Wings to Fly

When I was young, I was always asked the question, “What do you want to do when you grow up?” It’s a question that so many kids think about and seem to answer as though anything is possible. I was raised that way, to believe that it was possible to be a teacher, a farmer or a priest, as long as I was willing to work hard enough for it.

In Samoa, however, children are very rarely asked that same question about their future. When I was teaching at the primary school and asked my students what they wanted to do after finishing school, I got blank looks, even after asking them in Samoan. I worked hard during my two years to motivate them to dream larger than they thought was possible.

Recently I asked Saulo, one of the students I am planning on taking back to Michigan in December for the Samoan Youth Empowerment Initiative, what he wanted to do after he finished school in four years. He said he wants to go to serve in the mission for two years with the Mormon Church and then work for Air New Zealand. When he said Air New Zealand, I asked him what he wanted to do for the company and he said be an airplane pilot.

Saulo has always been good in math, often getting the highest test scores for his class in this subject and completing problems faster than me on a number of occasions. When he said he wanted to be a pilot I told him he would do well because he is so strong in math. I told him I use to want to be a pilot when I was his age but I wasn’t very good in math and decided I wouldn’t like to do it for a career.

I asked him why he wanted to be a pilot and he said so that he could travel to other countries and allow his family the chance to travel as well. Although I’m not sure he understands his family won’t be able to just board the plane for free, I was touched by the thoughtfulness of his answer, a 14 year old boy who is thinking about his family and wanting them to have that experience of travel.

The Samoan Youth Empowerment Initiative is about building up these types of dreams, such as Saulo’s dream to be an airline pilot and then giving him and the other students the knowledge and confidence to make it happen. It’s important to dream, but I’ve told them it’s just as important to act.

Can you imagine the dream building that will happen for Saulo when he boards the Boeing 737 on December 15 to travel 7,000 miles to the other side of the world. Imagine the new outlook he’ll have on his future just after that 1 day of travel. To be able to see a pilot first hand, see the plane and feel the thrust of taking off at over 100 mph: that will empower him to build his dream and then we’ll teach him how to act on it.

I invite each of you who have ever dreamed like Saulo, to help us in our fundraising efforts. There is no amount too small, whatever you can offer will make a difference. So many have already rallied behind our efforts and we thank each of you. For those who are interested in contributing, there is a link to PayPal at the top of this blog where I invite you to take a few minutes to fill out the information. Your few minutes could earn Saulo his wings to fly.