At a time of recession and of the dreaded `d´ word (depression), Barack Obama’s inauguration as the 44th President of the United States, has ignited and infused the world with a sense of optimism that I have not witnessed in the global political arena since the fall of the Berlin Wall in the late 1980s/early 1990s. Much as I am looking forward to watching President Obama’s speech live on TV this evening, Rotary activities take priority. Yet the presentation given by Lya this evening bears witness to: hope, endeavour and personal leadership, and epitomises Barack Obama’s electoral slogan: “Yes, we can!” I sit engrossed by Lya’s story.

Her father goes from earning 5 cents – enough to buy a taco – by collecting balls at a tennis club to playing tennis professionally with the greats of tennis, including Jimmy Conners.  Yet this success, his extensive international network, as well as his second career, bring unwanted attention from both the El Salvadorian government and the Guerrillas. After a series of verbal and physical threats – even a bomb attack, the family is forced to flee to Canada leaving behind not only their belongings, but most importantly their family.  Yet, what no-one can take away is this family’s thirst for knowledge and self-improvement. In Lya’s father’s words, “They can take away everything, but they cannot take away your education.” So, it is through hard graft and sheer determination that Lya and her siblings learn English and subsequently progress through the echelons of education earning various degrees and embarking on successful careers. (Lya herself has a PhD in anatomy and cell biology and is currently doing post-doc research into cancer.)

On the day when American and possibly global history is being made by Barack Obama, a man for whom education has also been pivotal in his political rise, his words of “Yes, we can” ring true in our own club. This is not only reflected by Lya or in the history and endeavours of our individual members, but in our club’s activities. This is regardless of whether we are raising funds to build a school in Afghanistan, to organising a conference on androgynous leadership or to collecting gifts for the homeless. So when you or I doubt whether we can overcome obstacles in life and positively influence our environment, the answer is an affirmative ‘Yes, we can!’