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“People who end up as ‘first’ don’t actually set out to be first. They set out to do something they love.” --Condoleezza Rice
Hello everyone! Our stories this week share a number of examples of people who were ‘first’. The world’s first astronaut with a disability begins training; the Templeton Prize is won for the first time by an African woman; and in Canada, an Indigenous law graduate is clerking for the first Indigenous Supreme Court Justice. We also learn about a centenarian who built Barcelona’s first rooftop garden -- one person doing something for the first time that opens up a pathway for many others! By going first, they invite us into a more expansive space and perhaps allow us to hold our challenges with greater faith, commitment, and determination. This week, may we remember the determination and strength found within us and take the next step. Wishing you a wonderful week ahead!
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Sebastiaan ter Burg | Wikimedia Commons
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The sky is the limit! Pioneering the way for inclusivity in space exploration, former Paralympian and surgeon John McFall has embarked on his training as the world's first astronaut with a disability. Handpicked by the European Space Agency (ESA), McFall aims to challenge perceptions and showcase the limitless potential of individuals with disabilities. Over the next two years, he will participate in a groundbreaking feasibility study conducted by ESA and NASA, examining the prerequisites for disabled individuals to journey into space. From sea survival to tests in low-atmospheric pressure environments, McFall will undergo rigorous astronaut training activities. His selection sends a resounding message of empowerment, emphasizing that science and space travel are for everyone. While not guaranteed a space mission, McFall and the 16 other recruits selected in 2022 offer hope for a future where disabled individuals can access the wonders of space, thus transforming the space tourism industry into a platform of inclusivity and inspiration for all.
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Templeton Prize
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Nurse-midwife, hospital founder, and health care advocate Edna Adan Ismail, who for decades has combated female circumcision and worked to improve women's health care in East Africa, has become the first African woman to win the $1.4 million Templeton Prize, one of the world's largest annual individual awards. Born in 1937 in Hargeisa, Ismail became British Somaliland's first medically trained nurse-midwife after studying nursery and midwifery in Britain. Since 2002, when she opened the Edna Adan Maternity Hospital in Hargeisa, more than 30,000 babies have been delivered there. Its education program, which became Edna Adan University in 2010, has trained more than 4,000 students to become health professionals. Ismail, 85, will donate some of the prize to the U.S.-based Friends of Edna Maternity Hospital to buy new equipment, hire educators, and train the next generation of health care workers. Previous prize winners include Mother Teresa, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, and conservationist Jane Goodall.
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Depositphotos
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One hundred tons of plastic from local waste bins will be recycled and used to produce some 11,000 plastic seats for some venues of the 2024 Olympic Games. The recycling team partnered with eco-construction firm Le Pavé to collect plastic waste and transform it into shredded plastic chips which are mixed, heated and compressed to produce plastic sheets. This reduces energy consumption, takes waste away from incinerators and reduces carbon emissions. "When we tell children to come and put their bottles in the bins, (because) tomorrow they'll be in the seats of the Olympic swimming pool, it raises awareness of recycling," says Augustin Jaclin, co-founder of Lemon Tri, which is part of the recycling team.
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Paola de Grenet | The Guardian
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Sixty-five years after Joan Carulla Figueres turned the roof terrace of his Barcelona apartment into the city's first roof garden, his "allotment in the sky" is home to more than 40 fruit trees, vines that produce 100kg (220lbs) of grapes a year, olives, peaches, figs, garlic, aubergines and even potatoes. He moved to Barcelona from Juneda, a village with a harsh climate in the Catalan interior, in the 1950s, and with his family and a team of builders from Juneda, spent 14 years building the block of flats. They strengthened the terrace, installed an undersoil drainage network to cope with 70 tons of soil, 25cm (10in) deep, and created a system for collecting and storing 9,500 liters of rainwater. School visits are one of his great joys. "It was a dream of mine when I started this allotment, to create a slice of the countryside in the city to teach children how to love plants."
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Alex Pugliese via University of Alberta Folio
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Casey Caines, a law graduate from the University of Alberta, has been selected for a clerkship with Canada's first Indigenous justice on the Supreme Court, Michelle O'Bonsawin. Having grown up in Fort Nelson First Nation in British Columbia, Caines initially saw a law career as unlikely, but became inspired to pursue it when advocating for her child with autism, as she realized the importance of legal knowledge in effectively advocating for her child's rights. Her selection as a clerk for Justice O'Bonsawin holds special significance as an Indigenous student working with the first Indigenous Supreme Court justice. Caines, who will begin her clerkship in August 2024, aims to gain insights into how the legal system operates during her clerkship to pursue her goals of reducing systemic inequalities and barriers for Indigenous peoples. She is particularly interested in Indigenous law and community-centered advocacy, recognizing the need for legal reform to address inequalities within her own community. Throughout her education, Caines received support from the Wahkohtowin Law and Governance Lodge and formed close connections with fellow Indigenous law students and faculty members, who were always there for her, and who became "aunties" to her children. She plans to explore how the inner workings of the legal system can be utilized to create positive change in the world, focusing on reducing systemic inequalities and promoting access to justice.
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