#21CLHK11 Takeaways Part 2 -- Standing on the Shoulders of Giants: Juan Pablo Romero Fuentes

At #21CLHK11 I have the honor of meeting Juan Pablo Romero Fuentes in person and it was pretty amazing to say the least. I was so unbelievably impressed by his message and the work he is doing to make Guatemala a better place. He is incredible. It was humbling to the extreme. On the way back to Korea on the plane, I was talking with another person about it and was moved to tears. The man has been threatened by gangs in his neighborhood, but continued to educate children. When other people would have given up, he pushed on and he continues to move forward. For those of us who work with the wealthy children of Asia, it really hit home to hear a man ask, "But what type of children are we raising? Are they good humans? Will they be good people?" 

We go through our days with the blinders on. It is easy for us to be in our little bubble of privilege. Our kids don't worry about having food to eat or a roof over their heads or how they will afford to get pencils, pens, computers, books, or... Or you name it! They have everything available to them. And I would say that most have never seen poverty. Not really. They may have traveled to a developing nation and seen it, but they haven't really thought about it. They haven't had to really struggle. 

I'm happy that they haven't had to deal with the world that Juan Pablo's students do on a day-to-day basis. I'm happy they go to good homes at night and enjoy a meal of good food around a family that loves them in a place where they are safe from violence and crime. But... They need to know that world exists. They need to know that those people have dreams too. That those kids want to play, learn, and live. We are all humans and we all deserve a right to live with dignity, love, and respect. We can't just leave other humans behind.

On the plane, I was talking with a woman who also pleasantly surprised me. When I was talking about the conference and Juan Pablo, she told me that she and her husband had opened a small school for migrant workers in Thailand. Thailand has a large population of construction workers who are from Cambodia. Usually the workers come for one or two years, so they often bring their children with them. But the children end up playing during the day, because their parents are working. So they began teaching the kids during the day. And after some time, they built a little school. Currently there are 70 students. 70 kids that have a chance to learn. That's how it starts. Someone decides to do something; to open their eyes; to take action.

Since some things that have happened in my personal and professional life, I've sidelined myself a little bit. I've been on the bench waiting to get back in the game. Thanks to Juan Pablo and Julie, I want to get off the bench. I want to get back in the game of changing the world, because we can. We really can. Look around you. I know someone needs help. Choose to help them. We need to remember that if we all do a little, it adds up to a lot.

I'll step off my soapbox now and end this post with some lines from the song Equal Rights and Justice by Peter Tosh.

Everyone is heading for the top
But tell me how far is it from the bottom
Nobody knows but everybody fighting to reach the top
How far is it from the bottom