On January 28, 2011, Jim Nowak was killed in a car accident while traveling from an orphanage in Nakuru back to Maseno.  That day, the world lost a tireless advocate for those less fortunate, and we lost a dear friend.  We will always remember his charismatic personality and the joy that he spread everywhere he went.  He touched the hearts of students and strangers alike, making them instant friends.  We continue to remember him through the work we continue.

The following are comments from Adam Jablonski:

February, 2011

I met Jim in the winter of 2005.  My life would never be the same.  In 2006 I began to fly 24 hours in the air, just so that I could sleep on a hard mattress.  If I was lucky, I’d have electricity.  If I was really lucky, I’d have water... and if God looked own on me favorably, I’d have hot water.  Jim and I didn’t have hot water very often.  God must have assumed that having each other was enough.  He was right.  Jim was my mentor before he became my business partner, and all the while he was growing to become my best friend.  Whether talking about his friends and family while here in the states, or discussing philosophy, religion and politics under starry Kenyan skies, Jim was compassion personified.  Although he’d never admit it, and his Taoist leaning would prevent him from thinking it, he was the most Christ-like individual I have ever known.  He was an inspiration to everyone who crossed his path.  He drew strangers in with his first syllable, and I watched as children stared at him as if he was made of something magical.  The truth is that he was.  His flame burned brightly, and though it has now dimmed, he was kind enough to leave a piece of himself in all of us around him.  I thanked his mother for sharing him with us.  She replied, “I couldn’t have stopped him if I tried!”  Jim was a force of nature.

The work that he and I have been doing with the help of Steve Erickson (and thousands of supporters) will continue.  Jim would never have wanted this vision to stop.  We will continue to talk to the elementary schools that welcomed him with open arms.  We will finish the work we started with the Wegmans School of Nursing at St. John Fisher College - we will see the clinic through to it’s completion and welcome nurses to Kenya each year.  We will travel to visit with Joseph Bail, the orphanage director that Jim met with before he passed away.  We will continue to make a difference in Jim’s name because that is what he would have wanted us to do.  Like him, it’s our turn to ensure we leave this world in a better place than we found it.

The following is an except from Jim’s family:

January 29, 2011

It is with much sadness that I tell you that Jim Nowak died suddenly in an auto accident in Kenya.  Jim was known and loved by a very wide circle of friends around the world.  His accomplishments and accolades are long and varied:  all county wrestler, goalie for the Cornell championship NCAA D-1 Lacrosse team, Monroe County Teacher of the Year, Fulbright Scholar, Rush Justice of the Peace, Beekeeper Extraordinaire, the soul of Nowak Pools, and co-founder and heart of Building Futures, Inc.  This partial list of accomplishments, however, does not capture Jim’s energy, personality and spirit.

Jim was  life-long learner who traveled the world and shared his experiences with this students.  Those who know him will remember that he was always replete with great stories and bad jokes; he could plan the building of a school in Africa, but had no idea where to find his keys.  One of Jim’s passions was teaching.  He was a teacher in the Fairport Schools for over 30 years where he started the SADD chapter, Peace Club and established Brotherhood/Sisterhood Week.  After his “retirement” from Fairport, Jim’s passion turned to building schools in rural Kenya. It was there that the seeds for Building Futures, Inc were planted and two years later, bore fruit.  His efforts expanded to include building multiple classrooms, offices and a library for the primary school, a high school and a health clinic.  Jim worked with many schools in the US to bring them an understanding of the similarities and differences between students in Kenya and the US.

When interviewed for a Cornell University e-clip, Jim said, “There was a really good personality theorist and he talked about the end of your life, looking back on your life and he said, most people end up with two scenarios. One is to look back and they say, ‘Wow, I did some good stuff!’ and the other set of people look back and say, ‘Damn, I wish I could have done those things!’  And so that’s one of the things that gets me up in the morning, too.”

We can look back and say that Jim changed the world... and he will keep doing it as his memory inspires us