This is the second in a series of posts featuring ISWU members from around the globe sharing what they are doing in their communities to make a difference.
Alia Mohamed…Superstar
Most people would not consider Alia Mohamed famous. She’s not an actress, pop singer, politician or even an athlete with exceptional abilities. But at age 22, this Marymount University biology senior has a fan club of 200 Somali orphans. To them, Alia is a true superstar who has changed their lives forever.
What moves someone to take action with passion and commitment? Alia is the fifth of eight children who, with her family, fled Somalia when she was only one year old, escaping the country’s civil war. Although she was raised with charity work and selflessness as part of her upbringing, she admits she never really thought about Somalia. In January of 2009 when she heard about the incident where nearly 100 Somalis were killed in a roadside bombing she realized that no one was talking about Somalia, which is the poorest country in the world.
Then, in the summer of 2009, she attended a Somalia youth conference where the attendees were encouraged to get involved with topics like politics, education, health care, immigration and refugees. When the speaker talked about how the orphan population was rising rapidly, she couldn’t get this out of her head. “Just like Somalia as a country has been abandoned, the orphans have also been abandoned.” Although everyone was eager to engage in discussions about politics and other topics, no-one seemed interested in the startling statistics….Somalia has the largest orphan population in Africa and maybe the world, yet no-one seemed concerned about the children. She kept thinking, “The children are the future of the nation, and if provided with the necessary care, they will lead the nation into a different path. We can focus on all other dilemmas our country faces, but how far will they go if we don’t educate our kids and care for them?”
With the education she received at the youth conference on how to start an NGO (non governmental organization), she knew exactly what she had to do. Mercy to Mankind was born and with the help of family and friends, fundraising efforts quickly allowed them to raise enough money to hire two teachers, rent a house in Mogadishu and initially bring 50 children a new home. The foundation is dedicated to orphans who have lost both parents, as these are the most in need. Currently they house 200 children ages 3-13.
She is sincerely hoping that in the spring of this year, the foundation will have enough funds to start building a children’s centre and bring even more orphaned children a permanent home. In talking with Alia you know that her heart and passion is with the children. Her vision sounds simple. “My dream is to see every orphan in Somalia provided with basic needs such as education, medicine, home and love. I am so blessed to have changed these children’s lives and hope to brighten the lives of many more. Orphans and children in general, are prone to violence in Somalia and I’m glad that’s not the case with my children.” To the orphans of Somalia, Alia Mohamed will continue to be a true superstar.
This is the first article my ISWU team member Beverley: Beverley is a freelance writer and songwriter who lives in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. She has written everything from full length magazine articles to song lyrics and loves to research, design and build stories. She is passionate about helping and supporting others who reach out and help as well and is delighted to be a part of the ISWU team. You can visit her personal website at http://www.beverleygolden.com.
The first article in the Continent Series can be read here.
Today I have something very short and sweet to say:
The secret to just about everything is getting outside of yourself.
What do I mean by ‘getting outside of yourself?’ I just mean slowing down your brain and paying attention to the people around you. Putting a hold on your personal goals, and asking who needs help with theirs. Making a sacrifice so that someone else can get what they’ve been waiting for. Going over to your Mom’s house instead of sending her a message on Facebook.
Over the last couple of decades, we’ve become a very individualized society. Words like ‘family’ and ‘community’ aren’t dropped too much anymore when discussing life decisions. The idea of still being friends at 25 or 30 with the kid you met on the playground when you were 5? That’s obsolete for 9 out of 10 people. With the traditional media explosion (radio, television, and eventually the Internet), culture shifted from what immediately surrounded you in your daily life to something that’s worldwide, and people then had their pick of what culture they wanted to adhere to. Through traditional media, we all got grouped into the humanity movement. And, true to human nature, we rebelled by ’standing out,’ ‘being unique,’ ‘embracing diversity’ and ‘doing me.’ (I could elaborate much more on the symptoms of individualism, but that’s for later, and not quite the point of this.)
Then came what I lovingly refer to as Teh Soshal Mediaz. Thanks to social media, we’ve suddenly become a relational generation again. Sure, it looks wildly different from the 1950’s, but I think we’re finally realizing that we might have thrown the baby out with the bathwater when we raced to put our careers first, let go of some pretty significant family values, and when “doing me” became the epitome of Cool.
