Living the Dream

Sueos hechos realidad

Legson Didimu Kayira was born in the 1940s to a
life of total poverty in the Tumbuka tribe, Malawi,
but he dreamed of studying in the United States.
When he was 16, he decided to make his way on
foot to Egypt and find work on a ship sailing to
the U.S. He left home with only a small ax, a
blanket, a map of Africa, a map of the world, and
two booksa Bible and a copy of The Pilgrim's
Progress.
Legson Didimu Kayira naci en la dcada de 1940,
destinado a llevar una vida de pobreza total en la
tribu tumbuka de Malawi. Sin embargo, soaba
con estudiar en los Estados Unidos. A los 16 aos
decidi emprender camino a pie hasta Egipto y
una vez all conseguir trabajo en un barco con
rumbo a los EE.UU. Parti de su casa con una
pequea hacha, una manta, un mapa de frica,
un mapa del mundo y dos libros: una biblia y un
ejemplar de El progreso del peregrino.

Fifteen months later, Legson arrived in Kampala, Uganda, where he came across a directory of American
colleges. He wrote to Skagit Valley College in Mount Vernon explaining his situation and asking for a
scholarship. The dean was so impressed he granted him both admission and a scholarship, while the
student body collected $650 to cover his fare. In December 1960, Legson finally arrived at Skagit Valley
College, still carrying nothing but what he'd left home with two years before.

Quince meses despus Legson lleg a Kampala (Uganda), donde encontr un registro de las
universidades norteamericanas. Escribi al Skagit Valley College de Mount Vernon explicando su
situacin y solicitando una beca. El decano qued tan impresionado que le concedi tanto el ingreso
como la beca. Mientras tanto el estudiantado recaud 650 dlares para cubrir su pasaje. En diciembre
de 1960 Legson finalmente lleg al Skagit Valley College llevando todava consigo las pocas pertenencias
con las que haba salido de su casa dos aos antes.

Later, Legson became a professor

at Cambridge University and
authored six novels and the prizewinning autobiography, I Will Try.

Ms tarde, Legson se convirti en

profesor de la Universidad de
Cambridge y escribi seis novelas y
su galardonada autobiografa
Ulises negro.

Here's another: In 1938, Soichiro

Honda began developing a new
piston ring, which he dreamed of
selling to the Toyota Corporation,
but it was rejected.

Otra: En 1938, Sichir Honda

comenz a disear un nuevo aro
de pistn que soaba con vender a
la empresa Toyota; pero fue
rechazado.

He went back to the drawing table, and two

years later he had a new piston ring. This
time, he won the contract with Toyota, but he
had no factory, and concrete was rationed
due to WW2. Undaunted, Mr. Honda
invented a new formula for making concrete
and got his factory built. Unfortunately, it was
bombedtwiceand finally leveled by an
earthquake.

Volvi al tablero de dibujo, y dos aos ms tarde

haba diseado un nuevo aro de pistn. En aquella
ocasin se gan el contrato con Toyota; pero no
tena fbrica, y el hormign escaseaba a causa de
la Segunda Guerra Mundial. Sin inmutarse, el seor
Honda invent una nueva frmula para la
fabricacin de hormign y construy su fbrica. Por
desgracia fue bombardeada dos veces y finalmente
arrasada por un terremoto.

After the war, Japan suffered a gasoline

shortage. Mr. Honda couldn't afford to drive
his car, so he attached a small engine to his
bicycle. His neighbors were soon asking him to
make "motorized bikes" for them too and
encouraging him to build a plant to
manufacture his engines.

Despus de la guerra, Japn sufri una escasez de

gasolina. El seor Honda no poda permitirse el
lujo de conducir su auto, por lo que le agreg un
pequeo motor a su bicicleta. Sus vecinos no
tardaron en pedirle que les hiciera tambin a ellos
bicicletas motorizadas y lo animaron a construir
una planta para fabricar sus motores.

Because he had no capital, he wrote all 18,000 bike shop owners in Japan a personal letter, explaining
his vision and asking for financial contributions. Five thousand of them agreed to advance him capital
for his invention ... and the rest, as they say, is history.

Como no tena capital, escribi a la totalidad de los 18.000 propietarios de tiendas de bicicletas del
Japn una carta personal en la que explicaba su iniciativa y peda contribuciones econmicas. Cinco mil
de ellos accedieron a adelantarle capital para su invento... y el resto, como dicen, es historia.

What these men, and

others like them, have in
common is that they
refused to let the
limitations of their
circumstances limit their
dreams.

Lo que esos hombres y

otros como ellos tuvieron
en comn es que no
permitieron que sus
circunstancias limitantes
pusieran cortapisas a sus
sueos.

Image Credits:
Page 1 CIMMYT via Flickr
Page 2 usacommoncollege.com. Used
under Fair Use guidelines.
Page 3 Africasacountry.com. Used
under Fair Use guidelines.
Page 4 Vintage Japan-esque via Flickr
Page 5 Fox News Insider via Flickr
Page 6 Wikimedia Commons
Page 7 World.Honda.com. Used under
Fair Used Guidelines.
Pages 8 9 public domain
Text Activated Magazine. Used by
permission.

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