Five years ago, Craig sat under the South African sun at a funeral and joined an entire nation in mourning a hero.

Nelson Mandela would have turned 100 this month. Though his legacies number too many to capture here, we think of his most enduring gift, to the children Craig saw running through the crowds in Mandela’s ancestral village that sad day. The former president and anti-apartheid revolutionary brought universal primary education to South Africa, giving a generation of South African children the same gift that forever changed his own life.

Although his parents were illiterate, Mandela’s religious mother sent him to a church school. He was lucky—under Apartheid, education for black children was rare. As we celebrate Mandela’s centenary, imagine how many other potential Mandelas are out there right now, ready to accomplish great things empowered by education. These are just a few that we have met who are changing their families, communities, and the world.

In the remote villages of India’s Rajasthan province, girls’ education is often considered a frivolous waste of time. Mamta Lohar’s parents disagreed—a decision that paid off for the family. After learning about water-borne diseases in class, 10-year-old Mamta convinced her parents to boil well water before drinking it, noticeably improving the family’s health. Although she’s not yet reached high school, Mamta has her sights set on a medical degree. She wants to help heal as many people as possible.

At age five, Francis Naimodu taught himself basic electronics and rigged up a lighting system to protect his family’s cattle from nocturnal predators in Kenya’s Maasai Mara. As he grew up, Francis became the village handyman, capable of fixing anything. When Ngulot High School opened near his home in 2017—the first secondary education to be offered in the region—Francis studied hard to earn one of just 33 spots at the school, beating out more than 350 applicants. Now in Grade 10, Francis plans to become an engineer, in order to keep fixing structural challenges in his community.

In Canada, it’s easy to take education for granted. But even here, some are still fighting for a chance at proper schooling.

Chelsea Jane Edwards spent her high school years advocating for a new grade school in her remote First Nation of Attawapiskat, in Northern Ontario. In 2014, she cried tears of joy as she watched her niece start kindergarten at the newly-opened Kattawapiskak Elementary School. That victory was just the start. As co-founder of the non-profit Shannen’s Dream, Chelsea is demanding equal rights to education for all Indigenous youth, and is now studying law to gain the knowledge to make it happen.

And in Bourget, Ontario, 17-year-old Mariam Sabbah says her education has empowered her to create positive change.

Mariam mentors students at a local elementary school, and successfully lobbied her own high school to raise awareness of energy consumption and climate change. She’s also rallied her peers to collect donations for Syrian refugees settling in throughout Canada. Mariam will begin studies in international management at McGill University next year, “to continue my lifelong journey of helping to improve our global village.”

Through these and other inspiring young people, the spirit of Nelson Mandela lives on. Mandiba would be proud.