"Simplicity is the nature of great souls.” By Jennifer Grob
I often remind myself to look for greatness and miracles in the small things that take place in our everyday lives. I did not need to be reminded to look today. Rachel, my ONE district leader, arranged the opportunity for ONE members to get together and volunteer at the Full Belly Project here in Wilmington, NC. I decided to take this opportunity with my oldest son. This morning turned into a truly inspiring beginning to my weekend.
We were introduced to Jock Brandis, the founder of The Full Belly Project, and Daniel Ling, the Executive Director of the Full Belly Project, and they shared several wonderful inventions that the Full Belly Project is distributing around the world to help people obtain a self-sustainable income. What struck me the most was the simplicity of the inventions. In a world that seems to revolve around high tech. gadgets, the Full Belly Project has created tools that are low cost, low tech. (use people power or solar power) and can be assembled easily by just about anyone. The simplicity of these tools is juxtaposed against the incredible expanse of benefit they can bring to endless numbers of people around the world. A simple hand cranked peanut sheller for example can help a village create a valuable income source and provide a livelihood for countless families.
It was wonderful for my son and I to help work on parts of these simple machines that we know will be sent around the world to help other families. The fact that we can help an impoverished family in another country by working in a warehouse here in Wilmington, NC is truly inspiring to me. You would never know driving by this blue warehouse that they are helping feed people around the world. It reminds me that anyone anywhere can sincerely make a difference the world. It also helped me to see the greatness in simplicity. There is so much complexity in our everyday lives and in this world. If we just stop and focus on the simple solutions we can make a difference in the lives of those who need us, whether they are family, friends, or people we will never meet on the other side of the world.
I am very grateful that my son and I had this morning together and we could contribute to making this world a better place. I am thankful to have been introduced to ONE by my friend Rachel and I continue to learn every day that I can make this world a better place from right here in Wilmington, NC.
People are constantly saying, “I can’t change the world. I’m only one person.” Well for me there has always been more to that saying, “I can’t change the world. I am only one teenager; one kid.” For a period of time I honesty felt this way. I felt that there was no way I could ever change the world. Then I started a class at DREAMS Center for Arts Education; though I signed up for a theatre class little did I know that it would end up affecting my life in such a way. At the start of the class the instructor (Ron Dortch) asked each student what they wanted to be when they grew up. I stood up and told him, “I want to be an activist”. Instead of staring at me incredulously or laughing; he looked at me and told me, “Then you will be an activist.” Those words gave me the strength and encouragement I needed to know that can I be an activist; that I can be an activist now; I don’t have to wait until I am older.
At the same time my mom began working with ONE. This gave me numerous opportunities to use my voice. I can sign petitions, I can go to government meetings, and I can even write letters to my senators and representatives. I went with my Mom to work at ONE table’s and spread the word about ONE because it is truly making a difference.
Near the end of my time with Brother Ron he asked us to do a faith project. I wrote a monologue and to end this post I would like to insert a section of that monologue.
I believe in a lot of things. I believe that peace is more rewarding than war. I believe that love can conquer hate. I believe that we will one day be able to work together and end global poverty and the spread of AIDS. I believe that everyone has a voice that needs to be heard. I believe that education is the tool to the future. I believe that I CAN make a difference in the world.
My faith is simple, I want to live each and everyday to the fullest and not care what other people think. I want to make an impact on the world today. I want to prove that anyone anywhere in any day and age can do anything they put their mind to.
Activist Now,
Isabel Fox
