Dare to Make a Change

Every parent wants their child to grow up to be polite and considerate towards other people.  When someone asks a question, we were taught to kindly answer with a smile.  Helping others is another aspect of life that is crucial for parents to teach their children.  This could be as simple as holding the door open for a stranger, or volunteering for your community.  Fundraisers and events were constantly being held in my community to help other people for the Relay for Life, local food drives, Red Cross blood drives, and raise money for people with multiple sclerosis.  As we mature, we appreciate what we have and realize not everyone is so lucky.  

One of The Ohio State’s past football coaches, Wayne Woodrow “Woody” Hayes, said a powerful line which has been influential to students at The Ohio State University.  There is an organization for volunteer work named after this quote:  “You can never pay back, but you can always pay forward.” 

Courtesy of The Ohio State Alumni Association

Woody wanted to inform us paying back is never good because it means you have a debt to someone.  Paying forward, however, allows you to give to someone else in need without them forcing you.  It is this spontaneous act of kindness that will build a better world.  He wants us to provide help and love people in need deserve.  So, never think you are just one person because without one person, we wouldn't be able to form organizations who improve people’s lives.  It only takes one person to come up with an idea and brighten someone’s day or future, so why should we hold back and make ourselves feel insignificant?

Photo Courtesy of payitforward.osu.edu/news/

When your parents taught you to hold a door open, do you think of it as physically opening the door for people passing through, or do you think of it as opening the door for them to experience new opportunities?  There are many people hoping for a special opportunity which can provide food and money for their family who live in poverty and face hunger every day.  These countries are normally undeveloped, such as Kenya, who have agriculture, but it is not efficient.  The farmers who own small-scale tea tree plant farms hand pick their crops, have low technology, and do not have a way to sell to international markets which could help them bring in more profit.  They work in the scorching sun with beads of sweat dripping from every pore on their body, thick calluses forming on their hands, and still struggling to keep the farm running.  Their farms are only about three acres due to the way crops are harvested.   Farmers on small-scale farms struggle from the lack of technology and use of pesticides, but a little help will allow them to benefit from all the resources on their farm.  This consists of cleaner farming conditions, international trade for a larger profit, and more natural growing products.

How Can Developed Countries and Companies Contribute Aide?

            Most farmers in countries such as the United States and the United Kingdom, do not know how picking crops with their bare hands feels like because they have developed from these old fashion farming techniques.  Now, farmers have heated and air-conditioned farming equipment, harvesters that cut picking times in half, and hundreds of acres of crops that stretches across the horizon.  Developed companies in these countries such as Earthoil are reaching out to help undeveloped farming countries succeed.  Earthoil produced a video ( "Tea Tree Farmers of Kenya" ) showing how they have helped Kenyan tea tree farmers by opening up their farming materials to organic and natural oils instead of pesticides.  By providing small-scale farmers with organic materials, they are giving them an edge over other small-scale farmers in competitive market.  The Kenyan farmers will now be able to advertise their farming method of hand-picking crops.  This positive image allows the consumers to visualize farmers loving and caring for their crops which were naturally taken care of without the use of pesticides.  As the video faded away the words “Brighter Future” lingered on the screen to emphasize the impact countries can have on small-scale farms.

Photo courtesy of www.thebodyshop.com

Farming Conditions:  Check.  Next:  Profits!

            Fairtrade is another company reaching out to introduce small-scale farmers to international markets.  Since Earthoil took the initiative to advance farmers' growing materials and conditions, Fairtrade guides them to take the organic crops they produced and sell them equally at large markets.  Opening doors to international markets will yield a larger margin of profit for the small-scale farmers who usually sell within their communities.  Since small-scale farmers do not have experience selling at international markets, Fairtrade steps in and makes sure the farmers get the profit they deserve and not be taken advantage of because of their lacking knowledge.  Fairtrade is also benefiting the community calling their efforts "Fairtrade Premium."  They not only advance agriculture, they build daycare centers and schools which help progress the country even more and away from poverty.  Advancement in agriculture is the center for improvement and without the help of others, farmers (like the Kenyan tea tree farmers) would still be struggling without any hope of success.  To read more about the pros and cons of Fairtrade, Catherine Dolan wrote an article that covers these issues ("In the Mists of Development: Fairtrade in Kenyan Tea Tree Fields").

Why Should We Help?

            So why should we help farmers who are struggling in other countries to provide food for their family and manage their farms?  Imagine yourself in their shoes.  You are walking through three acres of tea trees, which are on the brink of dying, because of lacking nutrients in the soil and irrigation system.  While picking crops with your hands, you wonder whether or not there will be enough crops to keep the farm running and support the family.  As thoughts whip through your mind, the weight keeps wearing you down, but you pursue on because giving up would be fatal.  While laying in bed at night with blisters pounding, you pray there is a way out of poverty.  Success is the desperately desired to be like the developed countries around the world.  Imagine the excitement when you receive the news that someone actually cares about you and wants to see improvement.  This is why people help each other.  It is not because we expect something back from a good deed; it is the reward of knowing you made someone else’s life a little bit better.  

How Can We Contribute?

            One way for us to take action and help small-scale farms may not be direct contact with the farmers, but buying their products.  Fairtrade has many retail stores across the United States where they sell products from around the world.  By buying these products, you know the uneducated farmers were not taken advantage of and Fairtrade is truly lending a helping hand.  I have never heard of Fairtrade before I became a student at The Ohio State University.  Near campus, there is a store called "Global Gallery" which sells Fairtrade products.  It may not all be food, but their website is worth checking out.  Maybe you will find products you like and contribute to improving undeveloped countries (http://www.ggfairtrade.com/).  There was also an event held recently by Global Gallery and Fairtrade venders to promote sales and expand cultural education.  Here is a flyer that was hanging in my college dorm.

Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to say:  “I was involved in the fight against world hunger, and we will beat it one day!”  Without people saying this, words will never become actions.  Only one person is needed to start a chain reaction, so why couldn't you be the one who could save a family from poverty and hunger?  As you are making your decision to take action and help someone you see, why don’t you step up and make a change?  Dare to make a difference in someone else’s life by just simply purchasing products by a Fairtrade company near you.  Dare to start an organization to improve farming communities in undeveloped countries because they need your help!  Use this song by Carrie Underwood called “Change” to make that difference.