Finding My Passion

The following is an interview that a Restless Youth member did with me for a class assignment. Mariana (the interviewer) is an inspiring 16 year old high school student who I came to know after she did her co-0p with me under Restless Youth, she is determined to bring change and is taking the initiative to ensure she gets to where she wants to be…I also must admit, Mariana’s addition to our group of volunteers gave us all the kick in the butt we needed to form Restless Youth and increase our involvement.

What got you interested in helping people in Africa?

My interest in Africa happened in a round-a-bout way I guess you can say. Growing up my parents were heavily involved with medical missions in China and took my brothers and me with them a couple of times. I actually really did not enjoy it at all and got incredibly sick; after that I used to tell my mom that I would never go to a country where I had to drink water out of a bottle ever again. Needless to say, for quite awhile I was not interested in doing work in developing countries. But my interest in travel and the international community was not totally dead. I’ve sponsored a child from Sri Lanka through World Vision since I was in grade 7 and really enjoyed visiting other countries. My brothers (both who are older than me) had gone on several volunteer trips to countries such as China, Argentina, the Philippines, and Uganda. I enjoyed listening to their stories about what they were doing there and the people that they got to work with and help.

In late 2004/early 2005 my interest in going somewhere actually formed into action, I took a semester off from university and went with the Canadian organization, Youth Challenge International on a 2 month trip to Costa Rica. I enjoyed Costa Rica; especially being a part of a small community for an extended amount of time…it went beyond being a tourist and actually let me experience “regular life” in the country. While I enjoyed Costa Rica I realized that while I was there and even more so when I returned home that there was no real need for myself and the group I went with to be there…it wasn’t like we were doing anything that the community was incapable of doing…in fact, while the community was quite rural they were quite well off, well organized and everyone had good living conditions and health. For some reason I really wanted to create change, I wanted to be immersed in some of the harshest living conditions in the world so that I could understand what people living in them went through and actually be of use.

In 2007 I decided to take another semester off and go to Africa because I loved my brother’s stories and pictures of his experiences there and felt that this was a region of the world where I may be able to make a difference. So I went to Uganda with an organization called Global Volunteer Network (based in New Zealand).

While in Uganda I built some amazing friendships and met so many people who have touched my life in so many different ways. The people that I have come to know and love in the past few years face struggles that are overwhelming but who nevertheless continue to push forward with a hope that is inspiring.  Through my relationships with these friends, I have discovered my calling to walk side-by-side with them in confronting the great challenges of poverty and ill-health that they face. These lives are what moved me to know that this area of the world was something that I couldn’t simply forget or leave behind after returning to Canada.

(I have returned to Uganda since my first trip and plan to continue to return as often as possible!)

What are your future plans regarding helping people in third world countries?

With the help of a group of volunteers I have formed the group Restless Youth. We are interested in getting Canadians engaged and moved to action to create change in Sub-Saharan Africa. I dislike that a lot of people are apathetic to the way things are and how unequal the world is (even in our own communities), I want to spread my passion for helping those who are in the most desperate kinds of situations. A documentary on the change that youth can make globally and organizing volunteer trips to work with some community organizations that I have connections with is also something that I would like to do…it’s just figuring out all the logistics.

Also, for my next trip I want to spend time in refugee camps. I feel that displaced populations are such a high priority in terms of need because not only are they dealing with everything else that those who are the most impoverished live in, but they are also facing the fact that they are a displaced population and that comes with a whole bunch of other problems. It’s something that fascinates me and breaks my heart at the same time.

I actually want to dedicate my life work to helping in third world countries…so my future plans go well beyond what I am doing right now.

What goals did you make for yourself that you want to achieve in your career?

Ultimately I want to work for a Canadian Not-for-profit and be based in Canada while going overseas for 1-6 months at a time to do development project set-up, planning, implementation, monitoring, etc.  My brother plans on opening a hospital somewhere in Africa (he’s in med school right now) so maybe one day I’ll run the foundation that will fund his work there. I’d really like to work with HIV initiatives more closely as that seems to be a big interest of mine.

Do you have any regrets regarding your career that someone like me could learn from?

Yes and no. Sometimes I really regret that I didn’t do my degree in something more directly applicable to international development (my degree is in Commerce)…I seriously considered changing my major late in my third year but opted to stick to finishing my commerce degree since I was so close and business is SOOOOO useful in all fields. I’m happy with what I did because I have skills and knowledge from studying business that are needed in the field and that not everybody has…but maybe I should have picked up a minor? However, I am in the process of getting a Certificate in International Development from University of British Columbia….I enrolled in this program because I felt it would give me a stronger theoretical background in the Development field, as well it would (and is) building my network of people of all ages and backgrounds who are interested in this area. I have also recently been accepted into the University of London’s London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine to do a Master’s of Science in Public Health...I didn’t have plans to go to grad school at all, but after reflecting on my last couple of visits to Uganda and what I really wanted to do I understood that in order to make a real impact and be hands on in the way that I want to be I needed to strengthen my training so that I would have the right kind of knowledge and experience to open the doors that I want to open and to make the difference I want to make.

I do regret not getting more involved earlier. However, I went on a long path that led me to knowing what I want and being incredibly passionate about it and I think that there is a lot of value in that. Passion doesn’t come instantly; it’s something that is built through experience and knowledge building so I think that the path I took was something that had to happen in order for me to have formed this life-long commitment and strong drive.

I guess my advice to someone like you is to keep your interest but let yourself experience lots of different things (even outside of international development related things) so that you can really find what drives you and where you want to focus your efforts.

Is there any one that inspired you or mentored you to become who you are today?

I guess the influence from my parents being involved in the mission field was planting the seeds for where I am today and they have definitely been nothing but supportive and encouraging of doing what I want to do. And again, my brothers who pursued the paths that they have based on their experiences in developing countries…the one that has done a lot of work in Africa has definitely been a direct inspiration for being in Sub-Saharan Africa and a great support. However, I think after having been to Uganda it is the people (especially the kids) and their stories that inspire me to keep going in this direction and doing what I do.