SIFUNDZANI HIGH SCHOOL

Speech by His Excellency Lewis W. Lucke

Sifundzani High School
Friday, September 30, 2005

** Thanks. Congrats to students for their achievements, to teachers for teaching, and parents for their love, support and nurturing. These are essential.

** Recent hurricanes in US remind us that all people everywhere have so much in common, we're all vulnerable, we all grow up, go to school, learn lessons, prepare for life---and a hopefully, since life is too short, productive, successful lives........so presenting:

The American Ambassador in Swaziland's Guaranteed 6 Steps for Having a Happy Life and Being a Successful Person:

1.  Read--(Let me tell you about reading): It opens your mind, transforms you through imagination, teaches you, helps you broaden your horizons & experience.  Reading is an opportunity to expand one's pool of knowledge.  This leads to a better grasp and understanding of one's surroundings near and far - and to greater self-confidence and self-understanding.

Reading is a positive and useful expenditure of your precious time -- time well spent.  It can be looked upon as an investment in one's future.  Reading is also fun and a way to let your mind escape, if only momentarily, from the more routine parts of your lives that we all deal with on a daily basis.

Reading teaches you, stimulates and makes you more interesting--and all smart people read--have you ever noticed??.

People need to read in order to follow events in their own communities, countries, sub-regions and in the world at large.  Events in far off lands affect life in countries like Swaziland.  While one can and should listen to the news on TV and on the radio, in many cases, what one hears and sees is only a fraction of the whole story.  One needs to dive below the surface to extract and examine the details in order to better understand the events which shape our world.  This can only be done through reading, especially newspapers, news and topical magazines, and books.

Books allow you to read about leaders in many fields-- political, economic, scientific, diplomatic, educational, and so on - and how they were able to reach their goals and objectives, and in many cases, shape the world around them.  This should serve as an inspiration to pursue careers in these or related fields.

Have you ever wondered why peoples and nations act in the way they do?  Reading about countries nearby like South Africa or even my own -- the United States of America -- will give you a picture of who these people really are and provide an understanding of us and how events in our history have served to influence how and why we act on the world stage and in our own countries.

The Internet, while a valuable research tool, should not be considered a substitute for reading books.  The Internet can be used as a tool to guide you to books.  However, it is in books, themselves, that you will really build and expand your knowledge base.

Finally, reading should not be considered a chore that one can abandon after completing one's education.  If anything, especially in professions such as law, medicine and in diplomatic service, you will be expected to keep up with a ever expanding body of knowledge.  This can only be done through reading. 

2.  Stay healthy--AIDS & HIV--SZ has the highest prevalance rate in the world; so many of you must yourselves know people or have family or friends effected by AIDS. But remember, it is not God's punishment on SZ--it has to do with one's behavior and it is within your power to stay healthy and keep yourself or Swaziland from being effected by AIDS.

The best protection is via abstinance & fidelity— always remember and act accordingly. Be smart, act responsibly, stay healthy, stay alive, never forget.

3. Set goals--it may be too soon for some of you to ask the question of where do you want to be in 5 years and what do you want to be doing? But not for others....What about 10 years? How can you get there? What do you have to do or study or where do you have to go to get there? (If you don't know, that's OK, but think about it and look first into your heart...).

4. Then there's the big question-- "What do I want to do with my life"? What makes me happy? Can I make a living doing it? What do I need to do or study or whatever to get there? Many people who seem to be most satisfied with their chosen life's work are those who do something that they really like, that provides personal or emotional or spiritual satisfaction--however you term it. And if you don't know yet---don't worry about it, but pose the question to yourself and assume that one day you will know and the answer will be clear to you.

5. Be creative and determined--and don't be deterred by limitations placed on you by others. US example---opportunity; Swazi example---opportunity too, why not?

There is an expression I like: "what you can conceive, you can also achieve"  American inventor Thomas Edison said "If we all did the things we were capable of, we would astound ourselves" I think he was right.  Part of this is not being deterred by your gender---no one in the US would dare say that women or girls don't have the same innate potential as boys or men--but rather make the most of your potential whoever you are and in whatever position you find yourself.

6. Know thyself---Look inside yourself and appreciate yourself (and there are many vehicles for this that have to do with personal values or spiritual values--however you define or describe it)----for peace of self, inspiration, for more profound understanding of the world around you and your place in it. "Know thyself" is a good plan---think how you will get there. I think the better you know your true self the better you will be and the better all the other stuff I have mentioned above will work out better & clearer.