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ugobabe86 wrote:Longstanding divisions along tribal, ethnic, and religious lines, which have simmered in Nigeria since the African nation's formation. I grew up under an oppressive military dictatorship that held little value for human rights that regularly committed crimes against its own people in order to maintain the “status quo”. There was little shielding from the cruelty committed by rougerogue police officers, gangs, or and the occasional mob seeking revenge for some injustice. I witnessed public executions, bodies lying in the streets. I lost a classmate to kidnapping, which had grown in popularity foramong those looking for an easy way of makingto make quick money; in response my father quickly erected barb-wired fences. I saw Having witnessed some of the most despicable and awful acts growing up, I lived indeveloped a sense of normalized fear in my country. The possibility that things could change was not a reality for memost of my childhood, but slowly I began to realize that there were people willing to risk their lives to make a change, to affect their community and country.

Ken Saro-Wiwa was one such man that had an effect on me growing up; he was imprisoned and ultimately executed for speaking out against the military government, exposing their crimes against humanity. Ken Saro-Wiwa’s execution and the protests that followed showed me that people wereare willing to stand up against oppression and fight for freedom and fairness, something that made a deep impression on me. I learned that I could have an impact in my community, and that I wanted to work towards a better world.

My desire to be proactive in the world led me to the coursestudy of international studies. I relished engaging with my classmates, learning from them and appreciating the diversity of ideas. I craved an outlet for these ideas, however, and I was encouraged me to reach out to the student bodyfound it at the University of South Carolina when I joined like minded friends in setting up a chapter at the University of South Carolina that was modeled after BANAA: the Sudan Educational Empowerment Network in George Washington University. I worked to build support for the organization by holding presentations for both established student organizations and local businesses about the survivors of the war in Sudan. I took the opportunity to promote the importance of education in fermenting change within a nation, and to stress how the ways an advanced degree can be used to impact the country as a whole, by allowing them to gain giving the Sudanese people the tools they need.

ByWhile working throughwith BANAA, I learned more about the younger victims of war and national conflictand the damaging effect of conflict. I had the chance to meet a young girl named Salee who had suffered gravely under the conditions of war, losing both her legs toin a missile attack. I thought back to my youth and the effect that the divisions in Nigeria had on me, the feeling of helplessness because I had no voice in my society. I wanted an opportunity These experiences inspired me to be a positive force in the development of children within society.

Following my graduation, I had an opportunity to work with abused and neglected children which I foundas a Court Appointed Special Advocate for Richland County. I hit the ground running with my first case, an emotionally and mentally disabled girl named Brianna. In addition to her disabilities, she had cocaine addicted parents who could not provide the supportive home she desperately needed and deserved. The weight of this responsibility hit me immediately; the possibility that I could fail her frightened me. I learned how to work closely with law enforcement, social workers, and attorneys; while looking for mental health assistance for Brianna and parenting classes for her parents as they worked through their rehab. The work involved finding little victories: Brianna getting on the basketball team, her father’s completion of rehab; but it also involved overcoming days filled with emotion and frustrationon Brianna’s and mine part.

I believe that with the right tools I can return to the place where it all started for me, Nigeria, where even now children are denied the right to live peacefully in an environment that nurtures them. Through working as an advocate for young children, I have developed a desire to analyze and change the policies that have paved the way to the normalization of abuse and neglect in our societies.