What do astronauts read in space?

What do Astronauts read in space?

What books inspired them to become Astronauts?

To celebrate the launch of our World Space week online film festival. We have done a bit of exploring of our own and found out what two Astronauts like to read in space or inspired them to become Astronauts.

For full details of our online World space week film festival click here.

Astronaut Anousheh Ansari dreamed about going into space from a very young age,  a dream she achieved just after her 40th birthday, when she became the first Iranian in space. She is now the CEO of the X prize foundation. The book she cites as her inspiration for her dream of becoming an astronaut was The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry.

Italian astronaut Samantha Cristoforetti choose The Martian by Andy Weir, The Invincible by Stanisław Lem. And her personal favourite of her picks was The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams. Samantha said she had three good reasons for picking it as her favourite:

  • The first was that in the book the answer to the ultimate question is forty two, and she was a crew member on the forty second Expedition.
  • Second, the book contains an important reminder to not take ourselves too seriously.
  • And finally, and perhaps most importantly, ‘Don’t panic’ is printed on the cover.

Other astronauts have taken up other novels including Gone With the Wind, Vanity Fair and War and Peace, Faust and Robert Heinlein’s The Moon is a Harsh Mistress.

Astronauts also read books to children from space as part of the Storytime from space project and you can watch their out of this world readings by clicking here. Enjoy!

The little prince / Saint-Exupéry, Antoine de
” If a little fellow comes along, if he laughs, if he has golden hair, and if he never answers questions, then you will know who he is. He is the Little Prince. The Little Prince journeys to our planet from his home among the stars, encountering all sorts of benighted grown-ups along the way, and a fox, who teaches him how to see the important things in life. But the Prince has left behind a flower growing on his star, a rose which is his treasure and his burden, and before long he must return to it. ” (Catalogue) Also available as an eBook.

The hitchhiker’s guide to the galaxy : a trilogy in four parts / Adams, Douglas
” Book one: One Thursday lunchtime the Earth gets demolished to make way for a hyperspace bypass. For Arthur, who has just had his house demolished, this is too much. Sadly, the weekend’s just begun. Book two : When all issues of space, time, matter and the nature of being are resolved, only one question remains: Where shall we have dinner? Book three : In consequence of a number of stunning catastrophes, Arthur Dent is surprised to find himself living in a hideously miserable cave on prehistoric Earth. Book three .Arthur Dent’s sense of reality is in its dickiest state when he suddenly finds the girl of his dreams. They go in search of God’s Final Message and, in a dramatic break with tradition, actually find it.” (Adapted from Catalogue)

The Martian : a novel / Weir, Andy
“Six days ago, astronaut Mark Watney became one of the first people to walk on Mars. Now, he’s sure he’ll be the first person to die there. After a dust storm nearly kills him and forces his crew to evacuate while thinking him dead, Mark finds himself stranded and completely alone with no way to even signal Earth that he’s alive–and even if he could get word out, his supplies would be gone long before a rescue could arrive. But Mark isn’t ready to give up yet. ” You can also borrow the film adaptation by clicking  here for details.

Gone with the wind / Mitchell, Margaret
” This is the tale of Scarlett O’Hara, the spoiled, manipulative daughter of a wealthy plantation owner, who arrives at young womanhood just in time to see the Civil War forever change her way of life. A sweeping story of tangled passion and courage, in the pages of Gone With the Wind, Margaret Mitchell brings to life the unforgettable characters that have captured readers for over seventy years.” (Adapted from Catalogue) You can also borrow the film adaptation by clicking  here for details.

Vanity fair / Thackeray, William Makepeace
“Becky Sharp will do anything to raise her position in Society, from impoverished orphan to woman of means. Clever, lively and resourceful, Becky is the total opposite of her naive and sentimental schoolmate Amelia Sedley, a pampered yet good-natured girl from a wealthy family. As both women pursue love and life in London, against the background of the Napoleonic Wars, Thackeray paints a vivid portrait of decadent Regency England and satirises its corruption and flaws to delightful effect.” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as an eBook.

