Background
A few days ago, on TikTok, someone asked me what I do for a living.
I think most people are not aware of how debilitating it is to fight injustice because the only time one can dream of rest is when justice has been delivered. I have been an activist all my life and here are some projects I would like to share with you.
Combatting Malnutrition
While I was in pharmacy school back in Africa, I studied the trends in PEM, or Protein Energy Malnutrition, because it worried me that children were dying. After all, they did not have the right kinds or the right amounts of the right kind of food. I remember a few months when I worked at the Queen II pediatrician window where I offered flour and mixed vegetables (morpho and tomatoes maybe to a couple of families). I didn't have much either, but I also invited these families to my home to eat with me. That memory didn't refresh well against the American food culture! Imagine the shock when I the trash cans full of food....oh well. I still have not acclimated well because I don't have a regular day for shopping for $500 worth of groceries with food that I store long enough to throw away in the trash.
Why do we waste so much food? Why do we buy the veggies that we know we will never eat? I don't know. Watch out for my Tiktok link in this post in a few days.
So, I put breaks on activities in the medical field. I would probably continue if I relocated to Canada or another country where migrants treated like human beings.
Resource Imbalances
Colonialism seems to have taught some members of our society that they are a standard against which to measure success. As a result they seem to want to keep their position secure but keep others "where they belong". This thought inspired my readings in the achievement gap and what we can do about it.