Blog Post #1

I applied to be a Global Social Impact Fellow because it is the exact first step I was looking for to help me fulfill my passion. My dream/goal when I graduate Lehigh is to work for a non-profit that works with people in need, either domestically or internationally, to help better their lives. I was fortunate enough to be born into a stable life, and because of that, I want to do everything in my power to help others achieve a safe life as well. I have the resources, so it is only right that I use it to help others. I also really value the impact of making a sustainable difference. I believe that in order to make a lasting difference, you have to change a process. You have to dig deeper than just the surface level issue to change it for good. Handing out food to a community that is starving is not going to stop them from being hungry next week. Building a school for a town is not going to help them pay for and locate teachers to educate the youth. In order to truly make a difference, you have to get to know the people within the country, or location, you are working with. You have to see what their lifestyle is like and how they believe things could be better.

I learned this the fall of my Junior year in high school. That year I traveled with my church to Guatemala to a small aldea with whom we have had a partnership with for over 10 years. The people of La Morena (the aldea) live in extreme poverty, and our parish’s goal was to figure out a way to make their lives better. So the initial trip (over 10 years ago) was just to meet the villagers, talk to them, see what their daily life was like, and ask them what they thought would make their lives better. After a few more trips, our parish decided that establishing a microfinace program with the villagers would serve the best. Through our program, we give out loans to the villagers, with very minimal interest rates, to help them start their businesses. Then, we stand with them every step of the way to help them make their company thrive if they need us. On my visit, I was able to see the impact these loans have had. For many people there, pig farming is a major source of income, and with the loans they were able to build that up. People also used their loans for their coffee farms, or to start selling merchandise. It was really neat to hear their stories about how it empowered them to make their lives better. That is why I wanted to join GSIF because it has the same goal: to initiate a long lasting change that finds the root of the cause, empowers locals, and works collaboratively to make a huge difference.

As I mentioned, I envision this course making me a better International Relations/Economics student by preparing me for the type of work that I want to do after college. Part of the work I want to do for a non-profit is learning about a country, doing research, and working with locals to enact a lasting and meaningful change. GSIF will begin to give me the experience and tools I need to do this later in life.

In places where eye care is likely most needed, is also where there are the fewest optometrists and specialists in the field. That is why I believe a good place to begin to solve this crisis is to place optometrists from developed countries, into clinics in countries that are underdeveloped. By putting an experienced optometrist in clinics all around the world, it will increase the knowledge about the importance of eye check ups. Once the optometrists are stationed at clinics, they can teach the doctors there about eye health. In addition, the optometrists can perform eye checks on patients that arrive for other issues, which will broaden their reach. Hopefully, that will begin to set a standard of eye check ups annually, or bi-annually at clinics. Therefore, once the specialized optometrists return home, the doctors they taught will be able to continue to check people. In regards to supplying the physical glasses, the optometrists that are sent to the underdeveloped countries should bring some lenses and frames with them. But while they are there, they can also educate locals on how to make glasses themselves. So while they will be provided eye glasses for the first few months/years, they will soon learn how to make them on their own, which will in turn create more jobs and continue to broaden the knowledge about basic eye care.

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