This summer, I’ll be writing for Jolkona Foundation. Jolkona is a nonprofit organization aiming to build awareness and mobilize young people to support successful community development projects around the world. Jolkona provides an online platform where it lists the projects it supports, and allows individuals to donate small amounts of money to these high-impact projects. The most unique thing, perhaps, about Jolkona is that they show you tangible results for each gift and explain exactly where your money is going. They have projects around the world in empowerment, public health, education, cultural identity, and the environment. And one aspect that resonates with me is that they hope to target young donors – ages 15 to 35 – by helping them control exactly how their contributions are spent.
This summer, Jolkona has invited several young people to blog about their experiences, the issue areas Jolkona focuses on, and the specific projects Jolkona supports. This is an attempt to raise awareness of Jolkona’s work as well as to Jolkona reach out to more young people. I’ve become a blogger there and will be writing every so often about human rights and women’s empowerment issues, hoping to use my words to propel people to take action on the site. Here is an excerpt from my introductory post:
But I’m here to tell you that writing coupled with action does and can make a difference. I’ve been writing this year at my personal blog, Justice for all, where I blog about political and human rights issues, hoping to better articulate the vital role that young people can play in the movement. As a 20 year old, I clearly don’t know as much about human rights as seasoned experts, but what I have realized is that I can contribute something through my writing: a youthful perspective. Through my blog, I have reached out to so many members of “Gen Y,” and have been able to discuss with them the importance of human rights, and the importance of caring. My words cannot do everything, but through contributing my voice – at least I am joining the movement for change and helping it grow.
I’d encourage you to read the entire post here to learn more about my passion for writing and how I hope to translate that into action. If you liked the post, please follow Jolkona’s blog to continue reading about the experiences and opinions of not only me, but also other young people doing some very cool things. And, if you’re interested in blogging for them, please let me know and I can put you in touch!
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Akhila Reply:
July 1st, 2009 at 6:39 pm
Kyle…thank you so much! Your words mean a lot to me because the main thing I want to do is connect with other young people & college students like yourself! I agree, I don’t see many of my peers at my university so interested in global issues. However, when I traveled abroad to study for the year at the London School of Economics, all of a sudden it seemed like EVERYONE around me cared about international issues: politics, economics, human rights, etc. It was shocking to me, but I absolutely loved it.
So my conclusion is that yes – there ARE so many students out there passionate about this stuff. But finding them is sometimes hard, and not all school atmospheres are conducive to this type of thinking. You have to find the places where these students exist, and there you’ll be amazed by the passion of students for global issues.
Good luck in your first year of college! What are you interested in?
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Kyle Reply:
July 1st, 2009 at 7:17 pm
Thanks, I’m going to try and double major in political science and public relations. I always thought about being a foreign service officer or working for a non profit PR department. Basically my interests are a mix of media, diplomacy, and international affairs.
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