About Yovel Badash and the Light Language
Ten years ago, Yovel Badash began applying his experience as entrepreneur and technologist to help inspire students to learn.
He founded the education platform company NaMaYa to deliver online education and learning support to both teachers and students. His mission to transform education took him to Hartford, Connecticut. While working with parents and at-risk youth, Yovel realized that improved learning solutions were insufficient to address the enormous systemic challenges undermining education in the United States.
Broader social and economic issues repeatedly disrupt incremental gains in educational progress within the community. A pervasive lack of economic development and job opportunities not only makes it tremendously difficult for parents to consistently provide stability and food security for their families, but also robs students of hope that their studies will help them find stable work in the future.
Housing market challenges further disrupt education gains. In poor neighborhoods the exceedingly poor quality of housing stock and frequent disruptions due to evictions and foreclosures exacerbate both economic and education challenges. The consistent threat of homelessness increases familial stress and promotes absenteeism, thus further driving down student performance.
To combat these negative forces, Yovel began his journey to rediscover and share the learnings of the light language. He was inspired by a set of philosophical images on the tiles in an antique fireplace in the inner-city home he was renovating. Each tile highlighted one of the light language words and inspired him to begin researching their origins. The journey has led him to become a modern-day urban philosopher teaching the light language to help students, educators, and community members find their unique paths to greater productivity, happiness, and serenity.
Dream, Power & Light
"We dance for laughter, we dance for tears, we dance for madness, we dance for fears, we dance for hopes, we dance for screams, we are the dancers, we create the dreams."
- Albert Einstein
"The most common way people give up their power is by thinking they don’t have any."
- Alice Walker, The Color Purple
"Perhaps all you need to do to be more fully lit from within is to be around people who see your light."
- Victoria Moran