by Elias Yabarow
Tuesday, November 08, 2011
On October 1st 2011, five students were invited to a local fundraiser in Northern Virginia held for the famine victims in East Africa. Disappointed with the outcome of the fundraising events, these five young men took it upon themselves to spark something for a greater cause. During the car ride home, they acknowledged the fact that there was something they could do too. Influenced by the words of Bertrand Russell, that “extreme hopes are born of extreme misery,” they agreed on the idea of a pledge; a promise to be a part of a cause important to them, signified by raising your hand.
These young men pledged on bettering the state of the less fortunate in any shape or form they could. After a bit, their immediate friends and family members showed great support of the concept; even pledging themselves. Furthermore, many individuals close to them showed an affinity towards the cause, but for different reasons. Every individual who supported the cause wanted to voice their own issues. As people started to take pictures of their pledge and describe what they promised to change, it was evident that this was a movement that unified people from different ethnic backgrounds and political views, all for a common goal; to ‘pledge’.
This platform of mutual understanding to get voices heard grew substantially as the pictures of people pledging for their causes were posted on social media networks. Individuals, young and old, of all races, located across the world ranging from Toronto, Canada to Melbourne, Australia began sending their pledge pictures to these five students via Twitter and Facebook.
Many of the pledges were made by the youth, who promised to be a part of issues that affect them in one way or another. Some made a pledge similar to the five young men, by pledging to help the less fortunate in the under developed countries they descended from. Others felt that health issues were more important. Some medical and pre-med students, pledged to find a cure to breast cancer and HIV in the near future. Other students promised to distribute vaccinations to countries that need it the most. Whatever the cause, people from all walks of life pledged to be a part of something greater than themselves.
What started off as a simple thought between friends has turned into something on a much larger scale. With the support of people around the world, the Pledge is in the process of transitioning into a non-profit organization; one that will cater to issues that many individuals have promised to be a part of. As Martin Luther King Jr once said, “almost always, the creative dedicated minority has made the world better” Muqbil Yabarow, Duale Aden, Brian Washington, Mohammed Aden, and Elias Yabarow ‘s mission is just that; to show that millions of dollars worth of campaigning isn’t needed to get voices heard.
Elias Yabarow
Engineering Student at George Mason University
[email protected]