Written by Alison Hofmeyer, Communications Consultant

CARE USA posted on Twitter this morning that upwards of 11,500 children have been killed in conflict in Syria and more than 1 Million have fled their homes.  Seeing numbers like this is appalling.  But really, how well can we wrap our head around such a massive amount of children who are either dead or displaced?  It's similar to hearing that over 27 million men, women and children are trapped in the bonds of slavery (Kevin Bales, Disposable People).  Or 345 million people in Africa without access to clean water (water.org). Can you actually visualize the impact of such brutality on so many people?  The truth is, we probably hear,read, or write the statistic, reflect on it for a while, and move on with our lives.  I'm not accusing people of not caring.  I do believe, though, that the feelings of being overwhelmed and helpless many times trump our wildest ideas or dreams to radically change those statistics.  I can remember the first time the numbers got to me. I was in college and I was 100% invested in educating my peers on the issue of trafficking.  I had spent a month in Southeast Asia, I interned at an anti-trafficking organization, and I had read as many books as I could get my hands on on the topic.  I knew the statistics, and they were unacceptable.  However, I became completely bombarded one day with the reality of what I was fighting.  I knew that trafficking wasn't just happening because kids didn't have a good home, or that they were all being kidnapped, etc.  As I'd learned in Cambodia, there are systemic flaws that cause these people to fall victim to all kinds of atrocities.  And for the first time, I felt like there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.  I couldn't reproduce legal documents in Cambodia so that people could prove who they are and where they're from.  I couldn't open a home big enough to house all the women and children who needed somewhere safe to be.  The most common questions I was asked at all of my presentations and meetings was "What can I do about this."  When all the doubt set in, I realized, I didn't know.

The following is written by Max Levins, a Senior in Blue Valley CAPS Innovate program.  Max and his partner created a product to make transporting water easier on the body, while still embracing the cultural norms of the target population.


What Inspired You to do a Philanthropic Project?
When I decided to take CAPS Innovate, I knew that I wanted to create a solution that would be of help to some person, whether or not it would be for profit. Once I began doing research on different problem areas, I found a partner who was interested in helping people in developing countries. The idea of trying to help people in need, particularly during my senior year in high school, was very appealing. I could devote my time to it without having to worry about making money right away. Instead of having to rush a product to the point where it could be sold, my partner and I could carefully build it so that it ends up being higher quality. 


How Did You Come to Decide on Water Transportation?
Once we did research on issues in developing countries, we found -- primarily through online surveys -- that people felt the lack of sanitary water is the most significant problem that developing countries currently face; however, we had no context of what the specifics of this problem are.  We had come up with a couple of solutions for how to solve certain aspects of this problem, such as the transportation of the water,  but we didn't know how to apply our ideas to the problem area, specifically the culture.

How did ACI Get Involved and What are Your Impressions?
In order to gain context, we contacted David Neely, who was a phenomenal resource in developing our knowledge of this problem area. Because Mr. Neely is an expert in how these cultures operate, we were able to take some of that knowledge and apply it our ideas for solutions.  ACI seems like one of the better ways for people to really make a difference through ways other than donations. Once our product is finalized, we hope to partner with a charity organization that is as succesful as ACI in order to provide the aid that our product will carry out.

We are thankful for the dedication of students like Max and others at CAPS who dedicate their time, energy, and even senior projects to helping others.

By Alison Hofmeyer, Communications Consultant


On Tuesday morning, President David Neely, Executive Director Jeff Herman and myself all got the privilege of sitting in on the final presentations of the Innovate students at Blue Valley School District's Center for Professional and Advanced Studies (CAPS).  If you've spent any time on our website, I'm sure you've seen that we have been involved with CAPS for a couple of years now,  and it has been nothing but an extraordinary experience.

We have had the pleasure of partnering with a few of the Innovate student groups.  You can check out our first partnership on our Media page.  The two groups that presented Tuesday addressed water transportation, in communities where, mostly, women are having to walk miles and carry more than half their body weight in water on their heads, and disaster relief centers.  We were again overwhelmed with excitement listening to these students speak about their inspiration for the project and their hopes for what it will turn into.  We are thrilled to get to continue to work with these students next semester and believe strongly in their efforts and abilities to create sustainable solutions for underprivileged communities.