Even if you don’t use social media, that’s okay. It’s changing your world for you, and you didn’t even have to Like any Facebook fan pages. There’s been an outrageous rush in even the last 365 days to raise awareness, build online communities, use Twitter to strengthen local non-profits, bring philanthrophy to the corporate world, interact personally with customer groups, and elevate the importance of sincere relationships.
We’ve even gotten so far as to have a man we call Doctor Love (Paul Zak) do extensive studies to prove that Oxytocin, the cuddle chemical, is triggered by things like a positive Facebook status comment. In the same way a bearhug from your best friend does. The significance? The corporate world is now anticipating that in the near future, their worth will be primarily measured not by their profit margins, but in customer relationships and their trust factor. Yes, people. Social capital is more valuable than money in the bank.
This has left us scrambling to figure out how to best gain this social capital. And it’s so, so easy. The secret is getting outside of yourself.
What does this mean for you? It means that we finally have proof that putting others first is the best way for the world to work. It means that engaging in a sincerely interested manner with the person at the drive-thru gives you an amazingly good return on your 5 minute investment. It means that putting a sticky note on your dashboard reminding you to focus on others, and not yourself, will actually increase your standard of living. It means that the whole purpose of social media is to be social: “marked by friendly companionship with others.”
But, there’s a catch. Being driven by love isn’t something you can fake. Even behind a creative Twitter handle, intricate philanthropic blog network, or super cute profile photo, people can tell fairly quickly what your motive is. Most people who are paying attention can skim a blog, and after 10 minutes, give you a fairly educated guess on what that blogger’s definition of success is.
I want this to be a challenge to you. Make a conscious decision to put other people’s interests above your own. When you go through the drive-thru, stop thinking about your next destination long enough to realize that a real human being is serving you. And when you jump on Twitter and half-skim a couple hundred tweets as your type yours up, pay attention to who needs a little extra love that day.
Success isn’t complicated, you guys. Fight the urge to be ruled by the numbers game and to be ‘doing me’, and let’s go back to our 1950’s roots – where family and community take priority in our lives. While still crushing on our sexy MacBook Pros.
Following is a second article from our blog series highlighting young ISWU members.
“Hey now, you are not ugly, you are so beautiful. Can’t you see it?” This was sent by Opperation Hope [misspelling intended], a website where anyone can enter a recipient and a message, and the email will be sent anonymously for you (which is really handy for people you don’t normally talk to, like your estranged brother-in-law or the lonely shy girl at school). Opperation Hope was created by Aly and Mebediel [not their real names], two teenage girls in California, US that, one day, decided to send an anonymous email to a lonely sophomore at their school. That was their first Opperation Hope email, and their first step to changing the world. One sender told Aly and Mebediel that the boy she wrote to had changed the way he acted, becoming more outgoing, less restrained, and making more friends. Each message they send is just as amazing, and offer advice we all deserve to hear, but often forget: “You are awesome, so I just wanted to tell you this: Be yourself; everyone else is taken,” and “… A lot of people appreciate you and what you do. Never doubt that.” So far, the girls have filled 17 hearts with hope.
Q: How many people have used Opperation Hope? M: So far there have been 17 messages that were sent through us, and one person has asked us for advice.
Q: Have you had any feedback from people about it? A: Yes, I believe so, and we’re always very excited whenever we receive one. M: We have had a couple of suggestions for improvement on our site such as the “Other acts of hope” section, the “Ask for hope” section, and a suggestion that we might forward any replies from the “victim” (I have no better words for the person we send the email to) back to the original sender.
Q: Has anyone told you an inspirational story about their experiences with it? M: So far, no one has shared any inspirational stories with us, but there was on boy who kept communicating with us; we knew the hope-sender personally, and she told us that she had seen a change in how he acted–that he was more outgoing and less restrained after that, and that helped him make more friends at school.
Q: The boy that inspired you to start it – did you ever see any change in him? M: If I remember rightly, the biggest change we saw in him was that he found some friends later on…that may or may not have had anything to do with our email.
A: Well, in general, yes, although it probably wasn’t because of our email. He found a few new friends and I think, he recently reunited with his old friends, so we’re glad that he’s not all alone anymore!
Q: Do you read the messages – (i assume you have to since you have to rewrite them, and you might want to make sure they aren’t mean?) and if so, what was your favorite one? M: Yes, we read the messages, and so far we haven’t had any mean ones. One of my favorites is, “People can be so hurtful but people can be so healing. So don’t give up on people. You’re a wonderful guy. A lot of people appreciate you and what you do. Never doubt that.”
