In Summer 2010, I traveled with two fellow members of iHouse to Shenzhen, China for a project in migrant workers’ rights and health. Our partner NGO, Little Bird Hotline, matched migrant workers needing legal representation with pro-bono lawyers in the region. We produced a short documentary highlighting the struggles of the Shenzhen migrant workers and an occupational hazard education brochure. In the future, I would like to be involved in projects focused on awareness-raising and sustainable impact through education.
I was born and raised in South Pasadena, CA near Los Angeles and I love to cook and dance ballet. I have interacted with people of many different cultures while living in the diverse urban area of Los Angeles. Although I've never left the country, I have worked on many community service projects to benefit developing countries with Lions International, a community service group, but I myself have never gone to one. In addition I am a member of the World Wildlife Fund and the Sierra Club so I am interested in preserving the environment and promoting sustainable technology. I hope to travel during my time at MIT and actually implement an international development project.
Unlike most people, I think I have forgot what attracted me to ID for the first time. What currently attracts me in the field of ID right now however, is the dissemination of medical and sanitation technologies. Since coming to MIT, I have been involved in three separate ID projects, including GrubCycle, an organic waste management project, as well as two other community development projects based in central Mexico. This would not have been possible without the support and the exposure to ID I gained from living in iHouse. One of the things I love most about iHouse is the random talks about ID we have around the house, as we all get together as a small, living, learning, (and loving) community after a long day in school. A random non-ID fact: I am interested in pursuing a further degree in medical school, but I am currently torn between doing further research in antibodies, and having a career in international health. Time will see. Another random fact just in case you are curious, I come from Malaysia! :-) * ID stands for International Development
I am in iHouse to use what I know as a mechanical engineer to better the world.
My main international development work so far has been with the physics education research group MIT RELATE in Summer 2011. MIT RELATE put together an open source, online physics course that first ran during spring 2012. I had helped create and code many of the problems used in the course and performed research on LONCAPA, the online educational platform used to deliver the course. Some of the physics questions are now going to be available within EdX.
I was born in Myanmar (Burma) and moved to the US in the fall of '08. Growing up in a country where the GDP per capita is just $462, I experienced a vast contrast in the living standards between the US and my country. Among other differences, the three most significant disparities present in my country when compared with other developed neighboring countries are the lack of : (1) political freedom, (2) adequate medical care, and (3) accessibly electricity.
I'm planning to major in Biology as well as take classes outside my major relating to public health, computer science and bioinformatics. I hope to go to medical school after having the best four years of my life here at MIT. My dream goal in life is to go back to my homeland and serve my people. I believe through the education and expertise I'll get from MIT and iHouse, I'll be able to achieve that goal someday.
Being born and brought up in NJ, and then living in India for 4 years, has given me two distinct, yet complementary perspectives of the world and of human life. In high school, I spent 2 hours every week for a semester spending time with mentally-challenged orphan girls, and another semester at an Old age Home. Both experiences made me realize that the most rewarding feeling is giving love to others. In the summer of 2009, my friends and I conducted a summer camp for children in a Tamil Nadu village for 2 weeks, where we taught some English and did arts and crafts with the kids. The most striking fact was that these children were so eager to learn and energetic, that it was hurtful to know that they had such limited educational opportunities. That’s when I realized that a project I’m strongly interested in was educating underprivileged children, because I believe that education can completely change their lives. Here at MIT, I feel so privileged to be a part of the iHouse community, where I know I can bring about change with those just as committed and passionate as I am.
I have always been very drawn to the outdoors. They are beautiful and natural, and I am enamored of those places which are unscathed by the human touch. I think not only do they have a fundamental right to exist, and are a source of purification and stability for us humans, they are also crucial as sources of many things we need in order to survive. Right now, we are destroying the natural zones in our planet much faster than they can be replenished. Not only is it brutal, sickening, and lamentable, it is also quite shortsighted. We need natural resources in order to exist, and are exhausting them very quickly. We must redraw life, technology and the way we do things in order to achieve perfect sustainability, and only then can we be sure that our children have a future. This is the reason I am interested in international development. In terms of a possible project, I am very interested in energy and/or resource management. A very broad area, but one I’d like to continue pursuing and considering.
