Dear Clinton is a collection of photographs and letters explaining what public service bridge our students are building. This special collection was produced in partnership with Dear World, an innovative photography venture for social good.
Dear President Clinton,
I have always hoped that everyone in this world gets the same opportunity to access food. My observation about the choices of food available in the USA is overwhelming. Growing up in Uganda, eating bread was a luxury, owning a refrigerator was unthinkable to many, and eating leftovers was considered a privilege. Today, I am still haunted by the same image far away from home.
I left Africa in 1999 and returned for the first time in 2011. I was heartbroken by the fact that many people generally looked malnourished. I looked exceptionally better than most family and friends. I did carry vitamins and supplements to boost appetites, and enhance nutrients, and offered to cook at all times, making sure we ate nutritious meals. It was discouraging often a time realizing that food was never enough at the table. The portions of food served to the eight people at the meal table in my opinion would generally feed only three similar persons in America. I was forced to go over my budget to buy more food. This was family! I could not stop crying every time I saw young children begging their mothers for food, who yelled back with statements suggesting they had no more. It made it seem like the children were at fault for asking and maybe the mothers felt guilty not having extra.
With such observations, I decided to make a difference by setting an example and advocating for others’ food needs. It was very difficult to motivate people to do certain things to improve their lifestyles, when in fact they were hungrier half of the time. I ran out of money the day before I travelled back, so I could not accomplish much more. I remained very guilty because I hadn’t left enough food for my own people.
When I returned to the USA, I researched nutrition-valued cash crops, those that would 1) empower communities economically; and 2) add enrichment and fortification to their consumable food. To start, 5 and 6 acres of sesame and sunflower respectively were leased and cultivated for my first crop. Being the sole sponsor and a full time student, the project met many challenges, for example, timely access to tractors, water for irrigation, transportation of the harvest, and good market prices.
In 2012, I joined the Clinton School of Public Service to gain more knowledge on how to make a difference using the resources available within our communities and to broaden my network, which in turn will help me achieve my personal mission. Malnutrition is the greatest single threat to the world’s public health. Today in Nepal, I am observing and learning from best practice approaches adopted and implemented by USAID, UNICEF, Heifer, and Win-Rock Intl. I am determined to join efforts geared towards eliminating hunger and improving nutrition in mainly the lives of women, children, and the elderly. I am calling upon all of you to join hands as we eliminate preventable malnutrition.
Thank you,
Angela