Leila Janah
I had the most lovely father a girl could ask for. He was funny, and difficult, and complicated, and moral, and wise. Extremely wise. My "daddy" was known for what I called "Don'isms," which were catch phrases he either stole from others or made up himself. They were tiny morsels of wisdom that he really believed held the secrets of the universe, although I never wanted to give him the credit he deserved for being so incredibly insightful.
Fortuitous. That was one of his favorite words. And he used it a lot when either he, or I, or the world would experience landmarks in his mind. He would say, "How fortuitous. Remember this date." He loved to bring in the date, as if we needed to mark it in the calendar and celebrate it every year, like Christmas.
As I write this, I am noting today's date, as my father loved to do. But this one has nothing to do with his pearls of wisdom or his desire to remember golden moments. It has to do with Feb 2, 2020, the first global palindrome day in exactly 909 years. It's a rare day, meant to be celebrated for the fact that it stays the same whether you write it forward (02022020) or backward (02022020). Had my father been alive, I think he would have invited me over for a celebration, complete with a cake.
I am, however, thinking about another date. Jan 24 2020. That is the day that the world lost a true angel. Just 9 days earlier, a global entrepreneur lost her life to a rare and brutal form of cancer. Her name is Leila Janah, and she is someone you may have never heard of, but someone you should know.
In her short 37 years of life, Leila founded several mind-bending, ahead-of-their-time companies designed to bring opportunity to some of the poorest, less fortunate souls in Africa. Through her groundbreaking tech companies, she lifted tens of thousands of people from poverty by hiring them and paying them a living wage. She gave women in management extraordinary opportunities they couldn't find elsewhere. She believed in altruism, and doing good. She believed in giving people a chance. She believed in the power of transformation and of love. Leila had one goal...to end global poverty.
I can't help but acknowledge this fact. One day after Leila's death, Kobe Bryant was killed in a tragic helicopter crash. There is no doubt Kobe made a mark on the world, as he laid out for all of us to see his admirable qualities of power, courage, determination, and raw talent on the basketball court. But while the entire world mourned his passing, Leila's transition was barely mentioned.
We cannot forget that all souls are equal. All souls are deserving of our respect and reverence. It is true that some souls live large lives - in the spotlight. But remember that there are angel warriors working for the greater good of humanity who leave behind just as significant an imprint on humanity, perhaps just on a smaller scale. Like Kobe, Leila was an icon, too.
So remember to remember Jan 24, 2020, the day Leila was summoned by God to a place of rest. Write it in your calendars, like my dad would have liked. The fact that we lived on earth at the same time as her is, indeed, fortuitous.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/02/02/health/leila-janah-epithelioid-sarcoma/index.html