The 2012 SmartTalk series has begun! Jane Goodall started us off this year with a presentation at the DuPont Theatre in Wilmington, Delaware on Tuesday night. Jane’s story is important because it started from a curiosity and love for animals and has been manifested into a hope to change the world!
Hope and love are great things to spend 300 days out of the year on… Jane travels around the world inspiring people to care for one another and protect the environment and land that we live in. Jane sees hope in the young people she meets all over the world. They want to protect the earth. the resources, the animals – the people.
Beautiful Jane Goodall told how as a child she had a dream that one day she would go to Africa and write stories about the animals that lived there. This is exactly what she did – but how did a young woman without a college education and very little money become such a world reknown messenger of hope and peace? Jane is a UN messenger of peace – but it is really about the hope if you ask me.
Jane said that it was her mother who believed in her and nurtured her to take a first trip to Africa. With a dream in her heart she went and with the opportunity to work under Louis Leakey as his secretary – Jane began her work researching chimpanzees in Tanzania. There Jane named the chimps she encountered and knew their ways and behaviors through observations. Jane documented a revolutionary finding when she observed a chimpanzee utilizing grass to retrieve termites from a mound. This important observation made Louis Leakey question how we define mankind. If man is defined as tool- maker, he wrote, “We must now redefine man, redefine tool, or accept chimpanzees as human! “The discovery led to the funding Jane would need to continue her research and as Leakey insisted, she would achieve a doctorate from Cambridge University.
Jane transformed from young woman with a dream to woman with a mission. Within her study Jane became aware of how little we really know about animals and also how little we understand about our own behaviors. Jane became an activist when she saw how the behaviors of people throughout the world ultimately affected the eco systems, and lives of people and animals living in Africa. The greed and carelessness of the world results in poverty and violence, not to mention the demise of natural habitats.
Jane established the Jane Goodall Institute in 1977 and in 1991 a wonderful program called “Roots and Shoots” began as an effort to bring awareness to the world through young people that come up with environmental projects. Roots and Shoots is catching on and there are over 10,000 groups. Roots and Shoots participates in the UN Day of Peace by creating larger than life size doves made from sheets that are paraded down the streets of the festival.
In meeting Jane, I saw a woman who is driven by a hope that people can make a difference. My friend Sylvia Barreiro – Thomas came with me to meet Jane backstage where we learned about a children’s book about Jane called ” Me…Jane.” This sweet book tells the story about how Jane followed her dreams.
Jane’s Journey is a documentary about Jane’s life and just watching the trailer will get you excited!
Jane has an indomitable spirit of hope and persevereance; Indomitable is a word derived from indomitus a latin word meaning untameable – or impossible to subdue. One determined and passionate woman is teaching the world how to survive – and her name is Jane Goodall – Jane thank you for your indomitable spirit!