I have been reflecting a lot on education of late, and how the receipt of it (or not as is often the case here) can have such a profound impact on person’s life. But that said I have realised intelligence is not just about ‘what we know’, i.e. naming the World’s ten fastest growing economies, or correctly applying Pythagoras’ Theorem, but also takes into account what we have experienced, and our responses to those experiences. When I looked closely at the girl in this photograph (who has never received any formal schooling) I saw such an-depth of understanding of what life is, that I felt humbled. At times like this I am reminded that my scholarship has bought me here to learn. Whilst that is indeed a humbling experience, it empowers us as well.
This girl is no more than 8 or 9, and yet often she is responsible for looking after younger siblings!