Ever questioned the power of the individual?It is difficult to realise how much a person or a small group of friends can do. In hopes of stirring up your own self-belief - here are a few examples of some remarkable individuals who achieved great heights for humanitarianism and the causes that drove them.
Chris Grecius was dying from Leukemia when he met US customs officer Tommy Austin in 1980. Tommy wanted to help Chris realise his dream of becoming a cop. He organised a day with the Arizona Department of Public Safety for Chris who was flown around in police helicopters and mingled with real-life cops. Chris was sworn in as the first honorary DPS officer, complete with a uniform. This was the wish-come-true that inspired the creation of the Make-A-Wish Foundation, founded by Chris’ mother and two officers from the Arizona DPS who attended Chris’ funeral.
At the Institute of Behavioural Research in Maryland, USA, an animal rights activist joined a research group, undercover. What he witnessed was the appalling treatment of tropical monkeys in the name of scientific research. Taking photos and recordings of videos of the activities in the labs, he gained enough evidence against the head researcher and brought charges against him in the US Supreme Court. In 1985, with concentrated activism from the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, the USA amended their Animal Welfare Act to be far more stringent.
In 1992, a 20-year old woman who was pregnant was admitted to the care of Dr Godakumbura. She had suffered severe burns from a kerosene lamp that had tipped over. She died the following day. The indescribable frustration he felt at what seemed to him as an easily solvable situation drove him to design an affordable lamp that would prevent such atrocious accidents from happening. After appealing to donors, in 1993 Dr. Godakumbura finally achieved the means to set up a foundation to mass-produce these lamps (which cost under US $0.25 to make).
The common thread between these stories is that it is one or two individuals who truly felt about some injustice and spoke out about it - gathered support because there were already people who thought like them but did not act on it. Within a year, the Make-A-Wish Foundation gathered $2000 (in 1981 that meant far more than it does today!) just from general public donations.
The Maryland animal rights activist created the foundation of the Animal Liberation Front. Dr. Godakumbura won the 2009 BBC World Challenge which gave him funds to continue and expand his fight against preventable kerosene burns. His model is now used all over the world in developing countries.There are always people who think like you do and all they need is someone to voice their thoughts. Find out what you can do to help that cause. This was written by a STITCH volunteer learn more at www.stitchmovement.com.
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