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| Dean gives a shout out to the Carolina Way on top of Mt. Nkhoma, Malawi. |
I'm here, in Malawi, because of Eve.
During my final semester of high school, in March of 2008, I finalized my college plans. I was over-eager to end one chapter of my life. To me, my life was just beginning.
In that same month, UNC-Chapel Hill student body president Eve Carson, during her final semester of college, was murdered -- shot on the side of the road after being forced into her car and driven to ATMs to withdraw cash in the middle of night. The fourth gunshot ended her life.
Eve was exceptional.
On top of being elected student body president by her peers, she was a Morehead Scholar (UNC's most renowned and prestigious full scholarship), a member of Phi Beta Kappa (she had a 3.9 GPA), a tutor at local public schools, and a counselor for UNC's camp for incoming new students.
Her multitude of friends cherished her love for life and her capacity for compassion. They light up when they talk about her.
But before she was killed, Eve spoke of something that will never die. Something that I have come to find here in Malawi, 9,000 some miles away from UNC. We Tar Heels call it the "Carolina Way."
Eve's idea of the Carolina Way was something that UNC students have been putting into practice for years, even before she gave it a name.
During my final semester of high school, in March of 2008, I finalized my college plans. I was over-eager to end one chapter of my life. To me, my life was just beginning.
In that same month, UNC-Chapel Hill student body president Eve Carson, during her final semester of college, was murdered -- shot on the side of the road after being forced into her car and driven to ATMs to withdraw cash in the middle of night. The fourth gunshot ended her life.
Eve was exceptional.
On top of being elected student body president by her peers, she was a Morehead Scholar (UNC's most renowned and prestigious full scholarship), a member of Phi Beta Kappa (she had a 3.9 GPA), a tutor at local public schools, and a counselor for UNC's camp for incoming new students.
Her multitude of friends cherished her love for life and her capacity for compassion. They light up when they talk about her.
But before she was killed, Eve spoke of something that will never die. Something that I have come to find here in Malawi, 9,000 some miles away from UNC. We Tar Heels call it the "Carolina Way."
Eve's idea of the Carolina Way was something that UNC students have been putting into practice for years, even before she gave it a name.
In 2000, a group of UNC students came to Malawi looking for adventure. They found poverty, disease and hunger in overwhelming amounts. But they also found the warmest people in Africa.
In 2001, World Camp was back. They came prepared with a curriculum to teach in primary schools across Malawi, hoping to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS -- which has devastated nearly 12 percent of Malawi's population. Their idea -- to use practical and sustainable approaches to educate kids in Malawi about the effects of HIV and how to prevent it -- is still in place today.
In 2001, World Camp was back. They came prepared with a curriculum to teach in primary schools across Malawi, hoping to combat the spread of HIV/AIDS -- which has devastated nearly 12 percent of Malawi's population. Their idea -- to use practical and sustainable approaches to educate kids in Malawi about the effects of HIV and how to prevent it -- is still in place today.
Since then, World Camp's mission has developed significantly. But the core remains the same; World Camp works to empower children and communities through education. It approaches serious issues in developing countries with basic, engaging techniques. It strives to help communities have happy, educated kids.
Its mission, I've found, is exactly what Eve meant when she defined the Carolina Way. In October 2007 she wrote, "Inclusion, involvement, diversity, acceptance, 'seeking to be great but always remembering that we must be GOOD' - this is just the START of the Carolina Way."
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| Dean with kids at Chinguwo Full Primary School. |
I'm the only Carolina undergrad this time at World Camp, but I see the Carolina Way in everyone I work with. I see it in Malawians too. The Carolina Way is global.
Eve's legacy in Chapel Hill inspired me to do many things. But mostly, I think, it left me wanting to tackle problems -- to commit my life to working for a just and fair world. World Camp shares that notion. Its mission embodies so much of what Eve believed in. And I truly believe that too.
Every day here, my experience stretches any expectation I had before coming. Each conversation teaches me something new. Each interaction increases my love for Malawi. But more importantly, I think, World Camp has renewed my sense of idealism-- my hope that our world's most complex and painful problems can be addressed with simple solutions, small steps and compassion. And from the people of Malawi I see an equal amount of idealism -- a hope for friendship, for knowledge, for the power of mind to handle painful and difficult problems.
Every day here, my experience stretches any expectation I had before coming. Each conversation teaches me something new. Each interaction increases my love for Malawi. But more importantly, I think, World Camp has renewed my sense of idealism-- my hope that our world's most complex and painful problems can be addressed with simple solutions, small steps and compassion. And from the people of Malawi I see an equal amount of idealism -- a hope for friendship, for knowledge, for the power of mind to handle painful and difficult problems.
World Camp is a product of minds committed to creating a better, healthier and more sustainable world. It is a product of selflessness, of tireless work, of an undying, persistent compassion for humanity.
World Camp is a product of the Carolina Way.
At her funeral, former UNC chancellor James Moeser spoke of the Carolina Way that Eve believed in: "A commitment to others, a commitment of service to the community, to the state, and indeed to the world; a commitment to social justice, to fair play and equal opportunity for all; for the environment; for access to healthcare and affordable education."
World Camp is a product of the Carolina Way.
At her funeral, former UNC chancellor James Moeser spoke of the Carolina Way that Eve believed in: "A commitment to others, a commitment of service to the community, to the state, and indeed to the world; a commitment to social justice, to fair play and equal opportunity for all; for the environment; for access to healthcare and affordable education."
World Camp's mission is unique. It's inspiring. The way we deal with devastating problems is practical: educate children and their communities about the facts of HIV/AIDS, malaria and the environment. Make it interactive. Make it fun. Do it with energy. Do it with compassion. Do it for humanity. Seek to be great, remember to be good.
Submitted by: Dean Drescher, Malawi SS2 2011 Intern
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