Translator: Elisabeth Buffard
Reviewer: Denise RQ Are you ready for the big leap?
The great leap into the unknown. I don't know about you,
but when I hear this kind of idea, it has a double effect on me: on the one hand, I'm excited
because, wow! The great adventure! Then on the other hand, I'm terrified... that kind of thing
can freak you out, right? That's the double feeling
I experienced in 2008, when finally I decided to throw myself
into the great adventure. So how come that, between
terror and excitement, the excitement prevailed? Well, I must say, I've been very lucky
because I've learned from the best, I had excellent teachers, my parents. When I was a little girl,
I was about two and a half, 3 years old, I was lucky to come across a great couple: Marie Thérèse and Michel,
who became my adoptive parents. And when they decided
to take care of me, to take me in, that wasn't their first time; it really was not
their greatest achievement. You must know that at the end
of their big adventure, they have saved and raised 20 children,
adopted from around the world. So it is true that every time
my parents found themselves facing a child whose situation
was so complex that he was considered "unadoptable",
it broke their heart and they said: "We can not
leave him out, we'll take him in!" And that's how, gradually,
the family grew. So that's really what always
amazed me about them, about Marie-Thérèse and Michel: the fact that they do not ask
a thousand questions before acting, they would identify
an emergency, a child to save, no more questions,
we'll take him in, that's all. Yet, it was not easy. It was really risky because my parents are
just ordinary people from northern France, they're not rich people, and so each new mouth
to feed was a challenge. Yet, they have consistently
pushed back the limits, they really were people who, ultimately, would leap into the unknown
regularly without even realizing it and would take those risks
simply out of love. It's true you could say that it is
not reasonable, and it would be so because that's where it happens,
beyond the reasonable, a place where miracles
can begin to work, nothing less. One day, a 5-year old little girl
arrived at home, my little sister Cathy. When Cathy arrived in our home,
she was all violence. During her whole childhood, her biological parents
had strongly abused her. They got regularly angry because when they called her,
she would not answer. No wonder, since Cathy
was born deaf, profoundly deaf. So the only language
Cathy knew was that of violence. When you approached Cathy
she would pull your hair, would bit you, she would scratch you... For months, my mother would respond to
each act of violence with a caress. And day after day,
week after week, gradually, Cathy's true nature
emerged again: sweetness. A few months after Cathy's arrival, it was Gaston's turn
to join our home, to be adopted. My little brother Gaston, 6-7 years old,
came straight from Cameroon, and there, when he was little,
he fell into a fire which gave him a frightening appearance
because he completely lost his face. He had no face. In the street, some people
would change sidewalk, others would say, "Take off your mask!" He was still a little boy. When he arrived home,
Cathy saw him from afar, and then with gestures, she showed us
that she didn't want to approach him, that she found him frightening. Of course, nobody forced her to do so. Then Cathy began to observe him
from a a distance for several days. Being deaf, she realized
Gaston was almost blind. Because in the fire,
he had lost an eye, and he could only see
very little with the other one. Then slowly, she approached Gaston, she took his hand and then,
she showed him around the house. A huge love between Gaston
and Cathy began to emerge, an immense brotherly love and tenderness. Well, that's how we lived at home.
It was that kind of daily life. You know, this kind
of adventure is not simple, it sometimes causes problems
with the neighbors, local people, being judgmental. My parents were much criticized,
even judged, they were called fools. You know, judgment may be very severe for those who try to change
the rules of the game. who decide to act unconventionally. Still, it's worth it. You know, there is this quote
by St. Augustine that says: "The measure of love,
is to love without measure." I think it really applies
to what my parents wanted to live. So in 2008, I have all those values welling up in my heart, in my mind, and a big bang happened inside me. That's when I really decided
to take the big leap. I am a journalist. I love my job. And now, when all
these memories come back to me, I realize that ultimately,
people like my parents, are heroes, modern heroes,
heroes of love heroes nobody talks about,
the unsung heroes, the humble heroes. Because they have never done anything
to be in the spotlight, or for glory. So I thought, "but in fact, there are
plenty of people like that around us, but we never talk about them.
