Reflections from CGIU 2012: Service, commitment, and community
What Usher and Madeleine Albright have in common
If you had asked me three days ago what Usher and Madeleine Albright had in common, my only response would have been “they both know how to work the stage”. I saw Usher work it in Pittsburgh when I was fifteen, and I was star-struck and speechless. Two years ago, as a junior at George Washington University (GWU), I saw Madeleine Albright work the stage on a panel with the four most recent Secretaries of State. I was star-struck and speechless. I never would have thought that they were similar in any other way. I was wrong.
This weekend I had the privilege of attending the fifth annual Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) with 7 other members of GlobeMed’s National Office staff, 22 GlobeMed chapter members from five different chapters, and 1 member of GlobeMed at GWU’s partner organization, the Rwanda Village Concept Project (RVCP). The Meeting opened Friday night with a panel moderated by President Clinton, including panelists Madeleine Albright, Steven Knapp, Rye Barcott, Sadiqa Saleem, and Usher Raymond IV. What do all of these individuals have in common?
The panel was titled “The Power of Public Service”. All of the panelists showed a deep, humble commitment to public service, although this trait came out in very different ways for each of them. From defying the Afghani government by building all-female universities to mentoring inner-city youth in America, these panelists all demonstrated a desire to understand and improve the human condition. They saw the good in humankind and they sought to strengthen it in any way they can. This is not only what connects them to one another, but to all of us.
Spotlight: GlobeMed at GWU’s Commitments to Action
This year, three GlobeMed chapters had a total of four Commitments selected to be featured at CGI U 2012. GlobeMed at GWU, of which I was a part of for nearly four years, had two wonderful Commitments selected. The first, a Maternal Health Education Program in Southern Rwanda, is in its third year and has also been recognized by Ashoka Changemakers as a transformational project that not only provides education but is also a source of nutrition and income to the poorest mothers in the Huye District.
The second focuses on enhancement of the Huye Health Clinic that has been refurbished by GlobeMed at GWU and Rwanda Village Concept Project over the past five years. Together, these projects provide a holistic approach to improved quality of life for some of the poorest communities in the country of Rwanda.
On community and your sense of self
I was truly impressed by all of the Commitments submitted by GlobeMed and other students from around the world. When GlobeMed’s Executive Director, Maya Cohen, and the former Coordinator of RVCP, Vincent Ndebwanimana, spoke on a panel Saturday morning, they spoke about global health as the connector of young people around the world. They were absolutely right–health is what connects us and what allows us to turn our passions into action. I believe GlobeMed provides an outlet for reflection in a community of people who are all committed to action.
Daphni Leef, a leading activist of the Israeli Tent Movement, challenged the audience to “make your sense of self specific to yourself”. I don’t think I could end with a better piece of advice. Find out who you are, what you love, and do it. This weekend proved to me that everybody has the ability to make change; those who do are those who never question that ability.
Written by Alyssa Smaldino
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