Marvin Roxas' Peace Corps Fund
Donation protected
Hello friends, family members, and all those whom I have had the pleasure of meeting. As some of you may have heard, I have been given the awesome opportunity to volunteer in Uganda, Africa for 27 months starting November 11th, 2013. I will be an Education Officer Primary Teacher Trainer, which means that I will be teaching teachers in Uganda and possibly even some students. I would finally be able to use my years of tutoring experiences with BUILD (Boston University Initiative for Literacy Development) at the Boston Medical Center and the Winship Public School helping grade school children learn how to read, write, and work on their basic arithmetic skills.
I have always loved volunteering, meeting new people, learning about different stories, and sharing my love of life with others in the hopes that I can use my life for good in some small way. A lot of people ask me why I wanted to join the Peace Corps, and I guess that the initial interest started when I visited the Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington D.C. when I was a sophomore in high school. A RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) told us his own Peace Corps story. I knew then and there that this was a far-away goal of mine that I eventually wanted to do.
A few years later I was given the opportunity to join 9 other classmates from my high school for a two-week volunteer experience in Kingston, Jamaica. I absolutely fell in love with the Jamaican food, culture, people, and the stories etched in their eyes, music, and movement. We volunteered at the Bustamante Children's Hospital, the Poor Relief Center, and the Missionaries of Charity Hospice. We played alongside children who were victims of physical abuse, abandonment, and full-body burns. But they still shared their stories about their dreams of becoming cops, medics, and teachers. We shared time alongside those people who were the poorest of the poor at the Poor Relief center where their stories were shown in their eyes even before they were able to share a single word. The biggest turning point for me came from when I was instructed by one of the Missionaries of Charity to cut the toenails of this dying man named Rocky. I absolutely hated it. I abhorred the stench emanating from his yellowed toenails, but then I looked up into his face and was overcome by emotion. I saw pure love and thankfulness in his eyes. I came to Jamaica to serve others, but ended up being saved in return. When Rocky's eyes connected with mine, I knew that my life was forever changed.
I made a promise 5 years ago while sitting in a plastic chair with my fellow classmates in Kingston that I would eventually return to Jamaica or another third-world country in order to dedicate my life to serving others and helping to make this world a somewhat better place. This life-goal of mine became the main driving force that got me through my Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Studies at Boston University. Since then I have volunteered in St. Marc, Haiti, studied abroad in Dresden, Germany, interned in Berlin for the Optimization of Hydropower Development in the Caribbean, and got accepted to be a Peace Corps Volunteer.
I write this, because while I hope to help serve others, I also want to help my family. Peace Corps takes care of my Federal Loans, but I still have a sizable amount of personal loans that amount to $390/month while I am away. The Peace Corps will pay $206.25 per month, which still leaves $184/month to cover. I have been working almost everyday in both landscaping during the weekdays and catering during the weekends in order to save up money so that my parents will not have another financial burden while I am away. This also does not account for the items that I will need before I leave, such as 2+ years worth of contact solution, a UV water sterilizer, clothes, a kitchen knife and other necessary items. If I could raise even $1200, then that would help with my financial burden.
I feel bad that I will be unable to provide enough for myself in this endeavor, and people sometimes ask me why don't I just get some work with my engineering degree and then go volunteer or donate some money. But I feel that that is just not enough. I know that in my heart of hearts that I was meant to go to the Peace Corps, and come back to the United States and start working as an engineer with that changed mindset and skillset. More important than that is the story that I will be able to tell and share that will impact my engineering work after I return.
If you are unable to donate at the time, do not worry about it. I definitely appreciate the time taken to even read a part of my story and inspiration. Feel free to message me or even ask about my story and I would be more than happy to tell you about it!
"The day will come when, after harnessing space, the winds, the tides, and gravitation, we shall harness the energies of love. And on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, we shall have discovered fire."
~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Always Yours,
Marvin Roxas
I have always loved volunteering, meeting new people, learning about different stories, and sharing my love of life with others in the hopes that I can use my life for good in some small way. A lot of people ask me why I wanted to join the Peace Corps, and I guess that the initial interest started when I visited the Peace Corps Headquarters in Washington D.C. when I was a sophomore in high school. A RPCV (Returned Peace Corps Volunteer) told us his own Peace Corps story. I knew then and there that this was a far-away goal of mine that I eventually wanted to do.
A few years later I was given the opportunity to join 9 other classmates from my high school for a two-week volunteer experience in Kingston, Jamaica. I absolutely fell in love with the Jamaican food, culture, people, and the stories etched in their eyes, music, and movement. We volunteered at the Bustamante Children's Hospital, the Poor Relief Center, and the Missionaries of Charity Hospice. We played alongside children who were victims of physical abuse, abandonment, and full-body burns. But they still shared their stories about their dreams of becoming cops, medics, and teachers. We shared time alongside those people who were the poorest of the poor at the Poor Relief center where their stories were shown in their eyes even before they were able to share a single word. The biggest turning point for me came from when I was instructed by one of the Missionaries of Charity to cut the toenails of this dying man named Rocky. I absolutely hated it. I abhorred the stench emanating from his yellowed toenails, but then I looked up into his face and was overcome by emotion. I saw pure love and thankfulness in his eyes. I came to Jamaica to serve others, but ended up being saved in return. When Rocky's eyes connected with mine, I knew that my life was forever changed.
I made a promise 5 years ago while sitting in a plastic chair with my fellow classmates in Kingston that I would eventually return to Jamaica or another third-world country in order to dedicate my life to serving others and helping to make this world a somewhat better place. This life-goal of mine became the main driving force that got me through my Mechanical Engineering Undergraduate Studies at Boston University. Since then I have volunteered in St. Marc, Haiti, studied abroad in Dresden, Germany, interned in Berlin for the Optimization of Hydropower Development in the Caribbean, and got accepted to be a Peace Corps Volunteer.
I write this, because while I hope to help serve others, I also want to help my family. Peace Corps takes care of my Federal Loans, but I still have a sizable amount of personal loans that amount to $390/month while I am away. The Peace Corps will pay $206.25 per month, which still leaves $184/month to cover. I have been working almost everyday in both landscaping during the weekdays and catering during the weekends in order to save up money so that my parents will not have another financial burden while I am away. This also does not account for the items that I will need before I leave, such as 2+ years worth of contact solution, a UV water sterilizer, clothes, a kitchen knife and other necessary items. If I could raise even $1200, then that would help with my financial burden.
I feel bad that I will be unable to provide enough for myself in this endeavor, and people sometimes ask me why don't I just get some work with my engineering degree and then go volunteer or donate some money. But I feel that that is just not enough. I know that in my heart of hearts that I was meant to go to the Peace Corps, and come back to the United States and start working as an engineer with that changed mindset and skillset. More important than that is the story that I will be able to tell and share that will impact my engineering work after I return.
If you are unable to donate at the time, do not worry about it. I definitely appreciate the time taken to even read a part of my story and inspiration. Feel free to message me or even ask about my story and I would be more than happy to tell you about it!
"The day will come when, after harnessing space, the winds, the tides, and gravitation, we shall harness the energies of love. And on that day, for the second time in the history of the world, we shall have discovered fire."
~Pierre Teilhard de Chardin
Always Yours,
Marvin Roxas
Organizer
Marvin Roxas
Organizer
Owings Mills, MD
