Today I decided it was about time I got down to blog business. Mainly, it's pretty much time that I sit down and think about some of the problems I am having with (ultimately, of course) starting my own organization.
I know, I know. Things don't happen overnight. Ugh, if there is one piece of advice people can stop giving me, its that catch phrase. I KNOW I am impatient, so therefore I know that things don't happen overnight. There is, of course, the problem (that I'm trying to correct with Yoga) that I always want things to happen overnight anyway. As if wanting it really badly will overshadow the unlikely possibility that things will happen that quickly. To my left is a map of Mozambique. It is, specifically, a map of Mozambique natural resources shown through the legend. I am keeping it right there on the left side of my blog to remind me of the fact that I don't want to be here forever.
Frankly, if it were up to me and not financial constraints, I would simply abandon ship right now and focus solely on school. I was walking through the NYU campus yesterday and reminiscing about when life was as simple as wanting to get a good grade. I am a perpetual nerd. I love school. I love the excitement that comes from being in a class where people are interesting and the professor has a sense of humor. I hope that all these years of schooling are going to lead me to a better place. I have found, through my few years in the working world, that people never really want you to have a ton of ambition. They would love to have the same person working in a job for twenty years...content with being where they are in life, instead of constantly being on a stepping stone to something else.
I wonder if I will ever get like that. So far, not at all close. My ultimate goal is to open my own nonprofit organization, dealing with Southern Africa and poverty alleviation. I am also interested in HIV/AIDS prevention--but I actually think I could be of better use to help alleviate the poverty of those infected rather than being on the medical side. My math/science skills for coming up with a new vaccine are slightly underdeveloped.....
I am particularly interested in the ways in which the networks already in place in these communities can help sustain poverty alleviation throughout the region. I find myself focusing on Southern Africa for a few reasons. I have always had an interest in the region because South Africa is usually an American's first exposure to African culture. I found myself expanding, seeing how so many different cultures and societies can exist (some peacefully, some not) on one continent. I know I am not the first to be fascinated with such a question, but my B is bringing my interest to Mozambique, particularly because of the fact that it is attracting more private investment than helpful aid. THIS in itself is a true irony for an African country.
I need to explore these questions further...
If you are reading this and have any good resources or books on African society, throw them my way!
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