War and peace / Tolstoy, Leo
” War and Peace centers broadly on Napoleon’s invasion of Russia in 1812 and follows three of the best-known characters in literature: Pierre Bezukhov, the illegitimate son of a count, who is fighting for his inheritance and yearning for spiritual fulfillment; Prince Andrei Bolkonsky, who leaves behind his family to fight in the war against Napoleon; and Natasha Rostov, the beautiful young daughter of a nobleman, who intrigues both men. As Napoleon’s army invades, Tolstoy vividly follows characters from diverse backgrounds – peasants and nobility, civilians and soldiers – as they struggle with the problems unique to their era, their history, and their culture. ” (Adapted from Catalogue) Also available as an eBook.

Faust, part one / Goethe, Johann Wolfgang von
“Goethe’s Faust is a radical adaptation of the old German story of the wandering conjuror who sells his soul to a devil called Mephistopheles for magical powers and secret knowledge. Over a period of sixty years Goethe turned it into one of the greatest dramatic and poetic masterpieces of European literature. Goethe started work on it in the 1770s when still a young man, only finishing it near the end of his life, some fifty years later.”  (Adapted from Catalogue)

The moon is a harsh mistress / Heinlein, Robert A.
“‘ It is a tale of revolution, of the rebellion of a former penal colony on the Moon against its masters on the Earth. It is a tale of a culture whose family structures are based on the presence of two men for every woman, leading to novel forms of marriage and family. It is the story of the disparate people – a computer technician, a vigorous young female agitator, and an elderly academic – who become the movement’s leaders. And it is the story of Mike, the supercomputer whose sentience is known only to the revolt’s inner circle, who for reasons of his own is committed to the revolution’s ultimate success.” (Adapted from Catalogue)


World Space Week Online Film Festival!

A blade of grass is a commonplace on Earth; it would be a miracle on Mars. Our descendants on Mars will know the value of a patch of green. And if a blade of grass is priceless, what is the value of a human being? ― Carl Sagan

To celebrate World Space Week, we have put together a very special free online Space Film Festival. This specially selected collection of documentaries cover everything from early attempts at space exploration and the moon landings to stories about the remote probes and the mysteries of deep space cosmology. And if you want to take your exploration of space to another level, we’ve included a 24-episode course entitled Introduction to Astrophysics, as well as links to several online resources. Enjoy!


Sepideh – Reaching for the Stars

Year: 2013
Length: 88 minutes
Director: Berit Madsen

Watch the full film here!

“Sepideh wants to become an astronaut. She spends her nights exploring the secrets of the universe, while her family will do anything to keep her on the ground. The expectations for a young Iranian woman are very different from Sepideh’s ambitions, and her plans to go to university are in danger. But Sepideh holds on to her dreams, teaming up with the world’s first female space tourist, Anousheh Ansari, to fight to make them come true.”


Fight for Space

Year: 2016
Length: 92 minutes
Director: Paul Hildebrandt

Watch the full film here!

“In 1962, spurred by the Cold War, President John F. Kennedy famously made the bold proclamation that NASA would send astronauts to the moon by the end of the decade. The Space Race inspired a generation to pursue careers in science and technology, but as the balance of world power shifted, interest in space exploration declined.

FIGHT FOR SPACE serves as an urgent call to re-awaken our sense of wonder and discovery and features commentary by Bill Nye and Neil deGrasse Tyson.”


First to the Moon

Year: 2019
Length: 121 minutes
Director: Paul Hildebrandt

Watch the full film here!

“In 1968, NASA sent three men farther and faster than anyone had gone before. This is the story of how Astronauts Frank Borman, Jim Lovell, and Bill Anders changed history on the flight of Apollo 8.”


Blast

Year: 2008
Director: Paul Devlin

Watch the full film here!

“This film explores both the heartbreak and the glory of trying to unravel the secrets of outer space. Mark Devlin, PhD (the filmmaker’s brother) launches revolutionary telescopes on NASA high-altitude balloons. Dangerous, but necessary if he wants to look back in time and reveal a hidden Universe of never-before-seen galaxies.

BLAST! follows Mark and his team on their grueling journey across 5 continents, from Arctic Sweden to Antarctica, as they search the sky for clues to the Evolution of Everything. Along the way, the rarely-seen true life of scientists is exposed – the failures, the triumphs and the sacrifices. It’s an adventure like no other, one that will that take you around the world and across the Universe.”


Skyline

Year: 2015
Length: 75 minutes
Director: Jonny Leahan, Miguel Drake-McLaughlin

Watch the full film here!

