old he was your average kid who liked
comics and playing video games
but despite we’re the same age and like
the same things we’re very different
from each other while I was the chubby
ten-year-old who liked playing video
games and my bit greatest worry was not
getting dessert at the end of dinner he
was a quiet kid whose demeanor was
dogged by the experiences of his life
but most importantly he lost both his
arms during an earthquake in Sichuan it
was on May 12 2008 when an 8.5 magnitude
earthquake struck the heart of switch
one I remember sitting in class 800
miles away from the epicenter of the
earthquake smelling up feeling a small
vibration in the classroom little Dino
later when I found out that like Jia
drear my friend to be there were
thousands of other victims that were
incapacitated but by the rubble waiting
for the rescuers to reach them meeting
him for the first time was a shock for
the both of us but it was through my
trips to his hometown and his trips of
mine where we realized we really had a
lot of difference in the way we live and
the different tasks in life we had well
he taught me how he ate without his two
arms and how he used his prosthesis I
showed him my prized Pokemon collection
in my bedroom but despite his handicap
he was really seen with his prosthesis
because when I later found out that it
was really heavy and cumbersome but
during one night when I was having
dinner with was with him and his family
and one of his donors I saw him wearing
his prosthesis and he was slowly working
his way through his dinner
you know sometimes spelling a bit of
sauce or porridge on his lap
and one of the donors asked him a
question in English and she said how’s
your prosthesis holding up and as you
know that jaja didn’t speak English so
she he stared at her blankly and amid
that silence I heard from someone on the
table that the prosthesis is holding up
pretty well we’re hoping to get a new
one next year so Joshy wouldn’t have an
easier time prior to meetings a Jew
I knew suffering from a distance
sheltered by my privilege and life was
never the same for him after the
earthquake and makes problems that they
never expected popped up after the
earthquake and they had to rely on the
donors money in order to sustain the
something that I realized is judge’
didn’t really have a choice because he
had to in order to get these funds he
had to show demonstrates the donors that
the way he’s using their money is
manifested in useful means where the
donors could see nine years later
traveling halfway across the world for
boarding school in the States and going
to my first medical service trip in
Haiti after Hurricane Matthew I was
transformed and transported in a
different different world and different
place and as I was driving around
port-au-prince after delivering supplies
to a prison in nearby port-au-prince we
stopped by at a local supermarket for
lunch and in sand in the supermarket
there was a great pretty tall wall
surrounding the supermarket and inside
that supermarket there was rows of cars
such as Land Rovers BMWs and Ford’s that
each reflected the harsh glare of the
sunlight and stepping inside I was
transported in it into a different realm
and there were rows and rows of consumer
goods that towered over me you could
find haagen-dazs ice cream Hot Pockets
Arnold Palmer I would even argue that
the the supermarket there was had
products that were even more diverse
than some stores in the states but
outside beyond that wall there was there
were children drinking unfiltered water
off of well and that slight infuriated
me and was the impetus for me to go and
try my best to provide the most I can
while I was in Haiti and here you could
see the the supermarket that was there
and then the children they were outside
I’m drinking unfiltered water from the
well but nevertheless with my passion
the reality was still there
we lacked basic medications and for
blood pressure and diabetes and diseases
that were often curable in the first
world countries were now incurable
because of our lack of resources
later that day when I visited an
orphanage to provide medical check-ups
to the orphans there I met a group of
teenagers who were just like me either
eager to help and make a difference in
this world and before the teenagers left
they gave these keepsake bracelets to
the kids there and later that day when I
found out when I came back to provide
more medical check-ups I saw that the
the orphans weren’t wearing those
keepsake bracelets the teens gave them
when they left to me a young romantic
whose dreams were always to help the
underprivileged it was it seemed as it
was all a facade for the teens to come
help and play with the orphans my dreams
of helping others became disillusioned
as I realized that most of what we did
was kind of useless having no lasting
impact on the children I asked myself
was i contributing to part of the
culture that was coming in and
exploiting the underprivileged but
looking back I realized that like gee
Adger they had no other choice in order
to sustain themselves for and provide
themselves with food water and shelter
and it was only interacting and living
with the local Haitians when I realized
the true needs of Haiti the Haitians
need jobs
the orphans need an education and the
elderly need adequate health care
instead of blindly helping I realized
that we first need to understand the
true needs of Haitians before we could
provide adequate support for the
recovery and growth what also emerged
from these interactions were lessons of
art and faith and generosity
at a church service I saw those who had
served the the day before coming with
their best attire singing songs of
praise and worship
before I left for Haiti a mentor told me
do good well and I never really
understood what he meant by doing good
well until I actually went went forth to
experience the what it means to do good
well because while we can always provide
blind help towards those who are less
privileged than us sometimes all these
people need is someone to talk to them
and understand their struggles and truly
share their experiences with them thank
you
[Music] [Applause]