Stay Tuned

On a visit to the United Nations building in New York City last April, I came across a photo and caption: “eyes on the world.” I stood for a second and thought about what that meant and what it meant to my life. After years of studying political institutions and international relations, I believe I have found the answer.

From July 3 – August 3, I will be visiting the Fort Portal region of Uganda, where 10 students and I will participate our university’s first summer abroad program to Africa.

All my life I have traveled the country on what many of you know as the “Jake Tour,” visiting friends, family and meeting so many wonderful people like you along the way.

This leg of my life’s journey, however, will be no vacation. It will be a rare opportunity to grow as a person, but more importantly, a chance for growth and opportunity for the people of Uganda.

Sixty years ago, all eyes were on the world to halt the spread of violence, poverty and human rights violations. Under the leadership of Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt, with the American people behind them, an organization was formed which brought forth a new vision for peace and security in an uncertain future.

Today that vision is being tested, and once again, all eyes are on an uncertain world. The United Nations building still stands tall, but its mandate is being threatened. I say to you today that I believe it is my calling to carry the spirit of my Social Democratic father and the schooling of my New York City mother into a new generation. As that torch is passed on, and as my generation prepares to live in a world of unparallel uncertainty, I feel both humbled and overwrought with emotion that all eyes are now on me.

During my sophomore year at St. Edward’s University, I took my focus off of American politics and fixed my eyes on the world, and I never looked back. Since then I have traveled the globe in photographs, textbooks and maps, and for the first time, and at a very fortunate, young age, I have an opportunity to see eyes-first what the world is really like.

With the spread of information, media and technology, our eyes can no longer turn a blind eye to the problems facing the rest of the world. You have probably seen pictures or heard the likes of Bono and Angelia Jolie discuss the many humanitarian crises around the world, particularly in Africa. Rather than change the channel, many of you have kept your eyes open, and many of you have also asked the question, “what can I do to help?”

It has been said that our generation is the first that could seriously end poverty in the developing world. In 2000, all countries in the United Nations agreed on something called the Millennium Development Goals – a real, specific set of goals to cut in half the number of people living in poverty by 2015. Sadly, our government has been next to absent on these goals, and after doing research on this subject, I realized that as our country continues its missions abroad, the people of Africa wait in the background with eyes on the rest of the world, wondering why the color of their skin determines their level of support.

Some say the United Nations is an ineffective organization. Rather than tarnish its image and history – our history – I choose to help make it better. My friend Emily in Washington said it best: “I believe a world of peace is a better place for all, and the United Nations is the way to get there.” Throughout my life I have strongly believed in working cooperatively to help the common good, and that is why I continue to support the U.N., which despite its bureaucratic woes, is leading the most comprehensive fight to bring and end to poverty in our world. And so we have decided that if our government will not do the job, we will – one person, one school, and one village at a time.

Just four years ago, representatives from our university began making frequent trips to the Fort Portal region of Uganda to visit the Brothers and Sisters of the Congregation of the Holy Cross who have been an integral part of the community since the outbreak of violence in the 1970s. There, the Congregation operates vocational schools for students and individuals who learn skills such as sewing, basket weaving and farming. Each summer, our university professors return to campus with hundreds of home-made crafts, where they are sold at our annual craft sale. Last year’s sale netted more than $7,000 in just two weeks, and to date, we have raised over $30,000.

During our trip, my friend and I decided to take this project further. In the village of Kirinda we are going to set up a microfinance institution for the adjacent villages in the area. Our university will act as a bank, lending small loans averaging about $25, for Ugandans to use for things like health expenses, education fees, and hopefully for entrepreneurial activities. Rather than traditional charity, this will give the people an opportunity to lift themselves out of poverty. And because more than 70% of the economy is agricultural-based, much of the money could be used in farming. Most of you know I grew up on an organic farm, and so I have chosen to use understanding of the environment and political institution building to connect Ugandan farmers with the organic industry, and this will make up my thesis project.