First Step To The Big Dream

I have a big dream; it’s so big and unrealistic to many, I dare not to tell anyone. Until now. I dream of a peaceful and harmonious world where people have roofs over their heads and do not go hungry. This is one of my dreams that had not been materialized. Although I had some experience of living in very minimal material comforts and foods during my college year, I was fortunate enough to have a shared room and meals provided by the restaurant for which I worked on weekends and in the evening. I have never experienced homelessness, but I have a friend who has during his youth due to a drug-addicted parent who couldn't adequately provide for her son. Unfortunately, there are many children who become homeless because of their parents' misfortunes, issues with money, mental and/or emotional health in industrious countries like the US. There are so many people without decent housing and food in developing countries as well. My dream is to create a world that none of us need to worry about not having shelters to feel safe and food to eat. Rich or poor, it is our birthright to have these basic necessities. Sounds dreamy? I used to think so. But no more.

The world of my dream will be no longer governed by a unit called "country" in the area of the financial department. A planet of Earth will become one big family with the freedom to live and thrive instead of struggle to survive. We will no longer have a federal income tax. Instead, we will have a global income tax. This tax will be distributed to each country which will be overseen by the 7 regional offices, which is trusted to determine the revenue of each country based on their needs and necessary improvement of their residents' overall quality of life. In this way, we will all be taking care of third-world countries where millions are dying from extreme poverty. So many children are dying from diseases that originated from hunger, malnutrition in developing counties. This cannot go on. It is simply unacceptable. Economic disparities between industrious countries and the third-world are not to be ignored, especially, since there is plenty of food produced to feed all the population in the world. We waste a lot of edible foods every single day in our life. Surprisingly so, even in developing countries, they waste edible foods in the process of their distribution systems. The fact is food goes to the area where financial gain is expected. It is an unfortunate fact that business and profits come before human rights at the present time. But the system could be changed if we were willing to extend our love and compassion to fellow human beings all over the world.

The world I dream of, will no longer tolerate the choice to make profits over human rights to have basic needs such as shelter and food. It is our responsibility to take care of ourselves and those who need help. Inclusiveness begins with love and compassion to ones who need assistance and support to become independent and self-sufficient, regardless of race, sex, cultural background, education, location of residence, financial status, age, whatever situations or circumstances they are under. Our life is so interconnected more so in many ways over the years, thanks to the advancement in communication and information technologies. We are now capable of connecting to each other at an unprecedented speed. If we are to work and collaborate together to solve the existing issues and problems such as the severe famine in developing countries, why wouldn't we want to help and support people who live in developing countries? We depend on these countries for a large amount of produces, farming, agricultural products we manufacture and consume in our daily life. In truth, there are no more developed and developing countries. We are simply all residents of the planet earth. We are in this all together.

So, How Am I Going To Make My Dream World Come True?

By starting locally.

By supporting and volunteering the existing local non-profit organizations that assist people who have no shelter and food let alone a way to get out of the situation and become self-sufficient and even empower!

In particular, I am going to be a part of a non-profit organization, Project Hawai'i, Inc's monthly program by sponsoring a child. I would also like to volunteer to tutor if the child needs help with school work. It is my intention to use my social media accounts and copywriting skills to raise awareness about the issue of homelessness in Hawaii and what we can do to end it. It is my hope that with education and newly raised awareness, future generations will make a better choice for themselves and their descendants. Lastly, I will reach out and work together with like-minded individuals in the community to find a way in assisting the local homeless families to become self-sufficient once again. Recently, Project Hawai'i had assisted a family to move into new houses before the arrival of their new baby last month. I would like to make such a happy transition a regular event by generating more donations and cultivating a network with local businesses. These are my first step to the big dream that I dare not tell anyone. Until now.

It is said that 1 in 4 children in America are in poverty. Hawaii leads the crisis with 80% of her children on the Free Meal Program. According to the 2022 report of the Top 15 cities with highest homeless rate in the US, outside of CA the city with the highest homeless rate in the US is Honolulu. It is here I need to take the first step toward the materialization of my big dream: homes and food for everyone, rich or poor. As Mother Teresa said, "if you want to bring happiness to the whole world, go home and love your family." I strongly believe that by taking care of our family and community, we can achieve a happier and healthier world for everyone.

Two years ago, I moved to Honolulu, Hawaii where people from all over the world dream to visit and enjoy vacations. I was one of them. Prior to moving here, I had visited this island twice on family vacations. Both times, we were at the hotel area in Waikiki and the beaches where most of the tourists visit. Perhaps, for that reason, I wasn't exposed to the shadow side of this paradise. Now that I live in the middle of the city not necessarily decorated and swept off well for the show, I see so many men, women, teenagers, and families with children living everywhere on the streets, cars, and parks. I have lived in many cities the world well-known cities such as Chicago and Tokyo, and have seen countless people without shelters and means to support themselves. I have given money to those who reached out and asked me for some changes, but I always felt a sense of great sadness and undescribably helplessness to the situation they were facing.

One of my friends used to tell me not to give them money because they would just waste it on drugs and alcohol. I am aware of the fact that some of them are addicted to such sedatives, but I also know that most of them are simply heartbroken and lost due to unexpected events in their lives.-just like Uncle Daniel, the local called him. I didn't really know about him as others did until September 24, 2020, when he joined his parents and wife on the other side. He used to move around and sit at the same spots on the paved sidewalk right across the apartment where I live. I could see him from my window feeding pigeons every morning. After he had made a transition, a mass was held by the locals who knew him very well.

Here is his story in summary---Uncle Daniel was born in the basement of the old church near the street where he made his home 23 years ago without a roof. He had come back to Honolulu his life began after his wife was taken away by a murderer in Florida where he was living as an architect and a professor with his beloved wife. According to the tribute, he had roamed in California until he decided to return to his home, where he was born. The life of Uncle Daniel wasn't an easy one. Not only he had lost his wife for senseless killing but also his parents were taken away from him by the same cruelty. Clearly, he was brokenhearted unable to make sense of such multiple tragic events in his life. His childhood friends, nurses, and doctors at the hospital where he was treated from time to time for his badly infected legs tried to persuade him to go to the shelter, but each time his answer was "No". You see, people on the street have their stories: stories of their own like Uncle Daniel. They didn't become homeless by not doing what needed to do. It could have easily been you or me.

" A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." - Winston Churchill

I used to be one of many who felt hopeless and even bitter about the conditions of the world we seem to be in. Issues such as economic disparities, homelessness, and starvation seemed impossible to tackle and be solved. But no longer. Experiences of moving away from the country where I was born, and starting and building my own life alone in the unfamiliar country taught me that there is no limit to what we, human beings can do. The only limitation we have is the one we put on ourselves.

As MLK lived to instill and bring the rights of African Americans in a nonviolent manner, I hope to raise public awareness about the deteriorating situations of homelessness and hunger in the world by my writings, and bring back the rights of people without the basic needs: shelters and provisions. The condition of the world we are seeing today, is the effect of our series of poor choices in the past. By prioritizing profits over human rights, we had created an unkind world, which let so many people live without homes to feel safe, and have no food to eat. I believe that writing can be a tool to empower people to take the first step to demonstrate kindness and compassion to those who are in need. The world needs a ton of optimists to see the opportunity to change in difficulty rather than pessimists. I have no doubt that such an act of kindness to others will slowly but surely make the earth a better place to live for future generations to come.

"Life's most persistent and urgent question is, 'what are you doing for others?' " - Martin Luther King, Jr.