On my last trip to Belize I met with the PathLight sponsorship students who were attending college or university. These young men and women were the first PathLight students to make it through High School, and as such were the ones we made all of our mistakes on! So I wanted to ask them how we did. Basically, I asked them to turn the tables and give us a report card.
I loved the conversation. Not so much because of the things I learned about what we did right or wrong (though that was worthwhile), but because these young men and women so impressed me with their hearts. They have a deep appreciation for the gift they’ve received from PathLight. And a true hunger to give back.
Talking to the PathLight college students.
An important part of our time together was focused on how they could give back. There were some good ideas: creating a big brother/sister type relationship with the younger kids, maybe helping out with the tutoring, or even reaching out to the younger kids who are really struggling with domestic issues.
These are good ideas that we will pursue. But the most important answer I heard was, “Help us find jobs, build careers, and start our own businesses so we can give back financially.”
That’s music to my ears! I know that Belize has some major problems. But it’s the Belizean people who need to fix those problems, not me. The key part PathLight offers is the spiritual, personal and academic development that creates a foundation for them. From there the students grow into adults who have the competencies to find solutions on their own.
So what I heard over and over was, “Help us find jobs.” They want to work, are eager to work. And when they do, they want to give back.
That’s amazing to me. And heartwarming. These are college students who grew up in villages where most folks were lucky to have an 8th grade education. They went to primary schools that until recently didn’t have plumbing, and some of them remember when the school first got electricity. Being connected to the outside world was a novelty until they headed off to high school in the “big” city. Many have parents and grandparents who fled neighboring nations to avoid civil wars.
These are not kids of privilege. They deal with real hardship, real loss, real needs.
Yet what do they want to do? They want to give back. Now they see themselves as leaders and problem solvers.
I love it. I love them. And I can’t wait to see the incredible things they unleash in the years to come. Not sure what letter grade they would give to PathLight, but I’m positive they deserve an A+.
