Not long ago, SFU student Shazia Nanjijuma was in a tough spot.
The 2011 Burnaby North grad had switched from sciences and plans to work in health care to international relations and economics and dreams of helping solve world problems, like poverty.
But traditional models of development, she soon learned, don’t work.
“I spent lots of time in the classroom being very critical of development and if it even actually achieves any of its ends at all,” she told the NOW.
Her hope was revived this year, however, after a trip to Uganda to work with a non-governmental organization that operates on the idea that people can find their own solutions out of extreme poverty.
Working in the slums of Kampala, the group encourages local community leaders to teach youths at workshops how to supplement their household incomes by activities like making charcoal briquettes or candles.
For Nanjijuma, the work was hope inspiring.
“It was interesting to see a side of development that is positive and optimistic and achieving results,” Nanjijuma.
This month, Nanjijuma is looking to expand her global network further at an international youth conference in Bangkok, Thailand
Called One Young World, the Nov. 18 to 21 event will see young people aged 18 to 30 from global and national companies, NGOs, universities and other forward-thinking organizations debate, formulate and share innovative solutions for pressing world issues.
At past conferences, the youth delegates have been joined by world leaders, like Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu, former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize winner Professor Muhammad Yunus.
“Young people don’t usually get that chance to be in the same room as these people,” Nanjijuma said.
“For people who want to situate their career in a global context, these sorts of opportunities are few and far between.”
Nanjijuma – a self-described struggling university student – has launched a crowd-funding campaign to help fund her trip. For more information or to donate, visit www.gofundme.com/ck6n36xk.