“In 1979, Arthur C. Clarke wrote a novel about an elevator that goes to outer space. SKYLINE is the story of the people who intend to build it. From scientific gatherings to NASA’s high-stakes Space Elevator Games, the film follows the major players working to make the concept a reality. For all of them, the space elevator is more than just science fiction: it’s an achievable goal.”


Introduction to Astrophysics

Length: 791 mins
Features: Joshua N. Winn

Watch the full series here!

“Plunge into the exciting quest to investigate everything beyond Earth through the laws of physics. Introduction to Astrophysics takes you step by step through the calculations that show how planets, stars, and galaxies work. In 24 episodes by noted astrophysicist Professor Joshua Winn, you’ll tour a universe of exploding stars, colliding black holes, dark matter, and other wonders.”


The Farthest

Year: 2016
Length: 116 minutes
Director: Emer Reynolds

Watch the full film here!

“It is one of humankind’s greatest achievements. More than twelve billion miles away a tiny spaceship is leaving our Solar System and entering the void of deep space – the first human-made object ever to do so.

Slowly dying within its heart is a nuclear generator that will beat for perhaps another decade before the lights on Voyager finally go out. But this little craft will travel on for millions of years, carrying a Golden Record bearing recordings and images of life on Earth. In all likelihood Voyager will outlive humanity. THE FARTHEST celebrates these magnificent machines, the men and women who built them and the vision that propelled them farther than anyone could ever have hoped.”


A Space Program: Artist Tom Sachs’ Homemade Space Station

Year: 2015
Length: 70 minutes
Directors: Tom Sachs, Van Neistat

Watch the full film here!

“Internationally acclaimed artist Tom Sachs takes us on an intricately handmade journey to the red planet, providing audiences with an intimate, first person look into his studio and methods.

A SPACE PROGRAM is both a piece of art in its own right and a recording of Sachs’ historic piece, Space Program 2.0: MARS, which opened at New York’s Park Avenue Armory in 2012.”


Online Resources:

Interactive: Science (Gale): An online interactive database that covers science subjects. Access and manipulate interactive 3D models related to key scientific concepts.

Science in Context (Gale): Contextual information on many significant science topics and showcases scientific disciplines that relate to real-world issues.

#StayAtHome Film Festival: Louise’s Doco Picks

If like me you are curious about the world AND an information junkie who loves non-fiction with a strong narrative then this selection of documentary movies is for you. Without hesitation I can say that documentaries are my favourite genre of movie and the best will resonate in my mind for days, months, and years to come. Documentaries help us understand our natural and human world at the same time as entertaining and informing us. I will never forget the first time I saw Errol Morris’ The Thin Blue Line in 1989 and became aware of the power of documentary as compelling storytelling with a deeper social commentary. This personal selection below only touches the surface of the many amazing documentaries that can be found on Beamafilm and Kanopy, but I hope it provides a taste of the range and depth on offer.


Herb and Dorothy

Year: 2008
Length: 87 minutes
Director: Megumi Sasaki

Watch the full film here!

I love this film. The gentle story of Herbert Vogel, a postal worker, and Dorothy Vogel, a librarian, who built an important contemporary art collection from their modest and fascinating one bedroom New York apartment is truly beautiful.  Its exploration of what compelled Herb and Dorothy to start collecting Minimalist and Conceptual art, with very modest means, until they had one of the most important modern art collections contained in their one bedroom New York apartment is charming and insightful. A testament to art and Herb and Dorothy’s personalities and relationship, this is a documentary that I highly recommend.

Discover more:

Oxford Art Online: Learn more about Minimalist and Conceptual art with encyclopaedia-style articles on the visual arts, including more than 21,000 biographies of artists and craftsmen, and over 5,000 searchable art images, drawings and maps. Content covers painting, sculpture, graphic arts, architecture, photography and more.


Mountain

Year: 2016
Length: 74 minutes
Director: Jennifer Peedom

Watch the full film here!

Wow! This visually stunning documentary about the lure of mountains for humans is breathtaking. Willem Dafoe has the perfect voice to narrate and the soundtrack is by the Australian Chamber Orchestra and includes works works by Chopin, Grieg, Vivaldi, and Beethoven. The grandeur of the mountains is matched by the majesty of the music and the story it tells is simple and beautiful. Why we climb and go into the wilderness, and the beauty of our world’s mountains, has never been shown in a more elegant and compelling way.

