When Susan Naylor’s return flight from Africa touched down in 圣安东尼奥 earlier this month, she was headed home from her second trip to Togo in seven years. This trip was very different from her first voyage to establish a primary school in memory of her late son, 威尔史密斯, 谁, 8岁时, 在2007年的车祸中丧生.
Before Will lost his young life, the Naylors visited Zambia in southern Africa. The then-6-year-old was moved by the children he saw 谁 were less fortunate than he was.
“The kids in the villages were asking if they could have our empty water bottles one day,“1984年的内勒记得那次家庭旅行. “那天晚上, 会说, “等我们回来的时候, 我想带上我的玩具，和他们分享我的玩具,’”她回忆道.
她小儿子的死是毁灭性的打击. 在毛伊岛度假的时候, she and Will were driving on the Honoapiilani Highway when they were struck head-on by a vehicle headed in the opposite direction that had swerved into oncoming traffic. Naylor was not seriously injured; Will was banged up but, 最初, 看起来他好像能逃出来, 太.
当他们等待救援时，内勒祈祷着. She promised to fulfill the wish Will had made two years before.
“That was my thought as I was waiting for the ambulance— ‘help the kids in Africa’,内勒说。.
But Will’s airway had been crushed, and he passed away at the hospital later that afternoon. 后不久, the 威尔史密斯 Foundation was born from Naylor’s grief and her refusal to surrender to it. She poured herself into the new charitable organization aimed at serving children's causes.
“对我来说，这是消极的东西, 把它变成积极的东西,内勒说。, 他的基金会商标是“Will Do®?.”
A cornerstone project of the foundation has been the primary school she established in West Africa: The 威尔史密斯 Mentor Leaders Academy in the village of Gbentchal, 在多哥北部. The academy opened with the help of a friend 谁 had an established relationship with the community there.
位于几内亚湾, the relatively small African country is marked by a high rate of poverty, 民族矛盾, 以及政治动荡时期. During her first voyage to Gbentchal — about a 13-hour drive from the country’s capital, Lomé — she saw first-hand that children in the rural farming community had limited access to education, and that a school such as The 威尔史密斯 Mentor Leaders Academy would be transformational.
“I stayed several nights there in a tent under its original construction,她回忆起参观学院未来的旧址.
Fast forward to 2019, though, she proudly reports robust development.
“这次举行了盛大的庆祝活动,内勒说。, 谁 was received by the Togolese students with music and festivities. “The children have been learning to play band instruments, and there was traditional dance.”
Today the academy enrolls students through high school grades and has a library.
“我们的第一批学生明年就毕业了，”她说. “现在 this farming community has kids 谁 test out higher than the children in cities.”
The key to success in charitable enterprises abroad, says Naylor, is sustainability.
“If you don’t teach how to continue the improvements and to keep moving forward, 一切都会消失,她说。. “现在, the students can head off to university and bring things back to the village to keep paying it forward.”
She continues charitable projects for children in Africa as well as Hawaii—two places with special gravity for Naylor. 对旅行不陌生, Naylor worked as a travel agent for 20 years after graduating from 圣澳门金沙赌城线上游戏 with a double major in Business Administration and History.
“我对其他人的文化很好奇, 他们做事的方式,内勒说。, 谁 was born in San Marcos and spent most of her life in the Alamo city. “I know when I come back home to 圣安东尼奥 I feel renewed and rejuvenated.”
Her successful career came as a surprise for the self-proclaimed homebody from a Texas cattle ranching family.
“我很幸运能进入澳门金沙线上赌博官网, 这样我就能离家近一点了,内勒说。, 从温斯顿·丘吉尔高中毕业的人. “其他人都想离开父母, 去德州理工大学, 但那是我最不想做的事.”
Naylor, 谁 is celebrating her 35th reunion this year, has fond memories of her alma mater. “澳门金沙线上赌博官网是个人的，”她说. “我的教授，尤其是博士. Donald Everett and Linda Hall, were passionate about what they taught.”
在大学, 内勒骑着表演马参加猎人/跳马比赛, 让她在澳门金沙线上赌博官网的教室外忙个不停. She worked as a horse pinhooker until Will’s death, when she retired. 但去年，她在肯塔基州买了一个马场.
“When the horses need a break, it’s kind of a rehab,” she explains. “We do a lot of body work,包括 chiropractic and acupuncture, to get them healthy again.”
Horse country may also be a place where Naylor can continue her own healing. She lost her elder son, Charlie, to opioid addiction in 2016. She says it got her head out of the sand about the nationwide opioid crisis, and she has since become involved with Rise Recovery in 圣安东尼奥.
“我这么做是为了查理, 这样人们就会永远记住他, 还有其他像我们一样挣扎的家庭,她说。. “Both my boys will be remembered, and I can carry forth their hearts and their spirits.”
