While I live in Southern California, it feels as if I live in two places at once. My body continues to grow and mature in sunny California, but my heart often wanders across the Atlantic to Malawi, a poverty-stricken country in Africa where my father lives. For the last ten years, he has worked tirelessly to establish school feeding programs in Malawi and in neighboring countries. Since his career is one centered upon humanitarian efforts, he has impressed upon me the idea of living a life for others and the value of service. He said that even one person can make a difference and that you should not be afraid to dream big. But I couldn’t see it. I couldn’t comprehend how one person make a difference in the midst of so much suffering.
When I visited him last summer, I saw what I expected to see - broken infrastructure, malnourished children, and limited access to clean water. It seemed as if everything in this country required fixing. How, then, could my father think he could make an impact here? Society has been fighting poverty for years, so what could one man do? As these thoughts crowded my brain, we began our tour of Luchenza, a local elementary school. I saw children sitting on dirt floors, wearing tattered clothes, and learning in classrooms with no electricity. I felt confused because I could not see any obvious signs of improvement in this school.
After the tour, I expressed how unfair it was that he had spent so much time there yet couldn’t make even a dent on the poverty level. Judging by the look on his face, I knew I had spoken too soon. He explained to me how much time and energy went into to establishing Luchenza. Land was purchased, contracts signed, and sacrifices made. In just a few short months, they built the school from the ground up and already, it was bustling with over a thousand eager children. And Luchenza was but one school in a long list of schools that were established and receiving daily school lunches. For some students, lunch at school would be the only meal they would have that day and their mothers would urge them to attend school. These children were growing in both body and in spirit and I saw how powerful an impact that one person, my father had on these children and their families.
I realized that the goal is not to combat poverty with handouts, but to empower the people with skills and hope to better their lives. I was inspired and I am no longer afraid to dream big. I may not mirror my father’s work exactly, but I am determined to receive the best education and training so that I may be able impart the same positive influence and equip others to better their lives. Growing up as my father’s son has allowed me to adopt a worldview that extends beyond my immediate surroundings and though there were many times I missed my father greatly, I would not have had it any other way.
If someone can give feedback, thatd be great. I will use this as my sig experience for the common app.