Contrary to all the bad press permeating mainstream media today about the young folks of America ⁠— their bullying, sexting, drugs, alcohol and all sorts of bad behavior ⁠— I believe in the youth and the good they do. I believe in their power to make their mark on our gigantic globe ⁠— NOW.

What I don’t believe in is the seemingly innocent question you and I are too often guilty of asking: “What do you want to do when you grow up?” While I’m sure the intent behind this question is to spark curiosity, hope, or perhaps some forward thinking and goal-setting, I know that our future, our youth, can make an impact now.

Don’t believe me? Just check out some of our Go Inspire Go (GIG) stories about the inspiring youth of America like Lily Gordon, a teenager who is working on beating hunger in Tanzania, or Phoebe Russell who enabled the San Francisco Food Bank to give out more than 140,000 meals, or the band students from San Jose, Calif., who were inspired by this GIG video to orchestrate a winter concert to help Rev. Lemaire Alerte of the Haitian Evangelical Church in Jersey City, N.J., accomplish his dream of building a school in Haiti.

The folks at Youth Service of America (YSA), the world’s largest and longest-running youth service campaign, share the sentiment ⁠— kids have the power to make a difference today.

This weekend, from April 15-17, millions of youth around the world, spanning 100 countries and six continents, will join YSA to celebrate Global Youth Service Day. Witness the wonderful work and service of children and communities working in unison to solve the world’s problems. From elementary school students’ flash mobs in Turkey highlighting the world’s water woes to Georgian kids building playgrounds to enrich local families and communities, I invite you to inspire the youth in your life to take action and be the change. Encourage them to participate in Global Youth Service Day.

As adults, I believe it is our filial duty to give back, inspire and challenge our youth to do better for themselves and others.

One of my favorite quotes is from Desmond Tutu, Angelican Archbishop of Cape Town, South Africa: “The ocean is made up of individual drops of water.”

We are each a single drop of water moving together to create waves, to create change. My question to you is: Where do you see yourself (and the youth in your life) in the sea of change?

What can YOU do?

Onward,
Toan

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Lily’s social awareness was sparked at an early age. She showed maturity, compassion and gratitude at 10-years-old. After learning about Africa and hearing about the starving African children from a classmate, she wanted to help. For her 11th birthday, instead of presents, she asked her friends to donate money to help build a water pipe for a Tanzanian school.

“The idea of getting 25 more puzzles didn’t seem as enchanting as the idea of being able to give kids water,” Lily said. She and her friends raised nearly $2,000 ⁠— more than Lily had ever imagined.

When she was 12 she hit another milestone ⁠— Lily’s first visit to Tanzania with African Immigrants Social & Cultural Services. She was struck by the beauty of the country ⁠— but even more so ⁠— the inner beauty of the people.

“Being really immersed in the culture and seeing the people, I guess it made me want to help even more, just because I felt really connected to them and I felt they gave so much to me and were so welcoming to me even though they had so much less than me.”

She noticed the stark difference between what she and her friends had in America and was moved that the kids she visited didn’t even have the basics: proper shelter, education or health care. What struck her most ⁠— the lack of food ⁠— was a devastating part of their existence Lily witnessed first-hand at the hospital. “Malnutrition is just part of existence there almost. The bloated bellies, they’re all very small for their age,” she said.

Lily learned that bread is imported to villages from big cities several hours away, but it’s often rotten by the time it arrives.

She knew she had to do something.

She came up with an idea that would save lives. When she returned home to California, she poured her heart ⁠— and her time ⁠— into fundraising and learning how to build a brick oven to empower the villagers to make their own bread and self sustain.

Last summer, Lily, her family and her friends built a rainwater harvest system to make clean water for the orphans. This summer, she plans to teach the villagers how to make their own smaller adobe ovens and a community garden.

“I’m so lucky I found it when I was young, but I feel like if anyone got the joy that I received from just being with these people, working together to do what we could, then there’s no way they would’ve turned down the opportunity,” she said.

Simple things many of us take for granted, like cooking dinner and breaking bread with our crew was an experience she knows many people, like her new friends in Tanzania, don’t have.

Special thanks to Jessica Chang for reporting this GIG story. Chang is is a former TV reporter who is developing her own travel/volunteer project: Volunteer Ventures.

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