A Surprise at Milano's

This past weekend I stopped in Dayton on my way to visit the UDSAP house. (UDSAP [University of Dayton Summer Appalachia Program] is the service program I participated in last summer, and each summer the UDSAPers host three visitors weekends for family, friends, and former UDSAPers.) On my way down to Kentucky, I had the opportunity to spend some time in Dayton and catch up with a few friends. A few of us decided to meet up at Milano's right off of UD's campus, and so I headed there last Thursday evening.

When I walked into Milano's I was greeted by a huge smile on the face of Matt Maroon, the student who graduated from UD two years ago and was the first volunteer to travel to Karonga, Malawi to work with the Marianists. He's the one who established the volunteer site that I will be working at for the next two years. I've had a few opportunities to speak with him about Malawi, but I was nonetheless excited to see him. He and I ended up speaking for the rest of the evening, and I couldn't have asked for a better surprise.

Matt's face beamed with energy as he spoke to me about the excitement he has for the work in which I am about to engage. I was surely reassured by his excitement for me. As we spoke, I had the opportunity to ask him a number of questions, but I had no idea that I would walk away feeling as eager to begin my work as I did. Matt's answer to one of my questions settled an internal debate that I've been having since I've considered going to Malawi. I've been debating the value of someone like me going to Africa to volunteer. Surely, there are qualified people there who perhaps would have an easier time doing the work that I will be doing because they are already familiar with the culture, the climate, the people, the languages, and so on. So what value do I bring?

The instant I asked Matt that question, his eyebrows raised, his head leaned back, and his shoulders opened. "Huge! You bring huge value," Matt replied. "You can't even begin to imagine the value you bring." Matt went on to describe the way that the education I've received here in the U.S., particularly the type of education I received at UD, is extremely rare there. Furthermore, the access to information I've had here in the U.S. is exponentially greater than the access to information the people there have. He insisted that the information that I have seen, heard, and read in my life time, and the perspective I have of the world because of all that information, will be of tremendous value there; so much so, that I probably won't understand it until I get there.

I don't think I yet understand the disparity Matt described. It couldn't be that great, could it?

Matt's insistence, however, assured me that I will be of use there--that I won't be some wealthy, white American on a tourist trip to the third world, bringing along my funds as the only valuable characteristic I have. He believes the information, perspectives, and understanding that I possess will be of incredible value to the people with whom I will be working; talk about motivation!