I will continue to
maintain that proximity is the most important part of development. If anyone,
and I mean anyone, truly wants to make a difference in the world you have to be
close to the people that you want to work with, empower, and ultimately help. The
only thing that comes in a close second is supporting those who are in close
proximity. That is why you find me where I am, in Tanzania, doing work that I
love, but which I know would be almost impossible to do from anywhere else.
Today I had another example, among many, as to why proximity is so important.
This afternoon the
scholarship committee of Wesley College sat to figure out which of the students
who applied for scholarships was going to receive them. We had 10 new
scholarships to assign and almost 30 students who had made requests. What I
can say is that all of the students had the grades, some better than others,
but all of them will do well at Wesley College. All of the students have
financial need, they were orphans, single mothers, students who are young adults who have
been left on their own with no family support, small holder farmers whose
entire family makes less than $75 a month. And I saw the members of the committee
dig into what is a beautiful and sometimes depressing struggle.
I would say
that there are many people in the world who could help contribute to these
students so that they could study and finish their college education. Some of
you reading this may have already done so. But many, many of the people who
have this ability do not know these students. They don’t know the students
without parents who are raising themselves and trying to find some piece of
calm in their lives to study. They don’t see how their grades slowly improve
the longer they are in the Wesley College environment of caring teachers, daily
prayers, and encouraging classmates. They don't know the single mother with 12
children, 2 of whom are currently studying at Wesley College. They don’t get a
chance to share in the dreams of students who see their chance at education as
a way to change their communities, but lack a simple $500 to be able to cover
their tuition fees. I say that because I believe if they did know them and did
see them, that we would have been able to choose many more students for
scholarships today.
At the same time the
scholarship committee was able to experience something new today. They have the
proximity and have had the proximity for much of their lives, and for the first
time they were given the ability to get to decide who to help. They were faced
with the dilemma of having the resources to help change someone’s life, even though it wasn’t
enough to change everyone’s. And the conversation, the comments made, the way
that they were pulling for the students and seeing the possibilities for change
within their lives through this small gift is to be honest one of the more
inspiring things I have seen in a long time. They know these students since
many of them are returning students, having finished their certificate level
and are now applying for diploma. They started asking questions about how we
get the scholarships, how we could raise more, and what they could do in order
to help. It was because of their proximity that it became something so real,
raw, and powerful within this small group of staff.
So I say again,
proximity. Get to know the people around you. Get to know the vulnerable
populations, and get to know their names, faces, and stories. And if you feel
so moved, consider supporting scholarships at Wesley College. We have a group
of very committed, very thoughtful staff who are hoping and praying for a few
more scholarships so that one more orphan, or one more young adult hauling and
selling water or making handmade soap for a living can get their education and
transform their life.
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