I have been distracted, lost in a sea of ‘macro’ thought and theory. My ambitions have been based largely on trying to affect ‘the system’ at large. In fact, I believe in many ways over the past week I have lost touch with the reality of the situation. If the faces and lives of those I have met since arriving begin to blend into an indecipherable mass of pain and suffering, it becomes a daunting task indeed to even contemplate any manner of ameliorating daily life. So then, the question becomes how would you, a million miles away from this small town in sub-Saharan Africa have any idea what the truth of the matter is? How would you possibly understand how to affect change if I, in the middle of it all, am also lost?

Let’s take a step closer. Rather than focus on the politics or economics of the situation, let’s look at the faces of who we are trying to empower. Perhaps like Copernicus, we need to reverse the center of gravity; the focal point of change becomes the people, rather than the politics.

There’s Ibra, the kid who wrote “AIDS You a Bad Man.” His parents both died, presumably from AIDS. He lives in a house with his grandmother and eleven other orphans. A 2003 USAID report found that out of nearly 1600 people surveyed, over 53% had taken in orphans. This puts a serious drain on familial resources and severely limits the potential of all children in the family. Orphans are often treated as second-class citizens, neglected as far as food, education, and health needs go, with biological children receiving preference when it comes to distributing these necessities.

Vincent, our next door neighbor is 9 years old and has never been to school in his life because he can’t afford it.

Winnie is one of the volunteers that keeps this program alive and thriving. She wakes up every morning at four to cook porridge for 180 kids who will stop by on their way to school. She does it five days a week, without pay; because she has decided to proactively combat the lack of nutrition and health services in her community.

These are just three people that allow you a glimpse of the trees rather than the forest. My aunt ends each of her emails with a question that sums up her professional efforts; “What if every woman had the power to change the world?” Try to imagine, for a brief second, what the world could be like if these kids and care-givers had a voice in the world. What would the world look like if these were the people in power, making the decisions about war, poverty, and disease? They are, in fact, the majority. The most recent estimates put 43% of the world population living on less than $2 a day. Perhaps policy change is as simple as concentrating on what the least powerful among us would do if they were in power.

Robert Terenzi, Jr.