TRACING A FAMILY HISTORY
WISDOM OF ANCESTORS

» A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.” —Marcus Garvey

Can you roll your tongue? Which hand do you use to write? Do you have deep dimples when you smile? Have you ever wondered where these traits come from? Believe it or not, these are all things passed down in genes. That means they came from our biological parents. They got them from our grandparents, great-grandparents, or even our great-great-great-grandparents!

We get many things from our ancestors. And traits aren’t the only things that are passed down. Often, trades and talents also run in families.

We can also learn important lessons from our ancestors. Do our family have a special set of principles? What do our family members value? We might be generous, patient or hard-working. That’s likely because family members teach us these are important values.

Unfortunately, we don’t know much about our ancestors. But we know for sure they are part of us, they have contributed greatly to our lives, they have inspired and shaped our lives, they are even guiding us now!

Today we have got to know that the more we discover about our past, the greater ithe connection we feel to our ancestors. The more we know about our family’s history, the stronger our sense of control over our lives is, the higher our self-esteem is and the more successfully we believe in our families!

Today we have found out that learning the history of our ancestors helps us gain a greater understanding of ourselves, develop compassion and selflessness and build our resilience! Today we have realised the importance of recording our families’ history.we have also learnt to respect our ancestors. Now we know

that respect for our ancestors is respect for ourselves!

Anna Poplavskaya, Snezhanna Dovnar and the students of the 9th form