I sat in a local cafe yesterday, typing away on my computer and observing all the people who came in and out.  There was a table in front of me full of well-dressed seemingly professional individuals.  They talked loudly, made their presence know.  After a good half hour of discussing their agenda for the day, which at this point the whole cafe knew also, they all stood up, shook hands, and walked out the door.  The table they sat at was full of half eaten sandwiches, soupy spoons, and trash.  A total mess.  Now, there were clearly marked dish tubs and trash cans all throughout the cafe, so this just seemed ridiculous to leave for a staff member who was swamped behind the register by the lunch rush.  I moved my lap top off my lap to go pick up the table when I noticed the other surrounding tables fidget also.  I heard one man murmur, "pigs," under his breath.  A woman rolled her eyes and whispered to her husband.  I smiled thinking, I won't have to pick this mess up alone.  I sat for another minute, and nobody moved.  I thought their condescending and judgmental reactions would at least cause them to help pick up the mess.  Absolutely not.  So, I got up and started stacking dishes.  I loaded the trash onto the plates and headed to the trash can.  As I walked, wads of trash dropped from the plate.  Nobody even moved to pick that up.  I came back, cleaned up the trash I had dropped, wiped off the table, and got back to work.  The man who thought people who could leave such a mess were pigs leaned over to me and said, "you should get free lunch for that."  No longer hungry and not really in the mood to explain to him how helping me pick up half eaten sandwiches would have been reward enough, I simply smiled.  "The employees are working hard enough, it's no big deal."  The whispering woman also leaned back and applauded my cleaning.  


Stay with me here, I understand that picking up some plates and trash off of a table is really no big deal.  And as far as the group who left the mess...well, we've all done it.. be honest.  But as I sat back down and started working again, I couldn't wrap my head around the two people who were clearly disturbed by the mess.  They found it rude and presumptuous for the group to leave their trash.  And they were clearly impressed and glad I cleaned it up and not an employee.  But never once did either of them move.  


I think this over simplified example can draw a strong parallel to people's involvement in, or lack there of, social change. You see, nobody likes to see hungry children.  Most people are appalled at the number of people sold into sex and labor trafficking.  I'm sure the majority of individuals in this world wish everyone had clean water to drink from and a roof over their head.  But it stops there.  They will care about the issues from the safety of their home, or when it doesn't challenge their budget.  Nobody wants to get up from their table, pick up trash somebody else left, and clean.  And we know why.  It's messy.  It's challenging.  Sometimes, it's even a little scary.  To take on the burdens and pains of another person requires much of us.  But to sit and "care" about these people from our safe, warm tables and only talk about the wrong that is being done, I would argue, is continuing the injustice.


People need you to get up, to move.  People are dying, every single day.  And as big and messy and scary as some of these issues seem to combat, imagine enduring them your whole life. Move.

I once experienced a very sick organization.  The organization, while holding on to a very relevant and praise worthy mission, became very needy.  Rather than empowering the people it served to be better, stronger, more independent, it created an environment that enabled people, and kept them coming back week after week, needing services.  This organization needed to be needed.  In an effort to help people, it became completely attached to them, unwilling to make the necessary changes to move these people toward self sufficiency.

I once applied for a job in Cambodia.  It was at an after care shelter for women and children who had been rescued from brothels and trafficked for sex.  I had been to the shelter, I spent a day with the girls, and I loved this organization deeply.  I didn't even get an interview, simply an email stating they are only hiring Cambodian nationals.  This was an American-based organization, I had done my internship at the U.S. office, and I was completely devastated.  I wanted to help them, I wanted to be part of their healing.

