Traveling with a purpose...memories from around the world
Being a Global Citizen
Nepal is very, very poor by economic standards. Its unemployment rate of 42% is the twelfth worst in the world. Its GDP per capita is $1500. Those with access to water via a pump in yard are fortunate. But it is a spiritually deep country, culturally rich and endowed with breathtaking landscapes.
Here--halfway around the world-- the idea that we're all connected looms large. It's just possible that the woman bending over in backbreaking work in the rice field is harvesting my future dinner back home in the States. Nothing brings that connection closer than the children we meet.
In Kathmandu, the streets brew a chaotic mixture of noise, color, dust, and car exhaust. Cows meander and sit where they will. Yet the orphanges are serene. The children radiate gratitutude and happiness despite their deprivation. Lay a bundle of children's books in English on the floor, and they will each take one and start reading aloud. They will sing and dance for you. They will smile and sit on your lap. Their collective future is bleakly uncertain, though an interaction with any one of them will leave you wondering how this child could do anything other than succeed.
What possible chance do these children have? What possible chance does this country have? We Americans complain when the hot water lapses in Nepal (because it's being generated by solar power--imagine that!--and therefore not available until the late afternoon) and consume it like crazy back home. We choke on the car exhaust in Nepal, and yet Americans consume 172 times more oil per person than Nepalis. The question is--are we lucky to be able to live at these standards, or do we insist on standards for ourselves that impose costs on the rest of the world. (For example, it's been suggested that the poorest countries have the most to lose from global warming.)
So I couldn't help wondering, "What does it mean to be a global citizen?" Can we change the world by volunteering and touching just a few or is something greater, more structural needed in the way our country approaches the rest of the world? How do I start to understand that our impact on Nepalese children is a 24/7 proposition? And more perplexing, what do I do about it?
Maybe the answer is that you change the world by changing yourself. And a great way to begin and sustain that change is by meeting the world's children. Ask Phil.
Here--halfway around the world-- the idea that we're all connected looms large. It's just possible that the woman bending over in backbreaking work in the rice field is harvesting my future dinner back home in the States. Nothing brings that connection closer than the children we meet.
In Kathmandu, the streets brew a chaotic mixture of noise, color, dust, and car exhaust. Cows meander and sit where they will. Yet the orphanges are serene. The children radiate gratitutude and happiness despite their deprivation. Lay a bundle of children's books in English on the floor, and they will each take one and start reading aloud. They will sing and dance for you. They will smile and sit on your lap. Their collective future is bleakly uncertain, though an interaction with any one of them will leave you wondering how this child could do anything other than succeed.
What possible chance do these children have? What possible chance does this country have? We Americans complain when the hot water lapses in Nepal (because it's being generated by solar power--imagine that!--and therefore not available until the late afternoon) and consume it like crazy back home. We choke on the car exhaust in Nepal, and yet Americans consume 172 times more oil per person than Nepalis. The question is--are we lucky to be able to live at these standards, or do we insist on standards for ourselves that impose costs on the rest of the world. (For example, it's been suggested that the poorest countries have the most to lose from global warming.)
So I couldn't help wondering, "What does it mean to be a global citizen?" Can we change the world by volunteering and touching just a few or is something greater, more structural needed in the way our country approaches the rest of the world? How do I start to understand that our impact on Nepalese children is a 24/7 proposition? And more perplexing, what do I do about it?
Maybe the answer is that you change the world by changing yourself. And a great way to begin and sustain that change is by meeting the world's children. Ask Phil.
Comment
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Comment by Michael Ryan on March 28, 2008 at 9:10pm -
Hi there- I was looking at some photos of folks who recently went to India with AFC (I was there last year) and somehow came across your page and photos...I love what you say in your blog, especially about being a 'global citizen'...the questions are compelling and I wish more Americans could see the world thru the eyes of these children. Only then, I feel will we begin to see 'real' change in the way our country relates to others and considers the impact of our selfish and arrogant actions. You offer some very important questions for us all to ask ourselves each day as we make choices in the way we live! Going to India was my first trip outside of North America and reading all the books or watching videos could never substitute for the experience of actually being there (although as an environmentalist I couldn't help thinking of all the fuel it was taking to fly us over to India?) I learned so much and gave me more of a sense of purpose for my life and what I'm committed to...can't wait to go back to India (or possibly somewhere else that AFC visits?!)
Anyway, thanks for sharing! (BTW- where/ how did you get the beautiful Buddhas on the background of your page? I love it! :)
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Comment by Mike Coppes on August 25, 2007 at 12:50pm
- Connection, engagement, relationship...with the world's citizenry is a huge step towards recognition that we are a global community; that what we do here and they do and have there does affect us all. Being with the children does make it easy. They are so open, easy to laugh, willing to share and learn. I was so taken by how much the Nepalis are like me...same hopes and dreams. I'm with you Stacey, in discovery and questioning. Who do we need to be and what to do, so that the "having" is an opportunity not measured by place or history but by compassion and love? Our trip, all the trips, the AFC experience, are a good place to start.
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