A triumph of the human spirit

"An ordinary guy who does extraordinary things and inspires others to do the same," said Prof Tinyiko Maluleke, Executive Director: Research, in introducing Mr Ricky de Agrela, who spoke about his 2003 Freedom Flight piloting a microlight aircraft 64 000km around five continents.

Despite the death of fellow pilot, Alan Honeyborne, in China, the flight was completed and serves as an example of the triumph of the human spirit over trauma and adversity.

The talk entitled "Courage and determination: is it within us all?" on 14 May 2009 was organised by the Research Directorate as part of the Young Academics' Programme 2009. Some of the lessons which Mr de Agrela learnt from this expedition and which he shared with the audience were as follows:

• Reality is often very different to perceptions.
• Break any task into smaller segments.
• Follow your dream and put everything you have into it.
• It's not about taking risks, but rather about managing risks.
• Negative thoughts can affect your decisions.
• Don't become complacent and lose sight of the details.
• The world is beautiful and it is filled with amazing and helpful people.

"The circumstances around us don't necessarily need to be what drives us," concluded Mr de Agrela. "It's the choices we make that determine the outcome of what we do."

Some of the young academics then had the opportunity of interviewing Mr de Agrela, and this was followed by a question and answer session chaired by Prof Maluleke.