Little Gestures Make a Difference
Print this Page- By Amy Maraney
- Country: Estonia
- Dates of Service: 2000–2002
When I was 12 years old, I ran into my mother's room and fell across her bed, sobbing wildly about having been born in America rather than in an impoverished nation. My family certainly was not rich; I did not even have an allowance. But I had more than I really needed, much more than millions of my peers in other countries. As someone aware of the poverty and hunger around the world, didn't I owe it to them to be responsible and generous with what I had? Perhaps that was even why I had been born in America? To be a voice? These and other thoughts tumbled inside my head.
I had dumped my personal life savings from my Tootsie Roll canister bank and calculated that I had enough money to sponsor a child on a monthly basis for a year—if I did not spend my money on tempting frivolities. My mother supported my decision, so I began sponsoring a little girl from Haiti. My sponsorship ended when I graduated from college and Marie simultaneously completed the sponsorship program.
At the time of my sponsorship I could not understand how a small monthly sum could stretch so far. Now that I live in Estonia, however, I have a better grasp of the purchasing power provided by my sacrifice of fewer snacks, novels, and music cassettes. I did not change the world, but I impacted someone's life.
When I was younger, I used to stand atop a particular hill and imagine I could see the whole world spread below me. I would wonder what all the people were doing and feeling. This fascination with the unfamiliar did not come from my immediate surroundings. Until I moved to Philadelphia I had always lived in towns and attended schools that were predominantly white. Nonetheless, I had frequently sought opportunities that would enrich my life experience.
As a teen, I traveled to Trinidad and Mexico to participate in service projects. As a college student, I tutored adults at the local literacy council, taught English in Mongolia part of one summer, and interned another summer with an organization that resettles refugees who have come to the United States.
Later, in Philadelphia, while observing local ESL (English as a second language) classrooms, my classmates and I realized that the students needed more personalized instruction than their teachers could give them. Some of us formed a campus organization called PennTell (Penn tutors of English language learners). PennTell recruited tutors to go to selected local classrooms and provide one-to-one or small-group instruction to ESL students. Our project gave these students extra attention that their overworked teachers could not give them and taught us more about the process of teaching and the reality of being teachers.
On the whole, the projects I have participated in have targeted individuals or small groups. While their scope has been limited, I feel I have to be realistic about what I can give. I fear I will burn out if I spread myself too thin. My aim is to invest my time and energy selectively. I hope my example then spurs others both to encourage and to invest in those they meet everywhere they go.
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