This is Mary.
Mary is awesome. She is the director of RHO Appleseed but prior to this position, she spent years working as a house cleaner. When the Hoffmans met her they immediately recognized how smart and determined she is and partnered with her to start this school. I met Mary less than a week ago, and already she has been added to my list of heroes. Her life has been anything but easy, as it is with so many Zambians. Mary moved to Bauleni when she was a young child, had a daughter and got married at a young age, and then one day her husband told her he was taking another wife, Mary being the strong person she is, told him to leave and has managed to make a living without him. Sadly, many Zambian women are forced to accept this and live as a second or third wife. Despite the poverty Mary lives in and the tragedy that comes with it, she has an incredibly strong spirit and faith. I have learned so many life lessons through conversations with her, and have decided that every so often I am going to try and have some sort of "Mary's corner", where you can read her wisdom too. I asked Mary on Monday how she has so much optimism in a place with such consistent sorrows, and she said that in times of trouble, her father would tell her that it is essential to be able to "look beyond", to acknowledge that times are hard, but to never let go of hope that things can get better, and to have a vision of what that may look like, so you can work towards it. Mary has found that having the ability to have dreams, faith in God and the strength to work towards hopes no matter what can make any situation more bearable.
Hope that Mary inspires you all as much as she inspires me.
Emma Shandy, UC Davis undergrad, Human Development
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