Discover more:

PressReader and RBdigital: Both PressReader and RBdigital provide online access to hundreds of magazines including many on mountaineering, tramping, photography and more. If you enjoyed Mountain, you will find more to whet your outdoors appetite here.


Straws

Year: 2017
Length: 33 minutes
Director: Linda Booker

Watch the full film here!

Although a short documentary, Straws packs a punch in its informative exploration of plastic pollution in our oceans. By showing how individuals, groups, and businesses around the globe are reducing plastic straw use through education, collaboration, policy development and utilisation of non-plastic alternatives, Straws helps us understand the impact of one plastic product on our environment. This optimistic and engaging documentary shows that small changes can make a difference.

Discover more:

Gale’s GREENR Global Reference on the Environment, Energy, and Natural Resources: Learn more about the physical, social, and economic aspects of environmental issues such as plastic pollution. Topics include authoritative analysis, academic journals, news, case studies, legislation, conference proceedings, primary source documents, statistics, and multimedia.


Dancer

Year: 2016
Length: 81 minutes
Director: Steven Cantor

Watch the full film here!

Dancer is a fascinating character study of a virtuoso ballet dancer that demonstrates how wealth and success might not be enough to satisfy our quest for personal and professional identity. At 19, Ukrainian Sergei Polunin became the Royal Ballet’s youngest ever principal dancer. However after two years, and at the height of his success, Sergei resolved to stop dancing. Filled with amazing footage of classical and contemporary dance (including his viral performance to Hozier’s “Take Me to Church”), this is a beautiful and melancholic exploration of how growing from a child prodigy through to a successful artist does not guarantee happiness.

Discover more:

Naxos Video Library: If you love ballet, then this is for you: watch the world’s greatest opera houses, ballet companies, orchestras and artists perform on demand!


The Kingdom of Dreams and Madness

Year: 2014
Length: 118 minutes
Director: Mami Sunada

Watch the full film here!

My kids grew up with Studio Ghibli movies and at 19 and 21 they still regularly watch and rewatch the magical films that have come out of the mind of Hayao Miyazaki and his team. The fantastical and beautiful animation of films such as Spirited Away, My Neighbour Totoro, Kiki’s Delivery Service, and Howl’s Moving Castle are captivating and gorgeous. This beautiful documentary looks at how Miyazaki and Ghibli became successful and asks what could come next for these talented film makers. Recommended for anyone who has enjoyed a Studio Ghibli movie or loves animation.

Discover more:

Mango Languages: Have you ever wanted to watch and enjoy Studio Ghibli movies in their original Japanese? You can start learning Japanese today with Mango Languages–available through our website and FREE with your library card.

#StayAtHome Film Festival: Mark’s Music Doco Picks

I can’t get by without a daily dose of music, so during the lockdown I’ve been using PressReader and RBdigital to keep up with the latest releases. I’ve also been checking out some music documentaries on our online streaming services Beamafilm and Kanopy–old favourites I enjoy seeing again, plus some new ones. Below are six fantastic music documentaries from the last few years, including Academy Award-winners and local gems–enjoy!


Searching for Sugar Man

Year: 2012
Length: 86 minutes
Director: Malik Bendjelloul

Click here to watch the full film!

In the late 60s, a musician was discovered in a Detroit bar by two celebrated producers who were struck by his soulful melodies and prophetic lyrics. They recorded an album that they believed was going to secure his reputation as one of the greatest recording artists of his generation. In fact, the album bombed and the singer disappeared into obscurity. Two South African fans then set out to find out what really happened to their hero. Academy Awards winner for Best Documentary.

Discover More:

Naxos Jazz Library: Did you know that Rodriguez opened the Montreux Jazz Festival in 2013? Discover more great jazz resources via the Naxos Jazz Library–including over 200,000 tracks.


20 Feet From Stardom

Year: 2013
Length: 91 minutes
Director: Morgan Neville

Watch the full film here!

This great documentary shines the spotlight on the backup singers behind some of the greatest musical legends of the 21st century. Triumphant and heartbreaking in equal measure, the film is both a tribute to the unsung voices who brought shape and style to popular music and a reflection on the conflicts, sacrifices and rewards of a career spent harmonizing with others.

