Volunteer Reflections

It is easy, often convenient, to think of inequality as a concept. If we distance ourselves from it, refer to it in theory, then we do not have to truly grapple with it. My trip to Nigeria, however, not only forced me to grapple with inequality but begged that I address it. I have never had to wait 3 days for medical care. I have never had to leave illness untreated. I have never had to depend on the arrival of visitors from another country to ensure that my body was taken care of. And yet, here I was in a village with vibrant, powerful, intelligent people who had to do just that. It seemed bizarre that what made me different was a privilege that I had been born into. I did not choose it. Nor did I work for. My circumstance was bestowed upon me and from it I reap innumerable benefits, benefits I did not earn. And still, I left Ibi realizing that although I did not choose my privilege I can decide what I do with it. I left with a sense of purpose and determination. The onus to better our world belongs to everyone. It is for this reason that the Ibi People’s Clinic must be built.

Ariel Eckblad