After volunteering for small town events I was finally able to experience what's going on in the real world in High School. After a few trips to Manhattan to participate in Midnight Runs in which we delivered food and clothing directly to the homeless on the streets of NYC, I began to learn a lot about the injustices in our society. The majority of these men just happened to end up in unfortunate situations, losing jobs and homes, and were too stubborn to ask family and friends for help. Many, after being viewed as homeless, find looking for jobs pointless. And others, such as Buddy, keep their spirits high and wander the streets singing outside the Metropolitan Opera House for those waiting in long lines by day, and in the evening he goes to Subway shops to gather the left over sandwiches for others on the street.
I then was able to get out of the country to volunteer in Africa where I worked at the Urafiki (Friendship) Center, a center for the most impoverished children in the area. There I saw firsthand the hardships that people suffer every day. The children there were provided free meals, and for those who were suffering from extreme abuse, or whose parents had left them for a few days, would be given a safe place to spend the night. It was estimated that nearly 45% of them had been exposed to HIV/AIDS, as the majority of their parents had it. For many of them their grandparents were their main guardian if their parents had passed away from either AIDS or Tuberculosis. Even though the kids were in bad situations they all came with smiles every day, and the center did all they could to make sure that they would learn a trade to help them make their own profits in the future.
After seeing these people suffering in front of me, both in our country and out of it, I decided I wanted to do something to make a difference in people's lives. The pictures below are a few from Tanzania.
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