A: I guess my favorite one has to be, “Hey now, you are not ugly, you are so beautiful. Can’t you see it?”. It just sounds so honest and sincere, I love it!
Q: Are there any others that really stand out to you? M: All of the Opperation Hope messages are amazing, but two more that stood out to me are: “Hey now, you are not ugly, you are so beautiful. Can’t you see it?” and “You are awesome So I just wanted to tell you this: Be yourself; everyone else is taken. =D”
A: Other than my favorite, one that stands out to me is “People can be so hurtful but people can be so healing. So don’t give up on people. You’re a wonderful guy. A lot of people appreciate you and what you do. Never doubt that.”
I came across this artistically powerful video re-posted on Neal Hightower’s site www.sixsimpletruths.com. Although it’s a long commercial for a company’s inspirational artwork, I must admit it’s very well done and it gave me goosebumps (especially since I love good quotes). As we’re transforming ourselves and the world, words of wisdom from those who have traveled the road before us can make our travels over the speed bumps a bit easier…
Thanks Neal for sharing some great inspiration with others. You’ve inspired me to pass it along:)
Priyasha, age 15, lives in Indonesia and is one of our young ISWU team members making a difference in the world. Following is her first blog post as a new writing team member.
Simply said, I think teenagers are awesome. Yes, I may be biased based on the sheer fact that I am a teenager, but I sometimes feel like my generation right now is amazing just because we (well, some of us at least) still have little bits of innocence from our childhood combined with maturity as we turn into adults. Kind of like a butterfly halfway through metamorphosis, except in our case, we get to explore the world during our time of change and not in a cocoon.
Sometimes I think teenagers today, and throughout history, are underestimated because of the stereotypes bestowed upon us. They say we all listen to music too loudly, are moody, mean to our parents, and rebellious. Sure, I’ll admit, that might be true, but at the same time I think it should be known that lots of us do have ideas on how to change the world around us and it would be incredible if teenagers and adults could work together more often to combine our thoughts and hopes to create something of greater good. This teenage generation has the power of the Internet, amongst other things, and we are stronger than ever, if our “powers” are used correctly, of course.
With Ryan Hreljac. I'm the second from the right.
When I say we are stronger than ever, I mean to say, since a mass percentage of the teenage generation is connected on the internet and frequently uses it, call me naïve, but if we put our “powers” together, we could start something really big, or change the world in a really big way. Of course, it would be done with the support and help of anyone willing to join our cause, whatever it might be.
One of my favorite examples of teenagers impacting the world in a massive way is Ryan Hreljac. I met Ryan and he is one of the humblest, nicest guys I’ve ever known. Ryan started the Ryan’s Well Foundation with an idea of his when he was only six years old. He started with raising enough money to build a well in Africa and the foundation has spread from then on to eventually help “over 700,000 people” get access to clean water and sanitation services. Ryan’s only 19.
I could go on about all the amazing teenagers in this world trying to benefit our world and who are helping in all sorts of different ways, but I just wanted to give everyone reading this one example of a teenager who I feel is making a giant change to make the world a better place.
Finally, what I’m trying to say is, sometimes teenagers are undervalued because we are younger, and if teenagers and adult worked simultaneously, it could create something immensely powerful which would help our world in some way. Of course, since teenagers are so young, we do need help and guidance, and working with people older than us would definitely help us solve that problem.
“Hey now, you are not ugly, you are so beautiful. Can’t you see it?” This was sent by Opperation Hope [misspelling intended], a website where anyone can enter a recipient and a message, and the email will be sent anonymously for you (which is really handy for people you don’t normally talk to, like your estranged brother-in-law or the lonely shy girl at school). Opperation Hope was created by Aly and Mebediel [not their real names], two teenage girls in California, US that, one day, decided to send an anonymous email to a lonely sophomore at their school. That was their first Opperation Hope email, and their first step to changing the world. One sender told Aly and Mebediel that the boy she wrote to had changed the way he acted, becoming more outgoing, less restrained, and making more friends. Each message they send is just as amazing, and offer advice we all deserve to hear, but often forget: “You are awesome, so I just wanted to tell you this: Be yourself; everyone else is taken,” and “… A lot of people appreciate you and what you do. Never doubt that.” So far, the girls have filled 17 hearts with hope.
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