My aha moment happened two and a half years ago, when I lost a baby through a miscarriage. I got really depressed, so I decided to stop everything and go to Africa to try to see if I could help other people. I ended up volunteering with this organization that did malaria prevention in Uganda.
One of the women I met with was Jamira, who’s a midwife. Something happened when I met her. I was staring at the bed where thousands of women have had their babies with the same black, blood-soaked pad. They were just deplorable conditions. I said, ‘I can help change this.’
What I realized was if Jamira just had gloves, scissors, and pain medication instead of just the traditional herbs, she could help prevent all kinds of medical problems.
When I met Jamira, I saw that I can make a difference in the world. I can make an enormous difference. If I put a little bit of elbow grease into this, I can change the world significantly.
My goal is to have 250 of these clinics around the world, wherever women have their babies in impoverished communities. My organization, OneMama, is this bigger model.
I want to make this a revolutionary social change. We can all find that little inscription in our heart to show that we can make a difference in the world.
Aha moments, I believe, are components of all the pieces of us that have been seeding in the soil getting ready to grow the flower that is supposed to help us bloom.
by lizzyras at 343 days ago
This is an amazing "Aha Moment" and one that I can truly relate to. In my senior year of college, I decided to study abroad in South Africa and intern in Botswana. It was truly life changing. Last semester, for one of my graduate courses, I wrote a cost-benefit analysis on birthing kits (provided to women giving birth in the absence of medical professionals) in Sierra Leone. Infant and maternal mortality is a significant issue and what makes it so frustrating is that most of the deaths are so easily preventable. Kudos to Shavonne!