I chose to come to MIT because the prospect of conducting research with some of the world's top professors makes my nerves tingle. However, while at MIT I do not want to become engulfed by a world of problem sets and labs, only to forget that there exists an entire world outside of MIT. With this in mind, I joined iHouse with the goal of helping those less fortunate and improving my knowledge of the world around me. Specifically, I hope to take part in international development projects aimed at improving health care infrastructures in developing countries. In the future, I hope to become a surgeon and work with organizations like Doctors Without Borders to provide aid to those that lack even basic healthcare.
After living in 6 (7 including Massachusetts) places in the past 17 years, I have had the wonderful opportunity to get to know so many different cultures and people from all over the world. At the same time, because of this, I have seen much injustice in all areas of life. Whether it was the sight of migrant workers under the grandiose bridges of Beijing or helping my grandfather provide free healthcare to villagers who can't afford it, I feel a calling to want to help others. That's what inspired me to dedicate my time to volunteering and clubs like Social Justice and Sustainability Committee (Amnesty International, Economic Development, Environmental Action, and Partners in Health) in High School. That is also why I wanted to be a part of iHouse. I am currently involved in GrubCycle, an international development project aimed to harvesting the natural processing abilities of Black Soldier Flies to turn organic waste into added-profit animal feed.
I have lived almost two decades of my life on the border between the United States and Mexico. Living here, I was able to take part in the wonderful synergy of two cultures coming together, something that forms a great part of who I am today. But while living on the border, I saw many things that were wrong there. To start with, immigration injustices within the Border Patrol system have always infuriated me. It is not right to consider others as second class citizens based on their nationality on mass paranoia. However, this also led me to start thinking about why someone would be so desperate enough to risk this injustice to themselves. A closer look at the sister city of where I lived, Heroica Matamoros, revealed a crumbling infrastructure within Mexico and a startling need for action there. But the true urgency of action in Mexico has arisen within these past few years. The area where I live is now in a constant cross-fire between drug dealers and the Mexican government, a state of things that has stripped the right of a peaceful life from so many who live here. To begin to solve this issue, we need to raise awareness of this through the international community so everyone can know that what is going on here is nothing less than terrorism. This is one of the things I want to try to help in- healing Mexico- and albeit I still don't have the tools necessary to accomplish (or the knowledge) I know that I can find this in ihouse, and I can't wait to support my friends' projects as I know they'll help in mine.
I am from Nairobi Kenya. I am interested in infrastructure development because where I grew up there was not enough infrastructure. I am new to I.D., but I am excited to be working with other iHouse residents. I welcome the opportunity to learn more about I.D. I plan to major in course 1 (C - Civil Engineering).
Being brought up in a small village in India, I have experienced a striking difference in living standards not only between village and city, but also between India and the USA. Living in a village as a farmer’s son let me learn the hardships of farmers which motivates me to solve their problems by taking a scientific approach. Here at MIT, I am planning to major in a Biology related course. After graduating from MIT and gaining all the necessary expertise, I want to go back to my home country and serve my community.
"Born and raised in Vietnam, Phong came to the United States at the age of ten. Through hard work and determination, with a touch of luck, Phong discovered his love for physics relatively early in his educational career. Privileged to be a member of MIT, Phong intends on furthering his interests in physics at the Institute. While it is true that Phong often ponders about the mysteries of the universe, he more frequently contemplates about something much closer to home: the conditions of his human brothers and sisters. And with this quest for societal betterment, Phong joins iHouse at MIT in hope that he will someday make a direct substantial difference in someone’s life. Phong is particularly interested in education development through expanding access to and enhancing the quality of education in Vietnam. Phong cultivated this vast appreciation for the value of education through previous teaching experiences as a teaching assistant, a curriculum co-developer, a tutor, and a math worksheet writer. At MIT, Phong shall continue to nurture his interest in education, and hopes to bring what he knows to developing countries in the very near future."
My goal is to bring the internet and education to the world.