You Can Make a Difference
by Nia Sherar
=93Nothing I can do about it=85guess I=92ll go fishing," my =
boyfriend used to=20
say when I would rant on about politics and world poverty. I would =
shake=20
my index finger in his face and say, =93Yes you can!=94
This I believe, you can make a difference.We live in the =
wealthiest=20
nation in the world and we should make a difference.
Consider these statistics:
- 1 out of 3 people in our world lack basic sanitation.=20
- 1 out of 6 people in our world have inadequate access to =
clean=20
water.=20
- 1 out of 6 people in our world cannot read a book or write =
their=20
name.=20
- 1 out of 6 people in our world live on less $1 a =
day.
My childhood dream was to plant corn to feed the starving =
children in=20
Africa.As I grew older, I knew that simply planting corn would not =
end=20
hunger. I wanted to do something but what could I do?
In 1976, Mohammad Yunus, a Bangladeshi economist, met a group =
of 42=20
impoverished women who made and sold baskets. Each morning they =
borrowed=20
money for their supplies from money sharks. Each evening profits =
from=20
their day=92s work was eaten up when they repaid their usurious =
loans. Yunus=20
wanted to make a difference. He loaned the group of 42 women the=20
equivalent of $27, never expecting to be repaid. When these =
illiterate=20
women repaid him, microcredit and the Grameen Bank were born.
To date, microcredit has helped over 10 million poor women and =
their=20
families overcome poverty. Yunus won the Noble Peace Prize in =
2006. He is=20
making a difference.
When I learned about Mohammad Yunus and microcredit, I knew =
this was=20
the way I could make a difference. In 1999 I completed over 30 =
pages of=20
IRS forms to establish the Opportunity Fund for Developing =
Countries=20
(OFDC). Eight years later, with a lot of hard work and commitment =
our=20
grassroots, volunteer-powered organization has raised over half a =
million=20
dollars to offer a bridge to poor Kenyan women and children to =
improve=20
their lives. Our volunteer Kenyan administrators work with =
villagers who=20
live with no electricity or running water.
With donations:
- women are starting small businesses and with their profits =
they are=20
able to feed their families=20
- girls are in school, avoiding forced child marriages=20
- children are sleeping under treated nets, protected from =
malaria=20
carrying mosquitoes=20
- villagers are building water wells and latrines, improving =
community=20
sanitation and decreasing illness
Poli, poli, (slowly, =
slowly)=20
each OFDC volunteer is making a difference. We are little ripples =
making=20
big waves.
My Danish sister-in-law says they are raised with =93what makes =
you think=20
you=92re so special?=94 Here in the States it=92s =93you=92re =
special. You can do=20
anything.=94 I think it should be =93you=92re special. You can =
make a=20
difference.=94
This I believe.
My former boyfriend, now husband no longer says, =93Nothing I =
can do=20
about it.=94 But he still goes fishing.
Back to This =
I Believe=20
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