Students don’t need to go to Africa or Asia to assist the poor
Tuesday September 18, 2007, Tallahassee
Leila Harris’ first job at Catholic Charities in Tallahassee reminded her of the issues she had to address while working with the poor in the Philippines. Her first clients, a single mother with two young children, were hungry. “The children were crying ‘Mommy I’m hungry, I’m hungry’,” Harris said. “The mother told them to wait until we were done with the paperwork.” Harris, a social work graduate student at Florida State University who was pursuing her summer internship in the Catholic Charities’ Emergency Assistance Program, could not wait. She got up in the middle of the intake session, went to the pantry and brought back cookies and juice for the children. “That was a shocking experience to me because I come from a third world country, and I wondered, this also happens in America?” Harris said. Harris, 29, was born and raised in the Philippines. Prior to coming to the United States, she worked with a poverty alleviation program helping poor families in need of food and shelter, displaced indigenous people who lacked support from the government, and women fighting for their rights. “Through my internship I learned about poverty in America,” she said. “It was educational and it opened my eyes. I learned that poverty is everywhere, not only in Asia and Africa.” The number of Americans living in poverty in 2001 grew significantly to 32.9 million people. That is nearly one out of every eight people in the United States, reports Catholic Charities USA, based in Alexandria, VA. Harris chose her internship at CC because she believes in the social mission of the program: social justice for all. “My plan after graduation is to work with the administrative part of non-profit organizations. I hope to do more program development and management. I hope after school I’m confident to develop an appropriate program to address social justice.” Catholic Charities offers internships in social work, economic development, immigration and refugee resettlement, and counseling. Internships are open to all students at FAMU and FSU. Volunteers are welcome. For more information, contact Volunteer Coordinator, Glenda Ross at 850-222-2180 Ext:101.