Beautiful stories of survivors who have defied all odds to bring something positive to the world are familiar to anyone who has visited a nonprofit’s website. Since nonprofits focus on alleviating suffering, it is not surprising that these touching stories are commonplace. Organizations, including ours, often highlight such stories to showcase the real-world impact of their work.

In our case, however, what sets us apart is that one of our most beautiful—and heartbreaking—stories is not about something we encountered in the field. Instead, it is woven into the very foundation of our organization: it is the story of how we came to be.

Our founder was born into a destitute family on the poorest continent in the world—Africa. The continent is plagued by infectious diseases, many of which, including malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS, occur there at the highest rates globally. Africa is a dangerous place to be born, with extremely high child mortality. The first tragedy in her life struck when she was only two years old, contracting a life-threatening infectious disease. She survived, but the illness left her with a permanent scar and a painful physical disability that she has lived with ever since.

As a child, she struggled to understand why she was different and endured the cruelty that children can sometimes show. She spent her early years dreaming of a miracle that would make her well again—a miracle that never came. Yet, far from holding her back, this disability became her greatest blessing: it forged her into a fighter and one of the top students in every class throughout her education. Her path of excellence ultimately caught the attention of officials from the U.S. Embassy in her home country, who awarded her the prestigious U.S. Department of State Fulbright Scholarship in 2002.

Another outcome of her affliction is that it shaped her into a profoundly empathetic individual—someone whose definition of a beautiful day is one in which she manages to put a smile on someone else’s face.

It was in the United States that our founder discovered the power of the internet and the tremendous potential it holds to address long-standing challenges—educational, financial, medical, and more. During that period of her life, she spent all her leisure time collecting scholarships and other opportunities for struggling students in Africa and sending them via email. Years later, this initiative grew into the nonprofit you see today.

This organization is, therefore, our founder’s way of turning her ashes into beauty—helping others build better lives. An innovative scholar and scientist trained in the United States, her expertise lies in education, a field uniquely positioned to drive the economic development of nations.