AMAN, Angora Franck-Hervé (Côte d’Ivoire), African ChangeMakers Fellow, selected for The Mandela Washington Fellowship 2018.

 “In order to be successful in any undertaking, I think the main thing is for one to grow to the point where he completely forgets himself; that is, to lose himself in a great cause. In proportion as, one loses himself in this way, in the same degree does he get the highest happiness out of his work (…) Great men cultivate love and only little men cherish a spirit of hatred; assistance given to the weak makes the one who gives it strong; oppression of the unfortunate makes one weak”. – Booker T. Washington

AMAN, Angora Franck-Hervé (Côte d’Ivoire), African ChangeMakers Fellow.

I would like to tell my own life story in order to encourage my fellow young people to believe in themselves and their dreams. It’s all started in 2010 when I had a terrible car accident, being the only survivor of this accident that claimed lives of friends has been a “CHARACTER BUILDING” for me. I remember those days in 2011, when I was admitted at the Military Hospital of Lomé in Togo for therapy re-habitation of my leg, worrying about if one day, I will stand up and walk again as before. The only thing that keeps me going was the fact that I was still alive, I was able to see my parents & friends, I was able to listen to the beautiful singing of birds…In other words, I was fortunate enough to have a second start in life and I have got a lot to be thankful.

One day, I was given an amazing book “Up from Slavery”, by Booker T. Washington as a gift when my uncle came from US and I got inspired. That has been the click sound. In this book, Washington shares his experience from slave to educator. He strives to get an education, and he directly credits his education with his later success as a man of action in his community and the nation. He founded the Tuskegee Institute in Alabama and describes his career as a public speaker and civil rights activist. His address at the Atlanta Cotton States and International Exposition in 1895 made him a national figure. He received several recognition for his work, including an honorary degree from Harvard and He was invited at the White House by presidents Theodore Roosevelt and William Howard Taft as Adviser on racial matters. Now, I can relate my own life to his story when he said and I quote:

 “In order to be successful in any undertaking, I think the main thing is for one to grow to the point where he completely forgets himself; that is, to lose himself in a great cause. In proportion as, one loses himself in this way, in the same degree does he get the highest happiness out of his work (…) Great men cultivate love and only little men cherish a spirit of hatred; assistance given to the weak makes the one who gives it strong; oppression of the unfortunate makes one weak”. – Booker T. Washington

This is an indisputable Truth! I decided to dedicate my life to the service of others and help people set goals and cope with change. I run many projects across Africa aims at promoting Agriculture as a business to young people and ensuring good insights of Agriculture through IAAS. My focus is to foster positive change and recently, I was awarded many distinctions and recognitions like:

• AWARD FOR OUTSTANDING LEADERSHIP 2016 (University of Ibadan, Nigeria)
• AFRICAN CHANGEMAKER FELLOW, COHORT 1, 2018

And now, I’m invited by the US Department of State for The Mandela Washington Fellowship 2018. I realized now that your passion and your dreams can lead you everywhere you want to go. It just the beginning of a long journey towards agricultural transformation in Africa and I’m on my way!

Mother Teresa became a great woman for her charitable works. Mandela became a great man when he invited his former prison guard to his inauguration ceremony as South Africa president and also had lunch with the man who tried to have him killed. Finally, Jesus-Christ who taught to the World, love of neighbor and then sacrificed his life for us. Everyone can testify that he is a great man.

For me, THE SECRET to become a great person is the culture of LOVE.

#iamthechangeAFRICA  #ChangeMakerLeads  #AfricanChangeMakers