There has been very little to cheer in these Covid-19 times, pre-occupied as we are with matters of staying safe and containing the pandemic that does not seem to abate. Infections and deaths used to be news of distant happenings. Both have grown in numbers and are getting ever closer. Neighbours get infected and we worry we will be next. Death occurs to an ever growing number of people across all ages and around the country. We mourn family members, colleagues and neighbours who have succumbed to the dreaded disease, and worry about those they have left behind. So these are bleak and worrying times, not cheerful ones. In such circumstances, it is easy to lose hope and resign to what some might call fate or providence and wait for the grim reaper. This past week, however, has brought something to cheer. Three events in particular show the capacity of human beings to resist despondency in times of adversity and carry on normally First, our children in the final year of their respective levels of school were able to write their exams in the middle of a lockdown. There was perhaps more relief than cheer in this case. Spending two years in the same class had been a source of anguish for everyone concerned. The prospect of another one was unthinkable. This has been a major challenge to education officials. Ministers and their officials must have spent endless hours working out how to keep schools functioning, have students in school, and when not possible, keep them motivated and focused on learning. They must have agonised about how the students would acquire the knowledge planned for a specific period when they had less time. They must have thought hard about how to ensure that learning has taken place. In the end, they have done all that and made it possible for students to write their exams and in the process unblocked the system. Students in other classes are now able to move to the next class. It has not been easy, though. Consider they have had to weigh the serious risk to life of thousands of young people and their parents and teachers, mobilise the logistics required and overcome concerns that students were not sufficiently prepared. But they did it. They refused to be held back by a pandemic whose end we do not know. And for that we should be grateful to all those involved. Second, also in the education sector, was the graduation ceremony of the African Leadership University (ALU) on Saturday, July 24. ALU is one of a number of international universities setting up in Rwanda and drawing students from across the continent preparing Africa’s leaders. But it is not your traditional teaching and research only based school. It goes one better and combines regular academic programmes with society-based learning and leadership training geared towards finding solutions to current and future challenges. Theirs is a model based on the recognition knowledge, the marketplace and innovation are constantly evolving and so higher education must be aligned with this evolution. In this sense ALU has a lot in common with Rwanda. Both share a pan-African vision, a solution-oriented philosophy and outlook on the future. But back to the graduation ceremony. Like most gatherings in these times, it was virtual, each student attending from their living room or office in the different countries. However, the spirit of a university congregation and celebration of achievement with family, friends and colleagues was maintained. Most importantly, ALU was graduating leaders expected to deal effectively with emergencies like covid-19. Third, the Olympic games postponed last year finally got underway in Tokyo, Japan. We look to the games every four years; athletes to show their ability, earn medals and recognition and spectators to be entertained. Last year we were deprived of all that and so are grateful that they are now on even though the stadiums are empty. The absence of spectators, however, has not diminished the competitiveness at the games. It is as keen and passionate as ever. You see it in the sheer joy of the winner and utter dejection of the loser. A competitive spirit is, of course, the essence of sport – to excel and win as an individual or as a team. But it is more than just winning. It is also what goes into it. And so we admire the strategy and tactics employed to outwit an opponent or the endurance to outlast a competitor, and the leadership and organisation involved. All these and a whole range of other human attributes are on display at the Olympic Games in Tokyo, even without spectators. The athletes must be aware of the virtual spectators thoroughly enjoying themselves and cheering them on from their living rooms. For many in Africa, the games have not really started. They only get going when African athletes take to the track in the mass watched events. Those taking place now may be described as specialty games with a limited but devoted following. Still we cheer the young Tunisian swimmer, Ahmed Hafnaoui, who won a gold medal in the 400 metres freestyle and his equally young compatriot Khalil Jendoubi, silver medallist in the men’s Taekwondo 58 kg category. Putting on this sporting spectacle in the middle of a pandemic whose aim seems to be to keep people apart and sad has not only brought cheer but is also an act of defiance and, just like writing exams and having a graduation ceremony, also evidence of the indomitable human spirit. The views expressed in this article are of the writer.
