Family take over late son’s activism
WHEN JARED Babu, a 28-year-old activist, was killed in the Ethiopian Airlines crash a year ago, leaving a baby daughter, it looked like his dreams might die with him.
But like other victims’ families who have founded charities or taken other measures to honour them, Babu’s family also wants to ensure his vision lives on.
“If you don’t teach integrity, the consequences are catastrophic,” said his father Joshua Babu.
Babu’s parents blame his death on a failure of leadership by US aviation giant Boeing – which designed the 737 MAX plane that crashed – and US authorities.
On Friday, US lawmakers released preliminary findings into the two crashes faulting the US Federal Aviation Administration’s approval of the plane and Boeing’s design.
On Monday, an interim report by Ethiopia’s government said a faulty sensor reading and the activation of an anti-stall system preceded the crash, which killed 157 people.
David Calhoun, Boeing’s new chief executive, told The New York Times there were “weaknesses in our leadership” but also raised questions over the pilots’ abilities.
Babu’s mother Emily told Reuters: “There are so many sources that are pointing to the fact there was a laxity in the issues of (Boeing’s) governance.” Babu, she said, set an example. She smiled with pride as she recalled the time her son chose to go to court rather than pay a small bribe for a minor motoring offence.
His wife Mercy worked with a local children’s home to educate students there.
“They (Jared and Mercy) did not
If you don’t teach integrity, consequences are catastrophic Joshua Babu Father of Jared Babu
deserve to die. They did not deserve to die,” Emily repeated on the edge of tears.
Joshua said he would continue his son’s role in “You and I”.
It is a mentorship organisation Babu had founded with his best friend Simon Kioko in 2016.
The group’s name came from Babu’s habit of telling people who was needed to change the world to make it a better place.
So far, the group has worked with about 2 000 students during a pilot programme in more than a dozen high schools.
They will hold an official formal launch on March 20 to expand the programme.