I once met a young man who was completely defeated.  He grew up in and out of the Foster Care system.  Although he was well taken care of by his last set of foster parents, he was constantly reminded of what horrible life circumstances had been dealt to him.  His foster parents got him a private tutor.  She basically did all of his work for him, there was just no way a high school kid could catch up all the years of school he had missed.  His foster parents spoke about him, for him, reminding people he is very fragile, not to ask questions about where he comes from.  His coach gave him a starting spot on the basketball team, not even considering his lack of ever playing the game.  At age 18, when he was no longer young enough to be in the system, he had no idea how to apply for a job or apartment, couldn't make the local community college basketball team, and had never spoken enough about his experiences to find healing.


Empowering a person, a community, is not always easy.  Even with the purest of intentions, we can quickly become obsessed with taking care, meeting needs, providing for, that we forget that these are capable human beings.  Empowering them means, quite literally, to give power to.  It may not always be what you want, but that's the point. We must take ourselves out of the picture.  In a culture so infiltrated with self care and looking out for number one, even our efforts to improve the lives of others takes a turn for the selfish.  So, when you are volunteering with a vulnerable community, helping out a struggling organization, or simply doing a friend a favor, ask yourself, what will best give power back to them?  What will create sustainability and independence?  What will help break the cycle that is crippling them?  


Empowerment is not changing people, it is helping people make change for themselves.

I volunteer as a hospital advocate for a local rape crisis center.  I've been doing it for about a year now, and it's been one of the most incredible experiences.  As a person who gets queasy just talking about hospitals, I wasn't sure this position was going to be right for me.  However, the organization was in need of some help, so I said I'd give it a try.  I now pick up extra shifts and consider the opportunity I have to be with those survivors a true gift.

We did extensive training before the organization let us do our first run.  I remember one exercise in our many hours of training was on the meaning of advocacy.  Advocate is one of those terms that gets thrown around a lot in social justice circles.  Empower, educate, advocate... yell out a couple abstract terms and people will believe anything you say.  However, it is critical to have a firm understanding of this word in order to be truly impactful.  For an English buff like myself, advocate is an amazing word.  It can serve as either a noun or verb without changing the structure of the word at all. Additionally, advocate has mostly all positive connotations and it evokes emotion.  When you look advocate up in the dictionary, it is defined as "to support or fight for" or "a supporter of."  Pretty simple, right?  So, let's take our definition of advocate to my role at the rape crisis center.  I am a hospital advocate for, a supporter of, victims of sexual assault.  This doesn't mean  I get to walk in that hospital room and urge the victim to file a police report. I won't tell them to take certain measures for his/her body, or to recount for the atrocities committed against him/her so I can best be of help.  No, my sole purpose as defined by advocate is to support the victim.  To support is defined as promoting the interest or cause of.  If I walk in that hospital room and take charge to "save" this victim, how do I even know what his/her best interest is? I have yet to hear the victim out.  That is silencing them and, I would argue, is another form of abuse.  You see, these victims have already had their voices silenced by someone objectifying and abusing their bodies.  I do not need to continue to shame them by taking their voice out of the decision for what is best for them.

Advocates listen.  To assess how to best support an individual or community you must know what they need.  Regardless of what you think is best for them, it is their call.  That is a human right.  We have seen the way seemingly well intended ideas to further educate or rescue from itself a community quickly turns to oppression and violence.  Colonialism, imperialism, the Crusades.  It is a slippery slope.  With a mindset of saving someone, you are imposing on them the idea that they are too weak, too ignorant, too hopeless to care for themselves.  This breeds dependency, resentment, and a whole host of issues for that community.

Sitting in the hospital room, holding the hand of a strong and resilient survivor, I began to see hope on her face.  She begins to realize that this is not the end for her.  No matter the pain and fear and road to healing, she sees someone is there to walk with her.  Not someone to do it for her, not someone to tell her what to do every step of the way.  Someone to tell her that she is strong. Someone to answer her questions. And with that, I have given the power back to her. 

 In our fight to make a lasting change for underprivileged communities, our passion is to steer them toward self-sufficiency and sustainability.  This can not be done of our own devices.  We must have the support and involvement of the community.  They must tell us their greatest need, we must evaluate together, and in our collaboration, unity and empowerment are born.

Everyone deserves to have a voice. How can you advocate for a person or community in your life?