Let me tell you about the time I met and got to learn from people from more than 40 countries in one place. Hopeful and inspiring leaders, all of them, who were brilliant and motivated about their lives and the world and the future.
It was in Nairobi, Kenya, at the Prometheus Fellowship retreat — where some of the best and brightest Students For Liberty coordinators met to learn from (and debate against) each other.
I met Brazilians, who were astonished when they saw pedestrians crossing highways. I met Indians who were busy exploring the city and Nepalis who were busy networking. I met Nigerians, too, who helped play tour guide while resting from their debate preparations.
Oh, and my fellow Pakistanis I met, they LOVED Kenyan tea and food..
Kenyans themselves are some of the most brilliant people on Earth; they are honest, helpful, and nice to foreigners (except if you’re in transport such as BOLT or Uber and they know you are a foreigner; then they might overcharge you or ask for more money).
Kenya also has some of the best fruit — and coolest animals — on Earth, too. I ate pineapple, avocado, watermelon, grapes, mangoes, and oranges. And I saw lions, rhinos, deer, ostriches, and crocodiles at Nairobi National Park.
After a jam-packed summit, I stuck around Nairobi to explore. I called an Atlas Corp fellow from Nairobi who works as an HR manager there. She was a brilliant and hopeful lady who wanted to start an NGO and address the pay gaps among men and women in Kenya.
She took us to Giraffe Park, where we saw beautiful giraffes of all sizes. We visited the International Convention Centre to see Nairobi from above. We had some of the best Pakistani food I’ve ever had — and I’m Pakistani! Before leaving, I visited the National Museum of Kenya. There I saw deadly, friendly, big, small, ugly, and beautiful snakes. I also touched a 500-year-old turtle and saw a giant alligator.
But the retreat wasn’t all fun and tourism, of course.
At the Central Business Center, the shops and markets were closed due to a protest triggered by proposed tax hikes. The movement has evolved into a wider campaign for more accountable governance in the country. (Some people even demand the entire government’s resignation.) I got to experience, up close and personal, how passionate Kenyans are about their freedom. And I slowly began to realize: People in every country on Earth are passionate about freedom, in one way or another.
Here’s the point: None of these meaningful, awesome, eye-opening experiences would have been possible without the Prometheus Fellowship Program and Students for Liberty. I never thought I’d get to interact and share emotions, feelings, love, and food with so many incredible people, and that’s why I’m so grateful for the program — and for everyone I got to know through my two years as a Prometheus Fellow … especially those I met in Vienna in 2023, Washington, D.C. in 2024, and Nairobi.
Here’s what that summit in D.C. looked like:
It was a two-year-long personal, professional, and philosophical development journey that taught me about philosophy, strengthened my philosophical understanding through lectures, debates, and essays … but more importantly, infused me with confidence through leadership and communication courses.
It taught me how to connect with colleagues professionally; how best to help others; and how to listen to music in new ways. I learned how to debate, how to ask questions, discuss, build, share, and network.
More than that, the Prometheus Fellowship Program taught me to see beauty — the beauty in the clouds when I opened my airplane’s window and didn’t know which part of the world I was in, but still felt at home; the beauty in diversity in Nairobi (I told you about some of the people I met, but I also met folks from Sudan, the U.S.A., Ethiopia, the UK, Japan, Bangladesh, South Africa, Canada … I could go on).
Above all, by listening to new and interesting stories, and by sharing stories of my own — about my hometown, my life, my plans — the program taught me to see the beauty in my own life and feelings, and why it’s important to do so.
Because, as a citizen of a developing country, we sometimes fail to see the beauty in our lives. We often fail to realize our dreams due to countless socio-economic and political obstacles. But the two years of Prometheus Fellowship have widened my horizons. They’ve proven to me that I can overcome those obstacles.
So really, the journey does not end here; this is only the beginning.
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This piece solely expresses the opinion of the author and not necessarily the organization as a whole. Students For Liberty is committed to facilitating a broad dialogue for liberty, representing a variety of opinions.
