Change Starts With One: The Story of Modzi
by Anna Butler
Having been a student at Northeastern’s Boston campus for a total of three semesters, the majority of my studies were spent familiarizing myself with the global challenges I sought to alleviate. I strove to create as many experiential opportunities as possible, and was fortunate to spend most of my time as an NU student learning abroad. As a result, I was exposed to many diverse, incredible places full of extraordinary people. My zeal for learning has been inspired by this beautiful, broken world and the invaluable lessons it has taught me.
A passion for sustainable development and child protection stems from my wide range of international fieldwork. In Haiti, I saw poverty cause a family’s first and only priority to be securing food. Indonesia showed me that a lack of infrastructure resulted in long walks to school, and when paired with the rainy season, mudslides forced parents to keep their children home. While student teaching in a South African township school, a shootout between rival gangs across the street forced us into lockdown, and I experienced the danger of prejudice and intolerance. I first truly understood the menace of social stigma when working to reintegrate physically disabled Ghanaian children into society. And when I began working to rehabilitate children living on the streets of Zambia, I observed the social ramifications of tumultuous economics and feeble politics. All of these experiences differed greatly and yet, I continuously saw that despite facing unimaginable obstacles, children still desired to learn.
To read more click here.
