From the very beginning of my journey at Lehigh I wanted to be apart of a bigger global community that promotes intercultural relations and exemplifies the beauty of cultural interactions. This drove me to be a member of not only the global Lehigh themed housing community, but as well as an ambassador for Global Union and a member of the Global Citizenship Program. Being raised by immigrant parents whom had no formal education has instilled the values of not only signifying the importance of education but aiding those who need help. Despite growing up living from paycheck to paycheck, my parents always donated food and clothing to families back in Guyana. Consequently, hearing about the progress and impact GSIF is making and attempting to make in various countries greatly propels me to become apart of something that is far bigger than myself. GSIF provides me a platform that will help me make an impact far greater than one that I can make on my own. In summary, I want to make a lasting impact on the world, especially in the countries where people struggle the most. 

Engineers are generally thought to be logical, problem solving oriented, and analytical. By taking part in a program such a GSIF I can expand my skill set to become someone who is more distinguished than my peers, someone who can think of more creative and innovative solutions to problems that aren’t necessarily focused on innovations in consumerist and capital markets but social problems that are often overlooked. This is partly the reason I joined the Global Citizenship program as well, I want to use my skill set in every way imaginable to make this world a better place. Even more so, GSIF is my foundation is doing that. This class will expose me to social issues that are seemingly out of my educational focus but will allow me to use my skills in different applications such as understanding the social issues that come with constructing new computers and the effects that such innovations may have on people. Being a member of the Smart Cities group helps me understand how developing technological innovations that have direct involvement in people’s daily lives can be just as detrimental as beneficial. 

To begin to solve this issue we must realize that the method to ensuring a long term solution begins by providing education to future generations to create a better standard of healthcare, even so for areas outside of that. Even more so, for this to happen we must allocate funding that might not currently exist towards national healthcare and education. In fact, studies by organizations such as School and Health show that education is one of the strongest instruments for reducing poverty and improving health, enabling people to not only be productive and earn a better living but to also allow them to contribute to their country’s overall economic growth. This initiative would not only break the inherent poverty cycle, but also, provide a foundation that allows to solve future systemic problems that may occur. Additionally, when it comes to the short term side of the solution we would have to import certified optometrists from external sources such as partnered or allied countries, NPO’s, and NGO’s to train current medical personnel to learn to diagnose and evaluate the necessary eye care people in these countries need. Thus, by simultaneously providing medical training and improving the quality of education in these countries we can solve the issue of lack of medical training and overall improve the healthcare systems in developing countries.

When it comes to getting the eye glasses themselves it would be contingent upon the success of providing these countries with quality education, in which the long term effects of an increased economy in these countries would allow the manufacturing of eyeglasses to be more feasible. Furthermore, for the short term side of this solution, we would collect donated glasses and use the imported optometrist and the medical personnel being trained to help distribute the glasses to who needs them. Generally speaking if funding were to be allocated correctly, there should be enough to fund a project such as this, especially with the help of developed countries and large organizations such as the United Nations.