Role models and true stories of loyalty
From 16Guidelines
Aung San Suu Kyi
Aung San Suu Kyi inherited her profound sense of loyalty and duty towards the Burmese people from her father, Aung Sang, who helped achieve independence for Burma in the early twentieth century. She describes him as “a man who put the interests of the country before his own needs, who remained poor and unassuming at the height of his power, who accepted the responsibilities of leadership without hankering after the privileges.”
In 1971, in the months that led up to her marriage, Suu Kyi wrote a poignant letter to her English fiancé, Michael Aris. “I only ask one thing, that should my people need me, you would help me to do my duty by them.” It was an extremely painful dilemma. “Sometimes I am beset by fears that circumstances and national considerations might tear us apart just when we are so happy in each other that separation would be a torment.”
In the late 1980s, she had to choose between these two conflicting loyalties. Suu Kyi became the leader of the Burmese National League for Democracy and was imprisoned by the military regime. By the end of 2006 she had spent over 10 of the previous 17 years under house arrest in the capital city of Rangoon. Her main contact with the outside world has been a shortwave radio and a monthly visit from her doctor. She has not seen her children grow up, and could not be with her husband when he died of cancer. No wonder she proposes “The quintessential revolution is that of the spirit.”
Suu Kyi’s strength grows out of the conviction that taking responsibility for the happiness and well-being of others will bring happiness for herself. She believes: “We must all understand that there is great merit in sacrificing for others and that by so doing we live the full life.”
Sandra Aguebor
Sandra Aguebor is an energetic mother of two from Lagos, Nigeria, who is known as the Lady Mechanic. She started out by stopping to help other women whose cars had broken down on chaotic, crime-ridden Lagos streets and giving them a quick lesson in basic car maintenance while she changed tyres or got their cars started. In 2000 she raised the money to start the Lady Mechanic Initiative, which now provides training for over 70 underprivileged or vulnerable young women. As well as creating employment and business opportunities in an area previously regarded as ‘men-only’, Aguebor teaches basic book keeping skills, provides subsidised health insurance and gives out toolkits on graduation. She also revels in her position as a women’s role model. “I have broken the yoke of shame, of fear of the unknown – you know, women fear a lot.”
This article by Sarah Simpson first appeared in The Christian Science Monitor [1]