Discover More:

Lynda.com: Did you know that Lynda has courses on how to sing? Start practicing now via our eLibrary.


The Music of Strangers: Yo-Yo Ma and The Silk Road Ensemble

Year: 2015
Length: 96 minutes
Director: Morgan Neville

Watch the full film here!

Spanning the globe, this is the celebratory story of the renowned international musical collective created by legendary cellist Yo-Yo Ma. The feature-length documentary follows this group of diverse instrumentalists, vocalists, composers, arrangers, visual artists and storytellers as they explore the power of music to preserve tradition, shape cultural evolution and inspire hope.

Discover More:

Press Reader: Press Reader has a range of great music magazines from around the world, including BBC Music Magazine and more.


Liam Gallagher: As it Was

Year: 2019
Length: 85 minutes
Directors: Gavin Fitzgerald and Charlie Lightening

Watch the full film here!

Liam Gallagher went from the dizzying heights of his champagne supernova years in Oasis to living on the edge, ostracised and lost in the musical wilderness of booze, notoriety and bitter legal battles. Starting again alone, stripped bare and with nowhere to hide, this intimate doco sees Liam risks everything to make the greatest rock’n’roll comeback of all time.

Discover More:

RBdigital: Want to read more about Oasis and Liam Gallagher in Rolling Stone? You can–right here in RBdigital!


Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer

Year: 2013
Length: 88 minutes
Directors: Mike Lerner and Maxim Pozdorovkin

Watch the full film here!

On Feb. 21, 2012, members of the feminist art collective Pussy Riot, donning their colorful trademark balaclavas, or ski masks, participated in a 40-second “punk prayer protest” on the altar of Moscow’s Christ the Savior Cathedral before being detained. Arrested and tried for trespassing, wearing “inappropriate” sleeveless dresses and disrupting social order, Nadia, Masha and Katia were accused of religious hatred in a trial that reverberated around the world and transformed the face of Russian society. An official selection of the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, where it received the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Punk Spirit.

Discover More:

Combined search: Wellington City Libraries’ eLibrary has some great articles, videos, audio and biographies on Pussy Riot–have a search right here!


The Chills: The Triumph & Tragedy of Martin Phillipps

Year: 2019
Length: 95 minutes
Directors: Julia Parnell and Rob Curry

Watch the full film here!

Martin Phillipps came tantalizingly close to conquering the international musical world with his band The Chills, but instead fell into decades of debt and addiction in his hometown of Dunedin, New Zealand. At 54, he’s been given a dire medical prognosis, forcing him to face his demons and realise his musical ambitions before it’s too late.

Discover More:

Wellington Music at WCL: With interviews, reviews, archives and a gig guide, our specialist music page has got your local music needs covered.

#StayAtHome Film Festival: Kerry’s Fashion Picks

Looking to escape your living room lockdown by gazing at beautiful dresses and appreciating elegant design? Missing popping out for some lunchtime window shopping?  Dreaming of the opportunity to wear something more classy than trackies?  We have you covered!

Our online resources contain a surprising amount of fashion related content, from movies, to the all important magazines, and a whole resource dedicated to the Vogue archive.  You will never not know what a minaudiere is again.

Beamafilm, our online movie streaming platform, have a whole category dedicated to fashion films aptly titled Fabulous Fashion – so you can binge all of the movies.  Below is a selection of my documentary picks about well-known designers.


Dior and I

Year: 2014
Length: 90 minutes
Director: Frédéric Tcheng

Watch the full film here!

Raf Simons is one of the most revered designers of the last few years.  So much so that he will soon be joining Miuccia Prada at the helm of Prada – quite the honor!  This fascinating documentary covers his career at Dior, and in particular, the creation of his first haute couture collection for the house.  It is a real behind the scenes glimpse at both Raf and Dior, extremely chic and surprisingly emotional.  You can read an interview with director Fredereic Tcheng (from Interview magazine) here.


McQueen

Year: 2018
Length: 111 minutes
Director: Ian Bonhote

Watch the full film here!

