What was your Moment of Obligation?
Submitted by Nidhi Chaudhary on Fri, 2012-03-30 12:10
“If you don't like the way the world is, you change it. You have an obligation to change it. You just do it one step at a time.” – Marian Wright Edelman
There were 3,508 applications to the 2012 Echoing Green Fellowship. Each person who submitted and idea, an organization for social change, faced a Moment of Obligation—a moment when s(he) decided that something wasn’t right, a community deserved better, or a social injustice needed to be corrected.
Pulling from the applications for this year’s Fellowships, “people” and “community” were the top two drivers shared by social innovators. In the coming weeks, we’ll be asking the Fellowship applicants to share the full stories of their Moments of Obligation with our community.
That moment might have come quickly, perhaps after being witness to an event that was unsettling, or it may have taken months or even years to reach. Regardless of when it happens, it’s that moment when you say—I cannot sit by and let this continue. This is my responsibility. I can do something about this…and I will.
When you reach your moment of obligation, there’s no turning back. It is your personal call to action and it drives you to move forward. These moments can be big; they can be small. You may even have several moments of obligation through the course of your life. Each one compels you to take action for the greater good.
Comments
My moment of obligation.
I was involved in an automobile accident on the 11th of December, 2007. Both Femur were fractured, my left arm was fractured, my scalp was lacerated and I also lost the smallest finger on my left hand. The accident occurred the year I had my first degree (B.Sc in Food Science and Technology). I was in hospital for almost four months where I went through series of surgical operations in order for me to be able to use my limbs again. I could not go for the 1 year compulsory National Youth Service Corps with my colleagues in 2008, so I was shortlisted with the 2009 set. But a year after my right thigh was operated, I had relapse, so I had to start treatment all over. I eventually went to serve my Nation, (I was on crutches all the while). I could not get a job after the Youth Service Corps, so I decided to go back to school to obtain a second degree in Food Processing and Storage Technology.
I’ve been on walking aid since the year 2009. Due to the accident I had, I have been able to put myself in the shoes of people living with physical disability, feeling what they feel, sharing their pains and joy, looking to the future with hope for a better tomorrow.
My moment of obligation was when I decided to set up a non-governmental organization to specifically empower persons with disabilities through targeted programmes that emphasize advocacy for self help, capacity building through vocational education, skills development and employment opportunities.
Moment of Obligation
For me, I become compelled to an obligation when I envision a great opportunity to make a difference. In regard to the BlackCode opportunity, it is the confluence of a number experiences and discussions. An ongoing debate I have with my father centers around factory jobs and out-sourcing work to other countries. For better or worse, many out-sourced jobs won't be coming back any time soon. On the other hand, I know that there is a need for more people skilled in software development. Many of these jobs are U.S. based and many of these jobs go to in-sourced foreigners through H1B visas because there is a skill shortage in the U.S. With the Black unemployment rate above 15%, I see an opportunity. BlackCode exposes Black youth ages 13-19 to software technologies with the goal of getting them to a level of mastery that may augment their employability after high school or facilitate their matriculation to college. Getting out-sourced old tech factory jobs back to the U.S. is somewhat out of the locus of control for an individual. Choosing to acquire the skills to take a job in the new tech economy, on the other hand, is something anyone can do. BlackCode brings together the resources to make the possible likely for our constituents.