You can be the change you want to see in the world

SoulStory Davina @Maastricht | Ghana

Aan de overkant van de straat loopt een prachtige jonge vrouw met een warme blik.
Davina heeft net 17 uur vliegen achter de rug als ik haar aanspreek. ‘Went to Botswana for work and returned today. I’m tired.’ Maar lachend besluit ze toch iets over zichzelf te vertellen.

‘I come from everywhere in Ghana.’ Vertelt ze als ik met haar meeloop. And I’m completing my Phd at the Uni here.
Ik kijk nog eens goed maar kan haar leeftijd echt niet inschatten als ik nieuwsgierig vraag naar wat deze vrouw doet. Developmental economics but I’m looking particularly at corruption. Zegt ze. And the role of social trust and how that works in changing behavior.
Dat moet ik even op me in laten werken. Wauw.

Maar waar ik eigenlijk vooral heel nieuwsgierig naar ben is waar zij van droomt en waar ze in gelooft.

I don’t have just one dream but ultimately I love for everyone to believe that they can be the change that they seek themselves. Even in remote villages I like them to believe they don’t always have to rely on external support. Everyone has something inside that benefits everybody else.

I believe we all have the chance to see around the world. I would be very happy if people could see with eyes that I can see it with.
The world is amazing.
We all come from very different places with very different backgrounds. But even in parts of the world that we really think are messed up, that are full of conflict and things, you meet the most beautiful people. It is important that we all see that, because it helps us to break barriers.
I think we all have these stereotypes in our minds about people and what they can be, but if you look close, they are just like us. Everyone has a beautiful soul.

And how will you do that Davina?

Well, you can make people see that they can have everything by educating them. To make them aware that they are taught not to belief in themselves and that everything from the West is better.
Where I come from they are usually not taught to look around them and to see what you can make from yourself and your own surroundings.
I’ve been privileged that I have met people who have taught me this, so if I can contribute by teaching people that they can also have what they desire, that would be great.
There is different ways of teaching right, sometimes it is just in giving people the space to just explore what they can be and do, and that in itself is educative. Sometimes it is in redirecting a bit.
We can do it in all the ways that we can think of, just to let them know that they can be the change they want to see in the world.

Whatever you want, you already have it.

What am I afraid of? Dat wil ik dan toch nog even weten na zoveel moois.

Fear..hmmm I think myself. Im not afraid of things externally. Sometimes that can be limiting because I belief that sometimes you need to have some boundaries. Sometimes you need to have the consciousness that the world is not as good as you want it to be, so sometimes you have to limit the things you want to do.
But I don’t have that. Ze lacht.
Sometimes I get crushed, I could invite someone I just met to my house and drink tea, but sometimes it doesn’t work, so this is something I need myself to be a bit more cautious of.
It is good to be openminded and embracing everything and everyone, but sometimes you just need to be careful. And that is something I’m still missing.

Hmm, yeah, I recognize that, zeg ik. And it is interesting how I always seem to meet people who went through the same thing or who tell me exactly what I need to hear.

Yeah sometimes you meet people and you have similar experiences and that is what I get a lot. Davina lacht met dat prachtige spleetje tussen haar tanden zoals zoveel mensen in Ghana.

Those meet ups and experiences are always very good. Eindigt ze.

Ja, very good indeed! Weer die warme lach. En een knuffel. Mooi mens die Davina. Precies zoals haar naam belooft. Beautiful soul.

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