The Triangle

Issue date: 4/4/08 Section: Ed-Op

This is truly a world of the have and have-nots. Many of us here at Drexel drop five bucks on a coffee at Starbucks without a thought, while people in other parts of the world struggle to survive through civil unrest and poverty. Even in our own country, thousands and thousands of families are living below the poverty line.
So, what is a man with an engineering degree going to do about that? Besides organizations like Engineers Without Borders and similar groups, an engineering degree usually means working on projects that benefit us here (the haves) while completely ignoring the issues of food, clothing and shelter that are affecting the have-nots.
That was March. Now it's April and I think I've made some progress in my thoughts. Change started with 10 other Drexel students and an advisor in the small city of Brunswick, Ga.
Drexel's chapter of Habitat for Humanity sponsored an Alternative Spring Break trip to this poverty-stricken Southern city, and for the first time in my history at Drexel I didn't have other engagements preventing me from going. So I signed up for the trip, got accepted, and (to be cliché) now I'm a changed man.
There was something surreal about volunteering to build a house. It's different than volunteering to pick up litter or serve food at a soup kitchen. In those situations, it can feel like you're never making a dent in the problem. You clean up litter, but more litter finds its way to the street. You serve food to the homeless, but they're hungry again tomorrow. It seems like you're just helping the issue by making sure it doesn't get any worse - you're not really moving toward a permanent solution.
With Habitat, you're reducing the number of families living in poverty housing one at a time. There's a measure to your work, and if you keep at it long enough you can completely eliminate the issue in a town or city.
We had the opportunity to meet the family we were building the house for. During lunch one day, we had a conversation with the four children who would be living in the house. I would guess they were either middle school or high school age.
I was shocked because, even in the face of poverty, these children had serious goals and dreams. One wanted to be a gynecologist, another a fashion designer, still another a doctor. These kids knew they were in a bad situation, but instead of worrying about it they were pushing for change. Like they say - if you can't change a situation then it's not worth worrying about, but if you can change it, stop worrying and be the change you want to see. With a new house, and maybe a college degree, these children could land a respectable job.

Continued...

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