It’s one thing to complain about problems and another to actually step up and do something. Being caught up in school as a senior and work, I had become a person that complained about the problems, but did not step up to fix them. A couple of weeks back, I got an email about Oregon Interfaith Advocacy Day and I knew I could not give up this opportunity. I signed up for the event and words cannot explain the ease I felt knowing that once again, I could be a benefit to society. Oregon Interfaith Advocacy Day is about calling residents of Oregon to compassion in action by uniting faiths and confronting poverty. The morning started off with a warm welcome and invocation. I was away from my books and instead I was surrounded by love, harmony and a room filled with souls demanding the same desperate need for change that I have. We transitioned right into the root concern about poverty, hunger, homelessness and health care. A group of panelists addressed these situations with possible solutions. After a couple of hours concentrating on the reason behind poverty, hunger, homelessness, and health care, we came up with an action plan to address the problems, combining my passion for resolve of these issues. There were so many shocking statistics being revealed about children and the elderly facing hunger just in my own town of Salem, that I could not even imagine the statistic for rest of the world. For a minute, I became angry with myself for being blinded by my own success and not noticing the world around me. But I knew anger would not get me anywhere, so I decided to voice out my opinion and demand change. We were equipped with tools for successful lobbying, and headed over to the state capitol to speak to our representatives about the existing problems. I was a little nervous in the beginning, but that didn’t last long when I saw everyone I had around me for support. We made sure that we were clear in addressing the existing problems appropriately with great detail and passion for change. After the legislative visit finished, I knew this was just the beginning to fight for change. Change in hunger. Change in equal opportunity. Change in poverty. Most importantly, change in myself. The Oregon Interfaith Advocacy Day united all faiths and people together teaching me that we do not stand-alone in this world. There are people from all communities, races, culture, and religion that have the same dreams. Same dreams as you and I do. Same dreams as the world and us. It’s just the matter of passion, action and the desire for change before time will reveal these changes. Pawanpreet Kaur Leadership Development Program c/o 2012-2013
