I
had always thought that because I wasn’t going to be a doctor that I wasn’t
going to be able to save people’s lives or make a difference in the world. This
idea was only confirmed when I decided that I wanted to use my psychology
degree to manipulate people’s mind with marketing campaigns rather than the
clinical approach to my field. Then I came to Africa.
One
of my roommates was talking about how everything has the ability to be used for
good or evil and my internship has only personified that view. On our tour of
the NGOs where people would be interning there was a stark contras between
those with money and those with out money not only was it that money facture
but the marketing factor. It led me to ask this: Which came first, the money or
the marketing campaign?
At
my internship this past week I have been able to gain insight into what makes a
successful NGO and what makes it’s founders want to be a part of something.
I’ve seen the good that marketing can do for an organization and what happens
to an organization without the funding. All the issues that we are working for
have a distinct purpose and are needed it is just a matter that there is simply
not the same process of execution going on.
We
were told when coming here that this is our time for Africa to make an
impression on us, not the other way around and I think it’s the hardest charges
we have been presented with. How can you walk into a township and see children walking
around without shoes in garbage ridden streets, sanitation issues everywhere
you turn, and wires hanging low enough to be a danger and not want to throw
yourself into a solution. It is important to take a step back, evaluate the
situation, and think. Think about the way to effectively make a sustainable
change in the society by using your powers for good and not evil. You don’t
have to be a doctor to save people’s lives and you don’t have to be a lawyer to
make change, everyone has the power and the skills, especially us students who
are about to graduate with a degree, to make the change that we want to see in
the world, it’s just a matter of taking the first step.
Make
your move.
‘Til
next time peace out broskis
 |
| Liz on a Saturday morning at Old Biscuit Mill |
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