I am because we are

These words adorn many shirts in my closet, but I didn’t fully appreciate their meaning until I participated in the Clinton Global Initiative University (CGI U) conference over spring break.

CGI U is an annual meeting that brings together students, university representatives, topic experts and celebrities to discuss and develop innovative solutions to pressing global challenges. Students apply to attend the conference from all over the world with a unique Commitment to Action, which is a plan for addressing a significant global challenge.

In simpler terms, Commitments to Action are bite-sized recipes for change. Rather than trying to tackle a huge issue all at once or being so overwhelmed by the enormity of an issue that no steps are taken, CGI U asks students to evaluate where they can make a tangible impact in a limited amount of time, and then go out and do it. Since 2008, students have made more than 4,800 Commitments to Action, and focus on topics as diverse as a soccer ball that generates energy to a mobile app that identifies counterfeit drugs to a low-cost wheelchair designed for the developing world.

The beauty of the CGI U model is that it promotes the idea that anyone can be a change agent—or, as Bill Clinton likes to say, “A mind and heart. That’s all you need.” Students don’t need a professional degree to make a difference—our knowledge of our own communities is enough to identify problems and begin to tackle them.

The concept “Ubuntu” encapsulates this same idea. In addition to being the name of an operating system, Ubuntu is a South African term that loosely translates to “I am because we are.” Archbishop Desmond Tutu spoke about the concept during the Clinton Global Initiative conference in 2006: “Ubuntu is the essence of being human… We say, ‘A person is a person through other people.’ I am human because I belong, I participate, and I share. A person with Ubuntu is open and available to others, affirming of others, does not feel threatened that others are able and good; for he or she has a proper self assurance that comes with knowing that he or she belongs in a greater whole and is diminished when others are humiliated or diminished, when others are tortured or oppressed, or treated as if they were less than who they are.”

When I joined the selective living group Ubuntu, I was aware of the origin of its name as well as the group’s commitment to civic engagement and social change, but I lacked the understanding of “Ubuntu” that I have now. I want to make a difference in the world, but for a long time I was paralyzed by having too many interests. It seemed impossible to focus my energy on a single issue—I worried that dabbling in multiple projects at a time would prevent me from having impact in any one area.

What I know now is that there is no such thing as a “single issue.” Problems in public health, climate change, poverty alleviation or peace and human rights cannot be divided into separate spheres as if they are different issues. Ubuntu is the idea that we have a shared future, and that our humanity is tied up in others. As long as someone somewhere needs help, we have an obligation to help, if not because we are morally compelled then because our destinies are intertwined. I stressed over what to do, when now I realize that the important thing is not what I do, but that that I do something.

Duke makes it easy to do something. Opportunities like DukeEngage and Service-Learning build the notion that small changes can be the most powerful and that even a little can yield a lot—even if you are over committed and over scheduled, a few hours a semester can be meaningful. Making a living and making a difference is not an either/or choice. Whether or not we work full-time for a social enterprise, we can always work for a cause on the side, at night, on weekends, or online. Crowd-funding sites like Crowdrise and Kickstarter mean that it no longer takes time to make a difference: users can financially back good ideas half a world away. By developing the habit now, we can practice to become private citizens committed to public good.