1965, St. Wilibrord’s School, Chateauguay, Quebec

“But it’s not fair,” I said to my grade 3 teacher Mrs. Ducey. I can’t even remember what my 8-year-old self was complaining about. Though I will always remember the response.

“If you are looking for fairness,” she said, sounding uncharacteristically angry and exasperated, “you are on the wrong planet!” The moment was pivotal for me; I was shocked and shaken. What if it were true? What if the world was not a fair place? The idea conflicted with my childish schema of how the world worked.

2008, Southern Sudan

For every 20 babies born, 1 dies during the first 28 days of life.

Of 1000 babies born, 150 die before their first birthday.

One in four children die before the age of 5.

45% of children under 5 years old suffer from chronic diarrhea.

1 in 9 women dies during her lifetime of a pregnancy related cause.

For every 50 deliveries one mother dies of a pregnancy-related cause.

Only 5% of births are attended by a skilled attendant.

The adult literacy rate for women 15- 24 years is 2.5%.

Life Expectancy at birth is 42 years!

Mrs. Ducey eventually died quite young of a brain tumor, proving her point. And I eventually came to accept that the world was indeed, not a fair place.