By Professor Raymond Mosha
“Each jackal has its hole” is a proverb that I often heard in my childhood, and it resonated with me so deeply that nearly 40 years later, I wrote my doctoral dissertation in Philosophy to prove the truth of that proverb.
That proverb means that each person is unique, with distinct talents—just like our individual DNA. This uniqueness, which characterizes each of us, is a gift from the Divine. It is a gift that resembles no other in fellow humans. It is as if the Divine used a special design in creating each of us and then destroyed that design so that no other person would be created in the same way.
In the dissertation mentioned above, after several years of academic research, I came to the conclusion that each of us will live a full life if we respect our uniqueness and live according to it as much as possible.
In ancient Burkina Faso, in West Africa, there were traditional midwives who assisted mothers in childbirth. As soon as a baby appeared, the chief midwife would ask: “What have you brought for us?” This rhetorical question needed no reply—it emphasized that every newborn had come with unique gifts for the world. These gifts must be nurtured and brought forth so that the new person can contribute meaningfully to the community.
These ancestors realized beyond doubt that every person has something special to offer, something that would benefit and enrich the entire community. This is echoed in another proverb I learned as a child: “The children of the same mother are not similar.” Each child is different. Each carries unique gifts intended for the community.
These proverbs and this traditional understanding can help us to respect and honour the uniqueness of each individual. In education, this insight should encourage educators to make a conscious effort to help each student realize his or her potential. In doing so, each individual can enrich themselves, their family, and their society.
Countries that have adopted an education system which nurtures uniqueness and individual potential have progressed by leaps and bounds.
I conclude with another proverb, this time from Senegal: “If a little tree grows in the shade of a larger one, it will die small.”
Contact: Prof. Raymond S. Mosha
📞 +255 769 417 886
✉️ rmosha@depaul.edu
