Friday, January 29, 2010

A Change to Make.

There are some things that change you forever. Once you go through it, there's no going back. Once you've seen something, there's no erasing it from your mind. That's what Burundi has become for me. It is the underlying theme for all things cultural. It's become this huge revelation to me in my Social Work classes here at Columbia. When we talk about social issues, people, diversity, poverty etc. I think about my time in Burundi. How could I not?

There is no going back, there is no re-doing it, but there is a sense of re-living it. Moment by moment in my mind as I think back to all of the things that I saw. All the things I experienced. All of the things that I cant solve. All the things I would want to solve if I could snap my fingers and make Burundi a better place...

The best question I was asked when I returned to the States was, "If you were to invest in one Development area what would it be and why." My answer without hesitation is Education.

Education could help with so many other concerns: AIDS, Clean Water, Disease, Agricultural terracing, Infrastructure, Gender roles, Domestic violence, violence, war, genocide etc. I could go on...

So here's a question for you. Think of a Country that tugs on your heart. Maybe it's Burundi, Kenya, Guatemala, Croatia or China. What Development issue would be your top choice to solve for that country/region and why? It's a big question.

Which leads to an even bigger question--once you've chosen said life changing issue, how would you implement that change? Easier said than done, but possible right?

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