By 
By Brian Obara
Kindness is a language everyone on earth understands. We are all equipped from birth to know true kindness when we see it and today, the actions of a Professor in the Ivory Coast have proved just that. The Ivorian lecturer went out of his way to ensure one of his female students, a young mom, could fully concentrate when she sat for an exam. Others online, however, think the real hero of the story is being overlooked.
It is impossible to overstate the importance of kindness in our day to day interactions as human beings. As the writer Henry James famously said there are three things are important in human life: the first one is to be kind; the second is to be kind; and the third is to be kind. Yes, any act of kindness is a life-affirming gesture that reminds us of our common bond as human beings and our duty to look out for each other.
A professor in Bouaké, the second largest city in the Ivory Coast, today has reminded us all of this lesson in an incredible fashion; he helped nurse the baby of one his female students as the young mom sat for an exam. Photos of the professor, first shared by the Twitter user @adewryght, have been doing the rounds online since Monday morning. Some online are already calling the lecturer,whose name is yet to be revealed, the “Hero of the week” for his actions.
Yes, any act of kindness is a life-affirming gesture that reminds us of our common bond as human beings and our duty to look out for each other.
Bringing kindness back in fashion
Online the professor’s actions have ignited a debate about gender roles. Some are wondering aloud, for example, if the gesture could have been repeated by a female instructor.
Others think the gender roles discussion should be thrown out the window. They say it shouldn’t surprised anyone in this day and age when a man takes care of a child. They argue Professors were once children too and someone took care of them so they should understand the value of it.
For the most part, however, people online are just happy the professor stepped in the way he did.
The real hero
Many online however think the real hero in the story is being overlooked. After all, the professor wouldn’t have had a baby to hold if a brave young mother hadn’t stepped into that class room to better her future – and her infant’s – despite the obvious challenges that entails.
We couldn’t agree more.
