PROFILE
From the Heart: Brian (Barké) Nowak - Inspirational Philanthropy BY MICHAEL BROOKE AND CEZARINA TRONE
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he word philanthropy comes from Latin and translates as a “love of humankind, often defined as giving gifts of ‘time, talent and treasure’ to make life better for other people.” This column aims to celebrate those who engage in philanthropy in all its forms and Brian Nowak is a shining model of what this truly signifies. Most people would be hard-pressed to find Niger on a map. It borders seven other countries including Libya, Algeria and Nigeria. Niger is also one of the poorest nations on earth with 43 percent of its population existing on less than $1.90 per day. The country is also one of the hottest places on earth (it has been given the nickname “the frying pan of the world”) with local temperatures rising at 1.5 times the rate as the global average. Life expectancy hovers around 62 years. Niger is also the world’s youngest country with half of its population under the age of 14 and education remains a serious challenge. Tragically, 50 percent of children ages 7 to 12 are out of school and this figure jumps to 60 percent for those 13 to 16. The reasons for this failure of education are wide ranging. They include conflict-driven insecurity, climaterelated emergencies, COVID-19 pandemic, hunger and extreme poverty. As photographer Anthony Schultz explains 32
FOUNDATION Magazine
May/June 2022
“what is striking about villages in Niger is their way of life, very much a pastoral culture. They actually have to rely on their animals for sustenance, they live in the middle of nowhere with very little support in a farm like environment; they have to sell their milk at the local market. This is a culture that very few people on this planet would ever experience. This tells you how remote it is.” “As a child, Brian never sat still”, recalls his mother Ellen; “he was a rebel, he hated school and found the whole experience ridiculous” she recalls. “I later realized that my son was so much smarter than what they were teaching him. I sense he felt quite bored and unchallenged.” Ellen recalls one high school story that gives us deeper insight into Brian’s personality. “There was this girl Flo in our neighbourhood, and she had an extremely strict mother. When Brian got his license, he told her, ‘Now I can pick you up and we can drive to school.’ Little did Flo know that Brian had already approached her mother and offered her a drive. This way the mom could get a sense of Brian’s driving skills to feel confident enough in letting Flo be a passenger with him. He made a little extra effort just to give this girl a little more freedom”. Brian had a unique ability to solve problems with tremendous creativity.” It was only when Brian got to college that he blossomed as a student. As a student at foundationmag.ca
