Nicolai’s story
One day as I was driving home and listening to public radio back in 2007, I heard an absolutely remarkable story.1 It was the story about Nicolai Calabria, a 13-year-old boy from Massachusetts who climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in Africa to raise money to provide for over 1,000 wheelchairs for people in Tanzania. That might not sound amazing, but Nicolai was born without a right leg and had to use crutches for the climb.
The story starts back at the time Nicolai saw a documentary—Emmanuel’s Gift. This film follows a man from Ghana who endured a similar hardship and accomplished a significant physical feat to raise money for the less fortunate in his country. Like Nicolai, this young man also had a severe right leg birth deformity (that made his feat even more remarkable). Emmanuel pedaled one-legged on a bike to raise awareness about the plight of disabled children and adults in Ghana. The movie moved Nicolai to consider how he could make a difference for children in Africa who needed but could not afford wheelchairs. Nicolai decided that he could do something similar by raising money for the Free Wheelchair Mission. This organization uses lawn chairs that can be fortified and have wheels added. For just $45.00 these wheelchairs can be sent to people that desperately need them in impoverished countries.
Nicolai’s father is a climber so the two of them decided to train together to make this climb. This is not an easy climb. Mount Kilimanjaro is over 19,000 feet above sea level, and the ascent is about 13,000 feet from base to summit. The climb took over five days to finish. High altitude sickness is a significant potential complication, and both Nicolai and his father suffered from it. Headaches, shortness of breath, and dizziness are all symptoms of high altitude sickness. Nicolai’s father became so ill that he had to stop just 140 meters from the top. Nicolai continued on to the top (accompanied by guides) at his father’s urging.
So, let’s review – a 13-year-old boy, born without a right leg, decides to climb Mount Kilimanjaro with crutches to raise money for free wheelchairs for people in Tanzania. He was moved to this action after seeing a documentary that made a significant difference in his life. He made the climb in over five days and had to finish the climb suffering from high altitude sickness and without his father at his side. His original goal for fund raising was $25,000, and he raised over $100,000 for over 2,000 wheelchairs. Someone inspired Nicolai and now his story is an inspirational one to us.
A “random” act of kindness?
Was Nicolai’s work a random act of kindness? I don’t think so.
Folks often talk about random acts of kindness. I would like to think that acts of kindness are not really random. I would like to think that such acts are the norm, not just randomly distributed amongst our interactions.
When people talk about random acts of kindness, I presume them to mean the following:
- Acts of kindness done without any “obvious” reason
- Acts of kindness without knowing the person the act was directed to
- Acts of kindness done without knowing that these acts will be acknowledged
- Acts of kindness done without a motive other than love for others
When people refer to such acts, the implication is that such acts are few and far between, i.e. random. But using the definitions that I mentioned above, these acts are some of the most important and meaningful things that we can do. They were done “just because” it was the right thing to do. These are the actions of people that often times are unheralded at the time that they occur but leave a lasting impression on their beneficiaries. We can all think back to things that happened in our lifetime where somebody did something that we couldn’t believe and the type of impact that had on us, hopefully changing our own patterns of behavior.
I’m reminded of such acts every spring. This is such a gorgeous time of year – we’re past the suffocating layers of pine pollen in the early spring in the South, and all the trees are full of greenery. Yards everywhere are festively decorated because of our annual ritual of planting a variety of bedding plants in pots, planters, and small areas in the yard. Many yards have such small areas for plants that one might wonder why folks would even take the time and effort to plant flowers.
Well, I know. Because they’re beautiful. Because they lift up our spirits. Because they are the perfect symbol of our renewed energy. Because they hopefully symbolize our renewed efforts to beautify our community and to work to improve our community.
I’d like to think that these seemingly minor efforts at beautification (spring flowers) can have an even greater symbolism and significance. These flowers can be that reminder for us that the beauty of nature should spark us to do what we can, wherever we can to improve the lives of others and our community. The beauty of flowers should remind us that selfishness has no place in social interactions. Flowers bloom not because of us but because of a higher power that has created them. We are not in charge of this process.
We should also be reminded that flowers can be planted but without the proper nutrients and water, they will wither and die. Community relationships are the same way. They need nurturing by “non-random” acts of kindness.
Indeed, Nicolai’s act of kindness was non-random. It was purposeful. He embraced that higher power in each of us.
He continues to this day to work on behalf of those with disabilities.2 He is constantly planting seeds of hope that become flowers of love, the overt expression of acts of kindness for humanity. His exemplary example serves to remind each of us of the ability within each of us to do the same, planting seeds of hope and becoming flowers of love.
(Check out the 15-minute video of his climb, link – https://vimeo.com/6701825)
- https://www.npr.org/2007/10/08/15100980/young-climber-takes-on-the-odds-and-kilimanjaro
- https://www.linkedin.com/in/nicolai-calabria-a865a68b/