"The happiest excitement in life is to be convinced that one is fighting for all one is worth on behalf of some clearly seen and deeply felt good."
- Ruth Benedict
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"The happiest excitement in life is to be convinced that one is fighting for all one is worth on behalf of some clearly seen and deeply felt good." - Ruth Benedict
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Get Involved
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March 12, 2010 | |||||||
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 Knocking to Open Doors by Helga Schaffrin Posted May 2, 2002 In Zambia, a part of the world where social problems can seem almost unbearably complicated, the simplest solutions can sometimes make the most difference. NEW Reader Responses are a goodthing! Join the conversation! Fellow GoodLetter readers, "Hello. My name is Helga Schaffrin, and I am a volunteer with the organization, Adopt a Kid in Need." Please, give me some money. If you have ever been canvassing, fundraising house to house, you know how draining it is. There are wonderful interludes. Someone tells you, "Oh, I have always wanted to sponsor a child in the Third World. I just never knew how to go about doing it. Thank you for coming by." It makes your day. Or a retired school teacher invites you into her home to tell her all about your experience in Africa. However, in between these good moments, you have to deal with a lot of rejection and yet approach every person with renewed energy and a smile on your face as if this was your favorite activity. The question inevitable creeps up: Why am I doing this? Two years ago, I spent seven months in rural Zambia as a volunteer for the development organization DAPP (Development Aid from People to People). One evening, lying on my bed with the candle flickering outside the mosquito net, I wrote the following in my journal: Thursday, March 9, 2000 It's getting late, but I can't fall asleep. That girl's question is still haunting me: "What can you do?" Really, what CAN you do? I was out at Mwanza today for the Q & A with the Anti-AIDS club there. At the end, Rhodah stood up and said, "Sometimes both parents die from AIDS. Then you have to live with your grandmother. And you are smart, and you want to continue school. But your grandmother cannot afford. What can you do?" I was not prepared for this, even though it's such an obvious question. "You should ask other relatives for help," was my first attempt at an answer. "What if they can't afford?" I had seen this coming. I fell back on the typical IGAs [income-generating activities] that DAPP advocates: crafts, raising chickens, selling vegetables. The kids reminded me that you don't have time to run a business when you are supposed to study. Helplessly, I finally recommended that the orphan could approach the local church or an NGO. But that's not an answer either! The churches don't have much money, and I don't know of any NGOs paying for education in this area. It's ridiculous. The school fees are less than $10. How easy would it be for people in the developed world to forego an evening at the movies and send this Zambian child to school for a year? What hope is there for these children to improve their lives, if they can't even get the benefit of an education? Rhodah is doing very well, but the school will kick her out if she doesn't pay the fees soon. I agreed to bring in the money -- Kwacha 27,000 [~$9] -- next time I go to Mwanza. The answer was as simple as it was scary: We had to start a scholarship program. Certainly, we would find people around the world willing to make a donation to fund a Zambian child's schooling. We could even incorporate an element of cultural exchange by letting the sponsors exchange letters with the kids. It seemed like a crazy idea, but then turning down a perfectly good job offer to pay to work in Africa had seemed like a crazy idea, too. Thus, Cat and I decided to start AKIN (Adopt a Kid in Need) with the goal to help gifted children who cannot otherwise afford an education. Maybe the two of us are crazy, but we aren't the only ones. Last summer, I accidentally landed on Deep Roots' Web page. Here was another group just like ours, a bit older and more experienced, a bit bigger with more volunteers, but with the same vision. I sent an e-mail to their director, hoping for some good advice. Half a year later, Deep Roots and AKIN entered a one-year partnership with the intention of merging at the end. Although each organization was changing lives on its own, we believe that together we can achieve even more. For an immediate and very tangible benefit for AKIN, Deep Roots is now hosting our Web page. On the personal side, it has been wonderful to meet and work together with so many dedicated and amazing volunteers. Each of us has been touched in some way by the need of the African children. I tell you why I knock on those doors: Because there was no answer to Rhodah's question and because there should have been, for her and for the thousands of other orphans in Zambia who can't enjoy their fundamental right to an education. :: Helga Schaffrin New York, New York Helga first fell in love with Africa in an African literature class in college. Currently, she is following her other passion, the study of mathematics, as a Ph.D. student at New York University, but doesn't let that stop her from working with and for the wonderful people she met in Africa. (Thoughts on Helga's GoodLetter? Inspired by what you've read? E-mail us -- don't forget to tell us your name, where you're from, and if we can use your words in a future GoodLetter or on our Web site.) |
TALK ABOUT IT Why do YOU knock on doors? Why do you care about making a difference in the world? What inspires you to continue being a part of the solution? Share your stories and ideas. LEARN ABOUT IT :: Please visit AKIN (Adopt a Kid in Need) More about Zambia: :: Africa Insites :: Zambia Online :: The Times of Zambia :: The Zambian :: More about Deep Roots ::Amy Zindell's February 2001 GoodLetter about the inspiration behind Deep Roots DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT :: Sponsor the education of a Zambian child through AKIN and Deep Roots Readers Respond Want to share your thoughts or ideas with other people who care about good things? Send 'em our way.
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