Jambo! My name is Mary Hill Brooks, and I am from Charlotte, NC. I graduated from Charlotte Country Day School last May, and am currently in the midst of a gap-year! Last semester, I travelled with a program called Thinking Beyond Borders to Thailand and India to study and work on development in the fields of agriculture and education.

 

I am so thankful for this experience, as I feel it molded me into a more effective global agent of change. This semester, as a part of my gap-year, I am so excited to have the opportunity to intern for The Foundation for Tomorrow, both in the Charlotte, NC office, and over in Tanzania starting next month! Aside from school, I really enjoy biking, running, traveling, cooking, and, of course, spending time with my dogs :).

A few years ago, I got in touch with TFFT’s founder, Meghann Gunderman, to see how I could become involved with her empowering organization. Both she and Kaitlin Rogers-Perez were so warm in welcoming me into the TFFT family, and in their aspirations to provide vulnerable children in the Arusha area of Tanzania with quality education and stable living environments. I quickly fell in love with TFFT’s efforts after I was a team leader for the SHARE the LOVE Challenge in February of 2013. Shortly after the campaign I applied to be an intern at the Matonyok Orphanage outside of Arusha, Tanzania in June, 2013. As cliché as it sounds, my time at Matonyok two summers ago truly changed my life. My experience led me to acquire a more critical consciousness, and mature into a more confident and capable individual. Since my time in Tanzania that summer, TFFT has become something that I hold very near and dear to my heart.

A mentor of mine once told me that the most important values of an active global agent of change are higher order empathy, a strong sense of direction, and the acquisition of power, humility, and curiosity. When I think of these values, I think of TFFT, and that is why I decided I wanted to intern for this organization this semester. Never in my life, have I been exposed to such love, thought, and positivity; three things of which I strive to constantly surround myself with in life. To me, it is so important to have a passion for the work you do because it is only then that you can do it well. TFFT does just that. They put so much dedication into instilling hope and thus the success into the lives of children, who otherwise would never have such opportunity presented to them.

Another thing I value so deeply about TFFT is its prioritization of the power of education. To me, education is the most critical aspect of development, and really, life.  And what could be more inspirational than providing future generations with that!

 

I will be in TFFT’s Charlotte office until the end of February. Here, I will be helping with social media, database work, and any other multiple tasks. On February 25^th, I leave for Arusha, Tanzania, where I will meet Meghann and the rest of the TFFT team. For the majority of my time in Tanzania, I will be living and working at the Matonyok orphanage that I spent time at a few summers ago. I am so thrilled to go back and be with all of the children again, as I know they have all flourished into more intelligent and empowered children since I have seen them last!

I am so thankful and excited to be working for TFFT this semester, and can’t wait for all that is in store. I hope that you all have a Happy New Year, and stay in tune with all TFFT has to come for this New Year!