Of course many teenage mums, against the odds, are immensely successful parents.
Mr Mugabe is no longer wholly in charge. That is a huge change. The task now for Zimbabweans and outsiders who wish them well is to try, against the odds, to make a bad deal work.
Mr Tsvangirai, noting that against the odds the MDC still managed to win the previous general election, evidently thinks he can pull off the feat more decisively next time.
Mr Dunaszewski said he was often startled by the naivety of his countrymen. "Most headed to Britain with very little or no knowledge of English to ask for a job yet, against the odds, around 70 per cent succeeded," he said.
She won that fight against the odds. But last year she lost an attempt win a seat in parliament, in blatantly rigged elections.
Premature baby that the High Court ruled should be left to die by hospital doctors has survived against the odds.