• List ten things that make you feel human.
• 1. Mistakes or failures that I make, such as failing exams or missing deadlines
  2. Rejection
  3. Fluctuation of emotions – being happy one minute and disappointed the other
  4. Lack of motivation
  5. Being inefficient with time
  6. Procrastination
  7. Observing intricate and specific details in the environment around me
  8. Learning and understanding different concepts in class
  9. Having opinions about different political and social issues
  10. Listening to my conscious while making decisions about different issues in life

• Articulate your philosophy of engagement as it pertains to your work with the GSIF / LVSIF.

Philosophy tells us how to think about different issues in the world, and our philosophy of engagement tells us how we should engage with our world, society, and own community. However, some people may believe that we should not engage with our society and just keep to ourselves. I believe that our engagement with issues should be limitless, letting our potential travel wherever it can. If we were to enclose our engagement to only our community and focus only on the people around us, we could have a more powerful impact because of our increased knowledge of the world around us. But this philosophy ignores communities and countries in need in the world around us. Such societies may not have people equipped with knowledge, educational capability, or financial stability to make a difference – they need support from people overseas or in different communities to help support them and grow as a community. And the only way they can achieve this is if other people begin to engage with the world outside of their primary residence. This idea is important to my work with GSIF because it is one of the reasons for why I decided to undergo my research project – to contribute and exercise my skills outside of my community so I can support and aid others who lack the capacity to do so. The engagement we should make with those around us should be tolerant, humbling, and caring, but they should also be clear, direct, and straightforward without any concealment. As I refer to direct and clear engagement, I refer to the idea that our engagement with the world and people around us should be realistic, without hiding any challenges or conflicts in a situation to make someone feel better. We have to be clear about what the world may make us encounter in the future. This idea is relevant to my project because me and my team have to be realistic about how we can solve malnutrition in Sierra Leone by accepting the fact that we will not immediately solve malnutrition in the country – but that we are taking steps towards reducing malnutrition by creating products contained with nutrient and slowly introducing them to individual villages. Additionally, when we introduce our products, we have to make our consumers aware that our product will not magically cure childrens’ malnutrition, but that our product gives them nutrients that they do not get based on their typical daily diet. Challenges when engaging with different people and communities is introducing new and unfamiliar concepts that create discomfort and unfamiliarity despite creating multiple benefits. It is a challenge to deviate from what one is familiar with in life, even though you know you will benefit from it. To accommodate oneself and others who go through changes in life, it is easier for one to slowly delve into change by taking steps towards making a difference in habits, actions, and behaviors. In our work with GSIF, our group is introducing Sierra Leoneans to new foods that provide nutrients their traditional foods would not otherwise by incorporating ingredients their community is already familiar with, creating new recipes with a similar taste to their traditional food, and distributing food by selling it in bakeries Sierra Leoneans are already familiar with, rather than just giving it away for free as a stranger, which would result in a waste of food because villages and families would not consume the product due to mistrust and extreme unfamiliarity