McQueen follows the meteoric rise of Alexander McQueen as he was discovered and set up his own fashion label.  He was an incredibly inspired designer and the film highlights how innovative and influential he was on the fashion world during the late nineties and oughties.  It’s also a very moving film that looks a the challenges he faced professionally and personally and his eventual decline into depression.  A good watch for some drama. Vogue UK comprehensively covered this documentary, the director’s and McQueen’s legacy: begin your reading here.


Dries

Year: 2017
Length: 89 minutes
Director: Reiner Holzemer

Watch the full film here!

I watched this film recently and it is pure escapism.  Dries van Noten is a very elegant designer who creates beautiful, wearable – and covetable! – clothes.  This documentary looks at his career trajectory and design processes, following the creation of a collection and the corresponding fashion show.  We also see behind the scenes into his life, relationship and mind-blowing house.  Worth it just for the glimpse into his garden – the kind of magical garden we only can only dream of, especially at the moment.  (Here is a video interview with director Reiner Holzemer.)


Westwood: Punk, Icon, Activist

Year: 2018
Length: 80 minutes
Director: Lorna Tucker

Watch the full film here!

Vivienne Westwood is a principled designer and activist whose message is more relevant than ever.  Throughout her career she has always espoused consuming less, protecting the environment and engaging with society.  This documentary takes us into her world, showing us what motivates her work.  It is told mainly in her words, through interviews – somewhat painfully and grouchily drawn out of her.  The movie also illustrates just how ground-breaking and iconic Westwood is in both her designs and lifestyle.  Director Lorna Tucker calls Westwood her hero, read an interview with her here.


Discover More:

Image from ‘The Wanderers’ Vogue, March 2010, v200 n3
For further reading on any of these designers you could try our Vogue Archive online tool.  It offers access to all the content from US Vogue, from 1892 to the present, both images and articles.  You can search for a designer or brand (or any topic or keyword) and it will show you articles, editorials and fashion shoots, and even adverts.  All high-resolution, downloadable, full-page, colour images.  The ability to limit your search results to find exactly what you want is incredibly detailed – you can search for a year, a fabric, an illustration, a type of clothing or style.  The perfect lockdown activity! (Click here for a Youtube tutorial to get you started.)

Who knows what changes will come to the fashion industry and magazine publishing post-Covid-19, so time for some reading now!  The library has a huge range of fashion magazines available, in lots of different languages, through our online magazine platforms – RBdigital and Pressreader.  My pick would be Vogue UK (pictured above and found in RBdigital) which is edited by Edward Enninful, who has created a magazine that addresses the challenges of inclusivity and sustainability.  Also pictured are Vogue India and Vogue Russia which, along with Vogue US and Vogue Australia, can be found in RBdigital.

Did you know that magazines from RBdigital and Pressreader can be read for free, on your computer or in an app on your tablet or phone?  You can download magazine issues to your device to read offline – and keep forever!  – as well as set up alerts that let you know when the latest issues are available.  You can find help getting started with these resources through our eLibrary here.  The RBdigital and Pressreader apps are available to download for free from the Google Play or Apple stores.

 

 

 

Māoriland Festival

The Māoriland Film Festival kicks off in Otaki later this month and we think you will want to be there!! Running from 23-27 March, the festival is the largest indigenous film festival in the Southern Hemisphere and will feature films from the Marshall Islands, USA and Canada, while also showcasing Māori cinema from Aotearoa. You can see the list of feature films and the film schedule here and follow the festival blog here. My pick for the festival is Three Wise Cousins; check out the trailer below!

Well-known New Zealand films The Dark Horse and The Deadlands both featured in the 2015 Māoriland festival and are both available at the library:

The Dead LandsThe dead lands / a Matthew Metcalfe production ; a Toa Fraser film.
After his tribe is slaughtered through an act of treachery, Hongi, a Maori chieftain’s teenage son, must avenge his father’s murder in order to bring peace and honor to the souls of his loved ones. Vastly outnumbered by a band of villains, Hongi’s only hope is to pass through the feared and forbidden Dead Lands and forge an uneasy alliance with the mysterious Warrior, a ruthless fighter who has ruled the area for years.

The Dark HorseThe dark horse / Four Knights Film in association with The New Zealand Film Commission [and six others] present ; a film by James Napier Robertson.
The Dark Horse is an emotionally-charged and inspiring drama about a man who searches for the courage to lead, despite his own adversities – finding purpose and hope in passing on his gift to the children in his community.