从很多方面来说，做慈善家很容易。虽然我们的基金会为许多改善世界的行动提供了资助，但比起那些通过辛勤努力来推动进步的人，我付出的实在太少。我不是在阿富汗抗击脊髓灰质炎的接种员，不是在印度帮助农民增产的农业技术推广员，也不是每天一大早就站在班级学生面前的老师，他们从事着我所知道的最不容易的工作之一——预备下一代在大学阶段及整个人生中取得成功。
除了以上提到的这些人，还有数百万像他们一样的人正在改变着我们的世界。虽然他们可能太过谦虚，不愿称自己为“英雄”，但我想不出比这更好的词来形容他们。
我想向大家介绍我们中间的几位英雄。许多人正在发挥他们的才能抗击贫困、饥饿和疾病，以及为下一代提供机会，我下面提到的只是其中的五位。无论他们身处何方，请让我对他们所有人说声谢谢。因为你们所做的事，世界正在变得更好。
下面就是这五位英雄的故事。他们鼓舞着我，我希望他们也能鼓舞到你。
桑黑莱特·凯丽姆（Segenet Kelemu）
作为一个在埃塞俄比亚贫穷农村长大的女孩，桑黑莱特·凯丽姆曾亲眼目睹一群蝗虫扫荡了整个村子的庄稼。她当时就立下誓言，要运用科学的力量找到帮助农民提高产量和增加收入的方法。
她决定学习农业，成为了家乡第一个获得大学学位的女性。她随后赴美攻读研究生，在南美的一家国际研究机构工作。她以植物病理学家的身份在国外工作了25年，然后在2007年时回到非洲，领导一批年轻科学家致力于帮助全世界的小农户种植出更多食物及摆脱贫困。她目前在肯尼亚内罗毕，担任国际昆虫生理学及生态学中心（International Center for Insect Physiology and Ecology）的主任。
马修·瓦尔盖塞（Mathew Varghese）
印度在2011年根除了脊髓灰质炎（脊灰），这是全球公共卫生领域取得的最伟大成就之一。虽然印度并没有出现新增脊灰病例，但数千名疾病受害者的生活仍旧在受这一致残疾病的影响。马修·瓦尔盖塞博士是德里圣斯蒂芬医院（St. Stephens Hospital）的整形外科医生，他管理着全印度唯一一个脊灰病房，在那里为脊灰患者提供整形再造手术，帮助他们改善行动能力。他期待有朝一日将不再有病人需要他的治疗。
阿达·奥科利（Ada Okoli）
2014年，尼日利亚医生阿达·奥科利登上了国际新闻头条，当时她在拉各斯的一家医院照顾病人时感染了埃博拉病毒。我几年前见到阿达，听她讲述自己与死神抗争的悲惨故事。如今，她已将自己的医疗生涯投入到对未来流行病的研究、治疗和预防之中。她的勇气和乐观十分鼓舞人心。
安娜·罗斯林（Anna Rosling）
Gapminder的联合创始人安娜·罗斯林致力于用艺术和科学帮助我们理解这个复杂的世界。在她的工作中的，我最喜欢其中一个叫做“美元街（Dollar Street）”的项目。她利用照片和大数据创建了一个极具吸引力的人物画像，展示了全世界的人是如何生活的。多亏了她的努力，我们才能更清楚地认识自己和我们身处的世界。
卡米尔·琼斯（Camille Jones）
卡米尔·琼斯是2017年华盛顿州年度教师。她在华盛顿昆西市郊的一个农场里长大，2010年回到故乡成为一名教师。通过实践性教学的方法，她开展了一个全校范围的行动，激发学生探索科学、技术、工程、艺术和数学领域的诸多可能。在她的努力下，我们州有更多学生拥有了远大的梦想。
No masks or capes,
but these heroes are saving the world
In many ways, being a philanthropist is easy. Although
our foundation funds a lot of efforts to help improve the world, I sacrifice
little compared to the people doing the hard work that makes progress possible.
I’m not a vaccinator in Afghanistan combatting polio, an agricultural extension
officer in India helping farmers grow more food, or a teacher standing in front
of a class each morning to do one of the toughest jobs I know—preparing the
next generation to succeed in college and life.
These and millions of other people like them are
making a difference in our world. And while they may be too humble call
themselves heroes, I can think of no better word to describe them.
I wanted to call attention to some heroes among us.
They are just a few of the many people using their talents to fight poverty,
hunger, and disease and provide opportunities for the next generation. To all
of them, wherever they are, let me say thank you. The world is a better place
because of what you do.
Here are the stories of five of these heroes. Their
lives inspire me. I hope they’ll inspire you too.
Segenet Kelemu
As a young girl growing up in a poor farming village
in rural Ethiopia, Segenet Kelemu once witnessed a swarm of locusts wipe out
the crops in her village. She vowed then to use the power of science to find
ways to help farmers grow more food and earn more income.
She decided to study agriculture, becoming the first
woman from her region to get a college degree, went on to graduate school in
the U.S. and working in an international research institute in South America.
After working abroad for 25 years as a plant pathologist, she returned to
Africa in 2007 to lead a new generation of scientists dedicated to helping the
world’s smallholder farmers grow more food and lift themselves out of poverty.
She is currently director general of the International Center for Insect
Physiology and Ecology in Nairobi.
Mathew Varghese
The elimination of polio from India in 2011 is one of
the world’s greatest public health achievements. While there are no new polio
cases in the country, thousands of the disease’s survivors still live with the
impacts of the crippling disease. Dr. Mathew Varghese, an orthopedic surgeon at
St. Stephens Hospital in Delhi, runs India’s only polio ward, where he provides
reconstructive surgery for polio patients to give them greater mobility. He
looks forward to the day when he has no more patients to serve.
Ada Okoli
In 2014, Ada Okoli, a Nigerian doctor,
made international headlines when she became infected with Ebola while caring
for her patients in a Lagos hospital. I met Ada a few years ago, and heard her
harrowing story of survival. She has now dedicated her medical career to the
research, treatment, and prevention of future epidemics. Her courage and her
optimism are inspiring.
Anna Rosling
Anna Rosling, the co-founder of Gapminder, is
dedicated to using art and science to help us make sense of a complicated
world. One of my favorite examples of her work is Dollar Street, where
she uses photos and big data to create an engaging portrait of how people live
around the world. Thanks to her efforts we can see ourselves and our world more
clearly.
Camille Jones
Camille Jones is the 2017 Washington State Teacher of
the Year. Raised on a farm in rural Quincy, Washington, she returned to her
hometown in 2010 to be a teacher. Using hands-on learning approaches, she leads
a schoolwide effort to inspire students to explore the possibilities that
science, technology, engineering, arts, and math can offer. Thanks to her work,
she’s helping more students in our state dream big.
