I enrolled in this course because I have always been passionate about impacting on a global scale. My project is Community Engagement and Environmental Initiatives in Kazakhstan. I grew up in a community that is unfortunately forgotten and does not have a lot of power to voice out for themselves. My community consists of a lot of people who are trapped in the poverty cycle, so they are constantly in survival mode. Pollution and overall environmental neglect are common in my community due to the lack of resources, finances, and education. The Global Social Impact Fellowship (GSIF) program’s mission resonated with me because I thought of how I want to be part of the solutions to the issues that communities who lack a voice are dealing with.

I aspire to become the person that my community is in desperate need of. My enrollment in the program will give me the tools that I need to heal and collaborate with communities like the one I am from. I will be able to gain hands-on experience that will actually have an impact on the world. The course will allow me to be innovative and act upon my ideas.

I envision this course making me a better student because of the real-world challenges that I will be navigating through. I have sat through many lectures that repeatedly told me what the issues were and how action is immediately required.

I am now being given a platform to do something about the presented issues. The experience will also allow me to sculpt myself to be a more innovative and creative thinker. Those traits are desperately needed because I will be solving issues that have never been figured out or encountered within my future career. The fellowship will allow me to get involved and experience with issues that I am passionate about and begin my mission and journey of life: making a change for a better future. In addition, the GSIF program will make me a better student because of the realistic experience of trial and error. My project is new, so my team will have to navigate through the issue without any work to use as a format or guide. We will need to learn how to be patient and embrace failure. These projects are addressing issues that have not been solved yet so I will be gaining an understanding of why failure should not let you down. Without failure, there will be no improvements. This first-hand experience will build a student who thinks out the box and acknowledges that the process to success is not a smooth ride.

The global issue of over one billion people not having access to a pair of eyeglasses, according to the World Health Organization is an alarming issue that needs to be addressed. The way I would address the issue is by setting up a global recycling program that allows people to donate their old pairs of eyeglasses. According to Jobson Research, about 177 million people in the United States need some form of vision correction. Of those 177 million people, 64% use eyeglasses. Eyeglass users are constantly renewing their pairs of eyeglasses throughout their lifetime due to minor scratches, prescription change, etc.

The recycling program will allow eyeglass users to recycle their old eyeglasses instead of tossing them out or just letting them sit in a drawer. The program will need to be a collaborative system that connects as many pharmacies and eye doctor offices. The process of donating would simply consist of a drop box located at as many locations as possible where an individual can give as many old eyeglasses as they can. The recycling program will be based in the United States. There will be monthly pick-ups from each donation box so that the used eyeglasses can be sorted out by prescription and sent out to the places that are in desperate need of this medical attention. Kenya was an example that was given as a nation that is in need of eyeglasses. Therefore, there would be offices scattered throughout Kenya where they can fill out an application explaining their need for a pair of eyeglasses. After the application is submitted, there will be an eye evaluation. The eye evaluation will allow the office to provide the individual with the most convenient prescription.

A problem that I may encounter with this recycling program is the funding for the abroad offices that will be in charge of equally distributing eyeglasses to people in need. This global issue will also need to be addressed by making the public aware of the issue. Along with the recycling program, I would utilize social media as a platform for making people aware of the issue and motivated to participate and contribute. With education and awareness, the recycling program can be even more successful and impactful.