My STEP Signature Project was a study abroad through OIA to the South American country of Guyana. Guyana recently struck oil, resulting in the challenge of allocating new money into projects that are best for the future of the country. From a civil engineering perspective, we hope to see investments into sustainable assets, such as renewable energy and transportation infrastructure. The overarching goals of our study abroad and proceeding, 3 credit-hour class, was to establish a relationship with the people of Guyana and to understand their current state and direction the best we can. In the process of both the class and the trip, we learned engineering skills, were introduced to the best ways to support communities outside of our own, and were exposed to Guyanese culture, philosophy, and cuisine.
Throughout the course of my experience of travelling to Guyana and in taking the proceeding class, it is safe to say that I learned a lot. Not only did I learn a considerable amount about humanitarian, civil, and electrical engineering, but I also learned a great deal about myself in the process. While there are many ways to help another community, there are distinct right and wrong ways to do it. There is a notion that any help is “good” help– this is not true, as resources and money may be allocated towards the wrong assets, resulting in a solution that, in the long run, may actually be detrimental to said community. This is usually due to one factor: not having enough information. Information about a community that differs from our own in law, philosophy, and culture is crucial to finding where the most help can be made– this is executed exclusively through communication. Communication is key in understanding, and holding this idea is the best way to find truly meaningful, impartial solutions in outside places on budgeted time.
I have been fortunate enough to have been able to travel to a handful of other countries during my time, but none have been as personally impactful and my trip to Guyana. The people of Guyana, in their generous hospitality and deep understanding, and in addition to my travelling family of Ohio State affiliates, all helped me understand more about myself than any other group has in that amount of time. Not only did they help me further recognize my own identity and position within society, but they also showed me what true compassion and care was. Through this process, I was also introduced to new ideals regarding equality, personal integrity, as well as the current socio economic state of our country and the world as a whole. We are very fortunate here in the states, and are privileged in the ease of our lives, privileges due to psychological needs being met, as well as power being unjustly awarded to people that are no different from others that are institutionally disabled. It is our responsibility and joy as humans to empower one another, as we are all on the same team fighting for the same peaceful future: a future that includes all. There is power in diversity; diversity of ideas, diversity of people, diversity of life. This is not something that is always recognizable to everybody, so, again, it is our responsibility and joy to empower others through knowledge, care, and love.
There were very many people, interactions, relationships, and places that contributed to everything that I learned during my study abroad in Guyana. Most significant, was the relationship I cultivated with my course instructors Dr. Kadri Parris, Dr. Adithya Jayakumar, and Robert Decatur; all OSU faculty. I met Dr. Parris in my Fundamentals of Engineering class in the spring of 2018. Dr. Parris is originally from Guyana, and told us many stories about his life in and outside of Guyana throughout both classes I had with him. Kadri, Adithya, and Robert were among the most significant contributors to my learning experience, and I cannot thank them enough. They taught me how important the human condition is, and emphasized the responsibility and human joy of empowering other people. My relationships with them not only enhanced my understanding of empathy, altruism, communication, but also what it means to truly listen to and care for another person. It was also an important lesson to learn how to pass this knowledge onto other people– something I will proliferate with honor to make our world a better place for all.
An especially special interaction we had in Guyana was with an elder man named Stafford Williams of the Lower Bonasika Amerindian Community. The community is on a small patch of land in isolation, 3 miles away from the nearest school and medical facility. During our meeting with Williams, he told us the ways in which his village was thriving and where there was room for improvement. He expressed that in addition to there being medical and education issues, the village also did not have electricity, and therefore very limited communication with the outside world. We saw this as the way that we could make the most significant difference. In having this conversation with Stafford Williams, I was not only able to witness the unexpected contentedness and connection to the natural world that the Lower Bonasikan (and seemingly all Guyanese) people had, but I was also able to see how what we had been taught in class directly applied to the situation at hand. We communicated with the people of a community, listened to what their personal goals were, and then had the opportunity to create a plan for how to help how to truly make a difference. It is our plan that next year we return to the village with equipment to set up a solar panel system and small, affordable radio tower so the village has better electrical functionalities and more effective communication with and information from the outside world.
Not only did the instructors and people of Guyana have a profound impact on me, but my classmates, our travelling family, did as well. Through the guidance of our teachers, we cultivated a community of our own, consisting of some of my favorite people I’ve met during my time here at Ohio State. When you interact with the same people over the course of a semester and within the intimacy of another country, you are bound to learn a whole lot from one-another. Throughout our ongoing collaboration, these wonderful people gave me true support, helped me resolve some of my own issues, and helped me in developing truer understandings of love, friendship, community, care, and oneness. I am forever grateful for my Guyana family.
My study abroad trip to Guyana was not only extraordinary beneficial to me and my group, but also will be helpful to the rest of the world and the human condition as a whole. This trip was so meaningful to me because, among many reasons, I learned how I can be the most effective social weapon possible. I learned that the best way to push for social change, an inevitably slow process, is through the power of impartial solutions; through talking to one another. In society, the most effective way to move in a direction that works for everyone, to understand each other, of course, is to communicate with one another. That is why social integration is so important, and why places of supreme uniformity are likely going to contribute to toxic behaviors towards other groups of people. We are all the same, and when we are separated, we learn more about ourselves and not about others. There is immense power in diversity, and it is ensured that the best possible future includes all people. That is why it is so important to move forward in a direction–a first step, socially–in a way in which we all get comfortable with one-another.
This notion of social cohesion is something I wish to pursue in my future professional career as well as in my social life. There are immense socio economic imbalances in the world, in our country, and even more so, there exists great toxicity in the minds of isolated groups. The result of this toxicity, a reduction to the advancement of the human condition, contributes to said imbalances, and is the reason for everyday discrimination, racism, classism, and stereotyping. These social states are hugely detrimental to the future that includes all people and all power; a future with far less love than one without appropriate social integration. Within my career as a future civil engineer, I hope to first learn everything I can about the current socio economic state of my residing city, then, to be involved in as many ways as I can to disable institutions that are discriminatory, and to empower people that are pushed down by an unjust society. As explained, the best way to accomplish all of these goals is to talk with people: to share ideas; to spread peace, care, and love; to connect over our commonalities and appreciate our uniqueness. One love is the answer, and with everybody on the same page, we are sure to all live more peaceful, more fulfilling lives.