Half The Sky Essay

A couple years back I watched Nicholas Kristof’s documentary, Half the Sky. There is a scene where the camera closes in on a Cambodian girl’s face. She is young and the youth plays in her sheen cheeks and lanky hair. The girl is a former sex slave. In this documentary, the narrator guides the image, detailing how empowerment and education will allow her to change the world around her.

Watching that scene, I mentally stumbled over that phrase: Change the world around her. It sounds nice and simple, even overused. But hidden inside that statement lays a small modifier that makes a huge difference. The ambitious encouragement we repeatedly hear to “change the world” has been transformed into a platitude. It’s run-down and vast, but by adding two simple words, “Half the Sky,” we acknowledge that sustainable change has to start from a place of (nearness).

We are natural born explorers; embedded into our DNA is the eagerness to enact significant and positive change, so if need exists across the globe, then it also exists next-door, in our very own communities.

First, travel often. Any opportunity to see more of the world is a privilege, so don’t squander it, and whenever possible, travel in a way that allows for stability in a place—stay a while. and Get to know the area and its people, and learn all you possibly can. Secondly, take that same knowledge and look next door. We know our community better than anyone, and are uniquely positioned to see where lasting change can and should be made locally. Apply that knowledge where it matters, whether that is at a local non-profit or for through your local city government or even for a grass-roots level project. Set a goal, research, organize and go for it. The beautiful thing about small steps on a local level is that they ripple out in ways we’ll may never see with these our eyes. In short, they really do change the