act of altruism has inspired Ethiopian communities across the country to follow suit and raise money for more schools. So far, they’ve raised enough to build 12 more schools to be completed this July.
And still Lidia continues to give part of her salary away. The school needs supplies. Computers. Lidia wants them to have computers so they can “speak to the whole world.” Maybe start their own blog.
Here is a woman who embodies the purest spirit of giving. Who sacrifices her own comforts, her own material possessions, her own home even, so that others who don’t have… can have. In her own words: ” I don’t work with my head… I really work with my heart.”
Thank you Lidia for reminding me that we are not defined but what we own or how much we acquire, but rather by the extent and breadth of how wide we can open our arms. One individual truly can make a difference, can affect tremendous positive change in the lives of many. It starts with painting one fingernail. It ends with 1500 smiling kids.
Shout out to the always inspiring CNN heroes columns for the story. You can find many more by clicking the link to their webpage.
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