Students in an ISS class have taken what was meant only to be a presentation and turned it into something that could make a difference.
The students founded a group called Family of Strength Organization, or FOSO, to help children who have been affected or left orphaned by the HIV/AIDS pandemic in sub-Saharan Africa. The group has partnered with the Kenya Orphans Rural Development Programme with the goal of raising $10,000 to build an orphan-care facility.
In a time of increased cynicism and political apathy among the student population, it's encouraging to see a group of students get involved with a cause in which they can actually make a difference.
By setting a reasonable goal — raising $10,000 on a campus of more than 40,000 people, shouldn't be much of an issue — FOSO has become a group that can not only bring awareness to the AIDS crisis in Africa, but also has the potential to make a difference.
The African AIDS pandemic is a problem that is often marginalized by both global leaders and the mainstream press.
Money has been spent and promises have been made, but in 20 years, very little of those words and actions have translated into actual progress.
The international community has widely regarded the African AIDS pandemic as the elephant in the room — everyone knows it's there and something needs to be done, but no one has come forward to really do anything about it. It is refreshing to see a group of students band together to face a problem that has been sidelined and marginalized for so long.
America has distanced itself both politically and socially from Africa's situation for such a long time, it no longer seems to have much impact on the U.S. populous.
But given the fact that more than 1 million Americans suffer from AIDS, the situation in Africa is very much a global problem and one that requires aid and assistance from wherever it can be found.
MSU students can help make a difference in the global community, and FOSO is an example of that. Though the group has only just begun, its goal is both reasonable and refreshing.
Student groups such as FOSO serve as an all-important link between disconnected and disaffected students and the children left orphaned by a disease that the country, and even the world, has done its best to forget.
