AIMING FOR THE STARS

Book excerpt: AIMING FOR THE STARS is a memoir of Dr Sphumelele Ndlovu and his life of hardship, which led him to becoming a Scientist. His mother sold chickens to provide for her children, never considering himself worse off than others. The family was poor. Sphumelele’s life was also derailed when strikes caused 24 out of the 28 teachers at his school to abandon their posts in his matric year. Education was Ndlovu’s ticket to a better future, and he knew at a young age, that he wasn’t going to give it up without a fight. Ndlovu’s PhD placed him to be part of a team of scientists set out to measure the distance between the Earth and Moon using lasers. It is the sixth-ever such venture, but the first to be carried out by an African team. A man whose horizon was once confined to the perimeter of a chicken coop now handled tools that allowed his eyes to glide over galaxies.