As global citizens, everyone deserves a chance to succeed

I will always be a proud citizen of Iowa and of the United States, but through recent experiences, I've come to realize that I'm also a global citizen.
In May I spent two weeks on a study abroad trip to Namibia in southern Africa. It was a global health course studying the AIDS epidemic that has ravaged the country.
I spent time with people who live in one room houses and earn less than $20 per year.
On the surface we seem to be such different people, but I connected with many on a personal level.
I got to spend time with high school students who I realized are not that much different than me.
The students, or learners as they call them, shared many of my same goals. They want to go to college and become nurses and pilots, even super models.
They listen to the same kind of music. They sang us songs by Rhianna and Alicia Keys. One boy couldn't stop beaming when my friend told him he looked like Chris Brown.
The more I thought about it, the more upset I became. It is so unfair that these kids, who have such potential, may not get an opportunity to go to college.
The odds of them obtaining the career they desire are slim. They'll probably never own a CD by one of their favorite artists. Why? Because they were born in an impoverished, desolate country halfway around the world.
Meanwhile, I grew up in the United States. I always knew I would go to college. It was just a matter of choosing which one.
All I have to do to get the latest music is drive to the store, or better yet, log onto my computer and download it from iTunes.
I know that there are thousands of people living in poverty throughout the United States. The people working in Namibia to improve their country made me want to come home and do my part here.
But my time there made me realize something else. The children there shouldn't be written off simply because of their geographical location. They need and deserve just as much help as the people in the United States. They may live 10,000 miles away, but the people of Namibia are just as much my neighbors as those who live across the street.

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To read more about my trip: "Desperation in Africa opens Breda Native's Eyes"
Map taken from "Kevin in Namibia"