Coming back to the United States soon. Now planning the return. Hard to believe it has been 7 months overseas… I remember leaving for 2 months and having a culture shock upon return, can’t imagine what this is going to be like. Scariest part? I don’t know what I’m going to do for the next year before school…. if I get accepted into school again.
…a lot of places, I’ve realized how lucky many of us really are to be where we’re from. There is a lot of poverty and war – everywhere.
I’ve also realized that if we’re one of the few that have escaped poverty and war, it seems almost obligatory upon us to give back to our respective communities. Only through not forgetting our communities and families will change come to them. Giving back does not mean simply donating to charity occasionally, but a concerted physical effort which focuses on changing some problematic aspect of the current societal norm. E.g. lack of educational facilities for children.
As a Pakistani by ethnicity, it would be a total shame for me to have been given a better life in the US and not leverage the benefits to give back to my own people, and others. After meeting some of my cousins in Pakistan for the first time in my life, I now have on the ground connections to help me figure out what actually can be done to help.
Now to actually figure out what to do. In case you’re looking for inspiration… http://samasource.org/
Need a break. Need to get motivated. So many wasted days/nights.
Academy Award winning Documentary, Saving Face about burn victims in Pakistan. Really tragic.
Saving Face documentary on pinkbike.com
I’ve spent six months of my life in Afghanistan as of 2 days ago. There’s no unified cross-country, inter-NGO strategy on how to boost the countries economy and help the impoverished. Everyone is firing on their own pistons, no one is communicating. Failed efforts are replicated in the east and the west and billions are misspent. One big criticism of OLPC in Peru, as written by on of their interns was the “hand off and walk away” mentality was employed with little success; I see parallel issues in Afghanistan. Pumping money into an inflated economy without any sort of follow through is detrimental. No follow through coupled with the fact most either don’t spend enough time in country to understand it OR spend enough time in country but burn out and leave.
I’ve been thinking about ways to use IT to promote communication between development organizations in Afghanistan – which could be employed in other countries as well. This could help loop in the expertise of those that know this country and promote a greater strategy around development. This could be the next big project after Rhyme.ly and JomoMarket.com. Just need to hash out this idea a bit further…
A Wristwatch. I don’t know how I lived without one before.
Second greatest? Google Calendar
Planning all of a sudden is doable.
About 10 times in a row
I feel we’re so consumed by the chase of that ideal future-self. That future-self that is always elusive, ever evolving, and always two days out of reach. That chase can be quite stressful.
Reading over his website, I found this quote from him…
“My two last mentees are living very, very, very well and I am personally responsible for their success.
I do not sleep. The members of my current program know this well. Try as they may, they can not keep up with me. I lead by example. I am a finisher.”
That is motivation. The freakin dude doesn’t sleep!
…Or maybe I don’t know the meaning of physical labor. Don’t know if I’ve ever been so busy in my life. GMAT preparation, JOMO Market launch at the end of the month, Rhyme.ly launch at the end of the month, Consulting work on ground here in Afghanistan, and all the other little things that tag along with the daily duties of life.
I saw 6am for the first time ever in my life, is it always this dark?
