Cracking the Code on Kindness, Compassion and Helping Others- Meet Henri Migala

I met Henri through a friend of mine and when he said to me, “Henri is the most kind and selfless person I have ever met!” I thought he was exaggerating, but after getting to know Henri’s and all that he has done for people around him, I can unarguably say- Yes he is a humble, selfless & kind person and I feel lucky that I got to talk to him. I wish I could share all of his stories because they are fascinating, but due to space constraints here is a summarized version.

Tell me about yourself?

I was born in Paris, to a French mother and Polish father. My father had to flee Poland after WWII because the communists were trying to kill him. He fought against the Nazis as a boy and then against the communists. He made it to Paris and was homeless and almost starved to death living on the streets of. My father eventually taught himself French, enrolled in architectural college, and became an architect. My mother got a graduate degree in linguistics at the same college, that’s where they met and got married.

Growing up we moved a lot, we lived in Thailand, Texas, and eventually in Germany.

Wow, your parents are amazing! What happened next?

Yes, they are.

I graduated from high school at 16 and attended the University of Dallas Holy Trinity Catholic Seminary (studying to be a priest). In my last year as an undergrad, I took an anthropology class, a subject I had never heard of before. I was totally amazed that there was an academic discipline that was basically about my life! Anthropology was about different cultures and different people and languages. It was a subject that was about me and the experience I had been living. So, when I graduated and immediately went to graduate school to pursue a degree in anthropology.

Tell me about the amazing work you have done for the past couple of decades?

Most of my professional career has been divided between higher education administration and international health and development. In higher education, I’ve been an…