America’s youngest Goodwill Ambassador, Samantha Reed Smith, was born today. Yes, it’s not essential to be an adult to bring about a change in your society, and one shining example of this was the very young Samantha Smith.
A 10-year-old American schoolgirl from Manchester, Smith came into the spotlight during the Cold War era between the USA and the then Soviet Union. She wrote the most memorable letter regarding the era to former Soviet Union President, Yuri Andropov explaining her worries about living in a world being potentially led into nuclear war and ended with the words, “God made the world for us to live together in peace and not fight.”
In reply to her letter, she was personally invited to the Soviet Union, a request which she accepted thus becoming “America’s Youngest Ambassador.” At 10, Smith became a symbol of hope — she truly wanted to inspire peace and to instil a feeling of oneness amongst her fellow human beings. And in this she has left for us lessons to be learnt!