And it's time we talk about them." So I thought, "that's what
I want to do now." That's when I truly took that leap, that is to say, I left the world
of traditional media, the usual programs I used to present, to create a brand new structure through which I produce media content in a quite original
and totally philanthropic way. In French, it's called 'Le Projet Imagine'
and in English, 'The Humble Heroes.' With Humble Heroes,
I meet all those women and men who dare, who truly venture
into unknown territories who believe in it. In fact, these men
and women have identified societal issues around them, different issues that have
affected them so much or even shocked them
in such a way that they thought: "Now, I'm going to roll up
my sleeves and tackle this." And to make their portrait
is truly a privilege because that's when you realize
that anything is possible, that's the message they give us: everything is possible, and it's worth it,
and it is in our hands. It will come not from above,
or from politics, it's in our hands Because clearly, if each of us here
would decide to act, the way we can, well, the world will change. It is true that very often, heroes and heroines do
with very limited resources. They're people like us, they do not necessarily have
the wallet of Bill Gates, they don't necessarily have
Einstein's brain either, but they've got that energy,
and and conquering spirit. That is their wealth. And truly, they change the game, they push back the limits
of what's possible. So they're a great inspiration. So, back in 2008,
when I decided to take the leap. But you understood
that at that point, I freaked out! Frankly, I have the jitters! I'm scared! It's only normal I should be scared,
because we are not naive, we know that life is not a bed of roses, and sure enough, at first,
I won't succeed, I'll struggle. First, I experienced
a year-and-a-half dry period. The pits; no more work, no money, I don't know how to pay my rent,
frankly, I hit rock bottom. But something in me
does not collapse. There is something in me,
in my heart, that stays alert. I expect something,
I'm waiting for the miracle. Because you see, in my family
we've become addicted to miracles. And one of the greatest miracles
we had the chance to experience, was the arrival of my little brother,
Pierre Vincent. One day, my parents hear
about a little 2 and a half year-old boy, in a nursery in Tours. His case is a case of emergency,
because social services... nurseries only keeps
toddlers or babies. So, he has reached an age limit. Social services have no other choice than to transfer him
to a psychiatric institution even though this little boy
is completely sane. So how come social services don't know
what to do with this little boy? Well, Pierre-Vincent
was abandoned at birth as he was born without arms and legs. My parents went to visit him in Tours, and not to frighten him,
they had to wear white gowns because he had never seen other people
than health personnel. And so they wore these white gowns
not to frighten him. They met this boy, and they literally fell in love
with this little boy. But they are not completely crazy...
still a little bit anyway! They were well aware
of the immense responsibility it represented while there was already
a good dozen young children at home. So when they came home,
for the only time in our history, they gathered us in the small
living room of our little house, and they explained it to us. They told us about
Pierre-Vincent's situation, about this little boy who has
no arms or legs, and they said: "In fact, we want to ask your permission, because we'll have to pay attention
to his every need, and so we'll need you. So we leave you the whole day
to think about it, and then tonight, you will tell us your answer." I remember very well,
with my sister Hélène who's from Bangalore, South India, - you should know
that her file read 'too dark'; I don't know if today someone
would dare write that down, but still, I think
we should remain vigilant - that got up to my room and then with my sister Virginie
from South Korea, we took one of our favorite dolls, we removed her arms and legs
to see what the problem was exactly. Because, you know, children
are very practically-minded! Watching this doll, it was obvious to us
that it remained a little boy! So we could not see
what the problem was. That night, when we got together, well, it was a huge, unanimous yes. Yes, of course we want to take him in. And then we felt something
really special was happening because my parents were crying and we rarely saw my parents cry. We really felt something
important was happening. It took a few months for
the adoption file to go through and then that was it, they went to
Tours to get Pierre-Vincent. In the meantime, we were waiting, we were a bit restless at home
because between northern France and Tours, no one knew exactly
what time they would be back, so there was an atmosphere, you know, as if we were waiting
for baby Jesus in the manger. And it was very exciting. And then that was it, they arrived. And my parents are very beautiful,
very tall, very slender, and it was mom who had
Pierre-Vincent in her arms, and you know, a little boy
of 2 and a half who has no arms or legs looks like a 6-month old baby;
and our hearts melted. Our hearts really melted looking at
this little child's face and that smile, because Pierre-Vincent is
the joy of living incarnate. It's true we already were living
beautiful things in this home, under this roof, but with Pierre-Vincent,
we really went to another level. It has welded us, he cemented us because he has given us this opportunity
to become his arms and legs. Today, Pierre-Vincent is the only high-level athlete
in the family! He was three times
champion of France at rifle shooting. He plays football in the first division,
in his electric wheelchair, he's just won European electric
wheelchair football championship. Quite an achievement. (Applause) When I tell you everything is possible! Einstein said, there are only
two ways to live your life: one is as though nothing is a miracle, and the other is as though
everything is a miracle, but he forgot to mention
that to be able to experience miracles for miracles to have
a real place in our lives, there is a price to pay, though. We must be able to take risks, must truly dare
to put ourselves in danger, because comfort and miracle
don't go well together. That's the way it is,
it's freaky, but it is worth it. So if you want to live an intense life
packed with miracles, go ahead, take the leap. But do it more like my heroes:
do not take a leap into the unknown, take a big leap straight into love. Thank you. (Applause)
