Inequality

Aug. 6, 2011

Back in September 2010, I introduced all of you to a great friend of mine named Moses. I told you his life story, how he came from the village, struggled his entire life, got a Bachelors of Business Administration and was trying to go to Law School so he could start a legal practice that serves poor people in Ghana. He’s a remarkable guy. From the day I met him, I knew there was something special about him. His sheer commitment to achieving his life dreams was remarkable.

I remember thinking to myself, if I had gone through the same hardships Moses went through, where would I be? Would I have an engineering degree? Would I be working in Ghana right now? Would I have any dreams in this world? Would I believe that things could be different? I don’t think so. But Moses’ perseverance is relentless. His faith is far greater than mine.

I decided to work with Moses on his law school applications. He wanted to go to the UK to get a good quality education, and I knew it was possible. He had good university grades, great experience, and an amazing story. There was no way in my mind, nor in Moses’ that this wasn’t possible. Moses ended up getting into 4/5 law schools he applied to, and eventually accepted an offer from the University of Westminster. One of the best schools in the UK.

There was only 1 problem. The money.

Our hopes were in a full international scholarship Moses applied for. The scholarship would cover the 40,000 British Pound tuition, the cost of his accommodations, a living stipend for food etc, and flights to and from Ghana to London.

I really wish I could tell you all that dreams come true, that Moses received the scholarship, that he would be on a flight to London in a week, and would be in class on Oct. 1^st. But, unfortunately I can’t.

“I feel very bad, because we’ve done a great job, but our dream is not coming true.” 

I feel like someone has stabbed me in the heart. I feel like after 9 months of working on this dream, of setting goals, and targets, and achieving them, this wall that faces us now is un-surmountable. This is where the reality of the coldness of this world kicks in. The fact that someone like Moses because of something as stupid as money, cannot further himself, cannot become a better person, cannot serve his country to the best of his ability is unacceptable to me!

This is inequality in its purest form. Because of geography I grew up in a world where every opportunity was at my fingertips. If I wanted to go to law school, I could walk into a bank, show them my acceptance letter, and walk out with a line of credit worth $150,000. It’s not because I have more or better experience than Moses. It’s not that I have any more assets than Moses. It’s not that I’m a better person than Moses. It’s simply because I am privileged, because inequality and injustice are so profound in this world.

So now I’m here, staring at my laptop, wondering what I can tell Moses that will give him hope. And I don’t know.