Nicole Foley: American Friends of Kenya

            My Involvement In Helping Kenya.

 Sitting in the classrooms of TRCC, one can easily forget that the world is such a large place.  Sure the maps on the history wall shows you how big the world really is, but people still do not really grasp that there is more going on in the world then what they encounter in their own day.  You can watch the news and hear about problems in far away lands that you could never even imagine, but you still are so far away that you feel that you cant help in the least.  For some the news will be all the contact they have with the out side world of America.  Luckily for me, I was given the opportunity to work with a group of individuals to help make a difference in the world.  Together with a few of my K111 Ethics classmates, and a couple wonderful individuals, I am working to make a difference in peoples lives.  Our school has joined forces with the American Friends of Kenya (AFK) to hold a fundraiser to help support important needs of the impoverished nation of Kenya.

            Holding true to the AFK’s mission statement; “We are partners with the people of Kenya in building a better tomorrow,” I have set about trying to achieve this goal.  Working closely with Amber White, we have been working on the task of putting together a program for children’s entertainment during the benefit concert. We have contacted several large corporations from Home Depot to Target in hopes that they will be able to support us with donations. For the concert I am hoping to be able to put together crafts, face painting and games for the children. Although we have yet to receive any replies from the corporations, I still have hope that we will be able to put together as much fun as possible. As well as getting supplies I have contacted many close friends and members of the local theater community and have asked for their services to perform the entertainment for the children.  Many are very willing and very excited to help out; they are highly skilled and have an immense passion for their work. I am very pleased to have their support. A good friend of mine, Joe Hynds, has agreed to donate his time and skills as a clown and magician to putting on a show. Also Joe is fantastic in creating balloon animals, he has agreed to put on a little workshop for the volunteers so that we can all get together and learn some of the tricks and learn to make balloon animals. During this meeting I am also planning out the events and organizing who, out of the volunteers, has the talent to do which jobs e.g. face painting, balloon animals, crafts, games… As well as this Amber and I have also been asked to assist with some treasury duties as the benefit draws closer.  Amber and I also plan on making informational posters on the people of Kenya and the work of the AFK that are a bit more aimed towards children. I truly believe that it is key to get the next generation aware of the issues of the rest of the world and to understand how they can personally help as they grow older. Overall I have contributed over 10 hours to this project and plan on helping with ticket sales in the schools cafeteria next week.  My goal is to have a successful and entertaining benefit that also gets the awareness of the AFK to the public.

            In the beginning I was sold on the idea that working on a volunteering project would teach me something that I could not learn from opening a book or reading a webpage in order to write a paper.  Writing papers becomes second nature to college students and is generally an easy way to get a good grade.  This project has provided a totally unique challenge, one that I was not expecting to enjoy so much. When I first decided to do volunteering work instead of a traditional paper I was very worried that there was little that I personally could contribute to help. But Earl’s idea to throw a benefit concert really jumped right into where my skills are. I originally wanted to help at elementary schools in after school programs or something that involved children. I however had this nagging voice constantly asking me why I would waste my valuable free time with someone else’s children when I have four brothers and a sister at home begging for my company. This concert was a real mind easer for I know that all this work that I am doing not only benefits the children of Kenya but my family can enjoy my hard work also. This is very close to an Egoist’s way of thinking, that I am doing the children’s entertainment so that my own family can enjoy it and praise me afterwards. I was very skeptical in the beginning with asking total strangers to donate their time, items or money to people they will never meet; but I realized that it is the moral thing to do and people if handed the chance will help for they also know that it is the right thing to do. Looking after the world and the children in it is quite like the feminist ethics way of thinking; it is about people caring enough to help out even when it does not benefit them personally. At that point I realized why this project was going to teach me more than any research project ever could.  This project humanized my subject; I was not writing a paper about a theory or an event that happened a thousand years ago.  I was working to produce a benefit that would affect the lives of a number of people tomorrow.  Humans by nature are a compassionate species, as a general rule a human will care about another human just like the Feminist ethics state.  Also because we are humans we also come up with reasons not to feel compassion, these reasons can vary from the color of ones skin to their country of origin.  By taking part in this benefit I have been given the chance to show others that we should show compassion to all no matter who they are. Just like the Social Justices believe they do not have to be like me, they just have to have needs, every one has the same right as everyone else, to have food and the ability to be educated.   I firmly believe that if more people took a stance like this the world could be a much better place for humanity.  Individual ethics and morals need to stand out and not be crushed by the masses.  A person is smart and can handle almost anything but we are sadly influence by others that make us turn away from these things. Is it Gods will to help others even if they live hundreds of miles away and I will probability never meet them? Well if I was a Divine Command follower I would say yes and even though these people are not as close to me as you are, they live in the same world and still are my neighbor. I have taken it as my challenge to allow my ethics and morals stand for themselves and to not let them be trampled.

            I have thoroughly enjoyed my work so far on the AFK benefit project and look forward to the actual completion of the event.  With all the hard work my classmates and I have put into this, I really hope that “The ends justify the means”, and that it is a success with a great turn out.  Being a part of this project and being a student at TRCC I am reminded that I am part of a community.  It is called the human community and we are all members.  Some of us choose to be active while most of us do not, I am very glad that I had an excuse and an opportunity to help.  Together we can make a difference for people in Kenya. There are hundreds of other projects that need dedicated support and I truly hope to pursue farther into volunteering my services. And as I was told by a very wonderful person “A person standing up for what they believe in is never alone, there is always someone else standing.  That person may not be next to them, but they are standing.” I want to be that person, the one that others may not see or know about, but is standing and helping in everyway she can.