President Kennedy’s legacy
By Ambassador Joseph Stafford
On November 22, 2013, America and indeed the world will pause to remember the anniversary of the passing of President John F. Kennedy, who was taken much too early from this earth by an assassin’s bullet. Many of us were children then, and can remember exactly where we were when we heard the news of this tragedy. However somber this anniversary may be, I choose instead to think of it as an occasion to re-examine the legacy of President Kennedy and his call to service.
Moments after taking the oath of office as President in 1961, Kennedy said this in his Inaugural Address, “My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country. My fellow citizens of the world: ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man.” He was calling on all of us to make a difference, to volunteer, and to serve.
America saw in President Kennedy, the youngest elected President,a symbol of rebirth, hope, and change, at the beginning of a new decade. He called on Americans to serve others. He asked citizens of the world to partner together for the benefit of humanity. Soon afterward, President Kennedy proposed a vehicle for channeling Americans’ wish to serve: the Peace Corps.
Six months after issuing that famous call, the Peace Corps Act was passed by the United States Congress. It created a program that sends 8,000American volunteers each year to live with and help people in some of the poorest countries in the world. Some 210,000 Americans have answered Kennedy’s invitation to serve since 1961, teaching children, working with farmers, improving water and sanitation in villages and working on the front lines in the fights against malaria and HIV/AIDS.In a nation that compels neither military nor civilian service of its young people, the Peace Corps remains an enormous source of pride in America. It also opened Americans up to numerous other cultures and peoples around the globe.
More than this though, Kennedy promoted the spirit of volunteerism and empowering the individual by making it clear that one person can make a difference. The inspirational Helen Keller once said, “I am only one, but I am still one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something.” Kennedy propelled a generation of Americans forward with this same idea of doing something.
Fifty years after his death, we continue to ask ourselves, “Can one person truly make a difference?” The resounding answer to this question is, “Yes!” We only need look in Sudan to see this to be true. Anwar Dafa-Alla started Nafeer—a non-political, non-religious volunteer group of youth working together to aid families that have been severely affected by the heavy rains that took place in August of this year. Thousands of sheets and tents were distributed, as were hundreds of bags of food.
Mohammed Abu Bakr and Mujahid Ahmed Ali saw the need to improve the academic lives across Sudanand started Education Without Borders in January 2011. With its first campaign, more than 5,000 books were collected and distributed to poorer schools and students in villages throughout the country. This organization is a Facebook Group made up of like-minded individuals who realize that combining their efforts and energies can result in tremendous good.
Dr. Samia Elnager, recognizing need in her immediate community, mobilized her family and friends. They raised funds to purchase a water pump for a nearby school, and bought additional supplies, such as book bags, for the less fortunate students. They paid fees allowing those with no resources to sit for their examinations and even provided means to allow for 25-30 students daily to have a good breakfast.
It is in this same spirit of developing service and leadership that President Obama launched the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI) in 2010in order to invest in the next generation of African leaders. Nearly one in three Africans are between the ages of 10 and 24, and approximately 60 percent of Africa’s total population is below the age of 35. President Obama initiated YALI to support young African leaders as they spur growth and prosperity, strengthen democratic governance, and enhance peace and security across Africa.
Through YALI, the United States has invested significant resources to enhance leadership skills, spur entrepreneurship, and connect young African leaders with one another and with Americans. Since 2010, the State Department has held fifteen exchanges specifically for young African leaders and sponsored 1,283 sub-Saharan scholars through its educational and cultural affairs programs. U.S. Embassies have awarded small grants totaling $750,000 to YALI alumni groups supporting youth development in Africa.
YALI participants have leveraged this support and gone on to start youth-driven organizations and networks, advise their governments, and establish new and vibrant businesses – all showcasing the extraordinary talent and promise of the young leaders who are transforming the African continent and their communities. For more information on participating in YALI, please visit the homepage of the U.S. Embassy at http://sudan.usembassy.gov/.
The power of the individual is indeed great, and it is how we chose to use that power that defines us as individuals. On the anniversary of President Kennedy’s death, I choose to focus on his enduring legacy. There is nothing more noble than service to others. So I ask each of us in memory of him to seek ways to make life better for just one individual and to do that today. President Kennedy once said, “One person can make a difference, and everyone should try.” Let us try today together to make this a better world than it was yesterday.
The author is the Chargé d’affaires, U.S. Embassy Khartoum