Members of the BYU–Hawaii ohana shared they believe everyone can make changes in their community and country if they are consistent. They said changing a country starts from influencing individuals, living the gospel and doing service.
One person can create change
Merlin Paul Waite, bishop of the Laie Married Student 4th Ward, said many times it only takes one person to begin to do the right thing for it to catch on with others. “Sometimes, they may have to do it alone for a long time until others catch up.”
Waite shared he believes the best way to influence your country or community for the better is by doing service. “Everybody needs something spiritual, emotional or material. If you learn to serve them according to their needs, they will be in a better place and happier,” Waite added. “If everyone in the community is in a better place, the whole community will be better. If all the communities are better, the country will be better.”
Marianne Uson, a junior from the Philippines majoring in accounting, said she strongly believes one person has the power to change their country because she has seen how certain individuals in the past have shaped the present and the future.
Uson shared the goal of changing a country for the better becomes possible through an unwavering will to change it. She believes steady and consistent efforts to change is key to achieving it.
“It is not the first try we get rewarded for our efforts, but it is from the many times we have pursued it despite all the disappointments and failures we have faced,” Uson commented. “What matters is we have paved the way for the change we want to achieve.”
Tatyana Lukov, an adjunct professor in the Faculty of Education & Social Work, said everyone can make changes, and individuals with authority can make large-scale changes.
Lukov explained, “If there is a righteous person who has power in a democratic society, he or she can do much better.”
Otgontuya Tumursukh, a junior from Mongolia majoring in TESOL, said one person could influence a whole country. Still, she explained, it may take some time unless the individual has authority, wealth or fame.
Inspiring examples
Charity Hoiesi, a sophomore from the Solomon Islands majoring in human resources, shared her belief in one person’s power to change their community because she has seen many examples in her life.
Hoiesi said she grew up in a small village of Heupotasi in the Malataita province and saw how her uncle influenced the village for the better. “He is a teacher in our small village, and he has changed many things. He educated many people who were illiterate and helped people to discipline teenagers in a better way without violence,” Hoiesi explained. He also inspired Hoiesi and the other youth to pursue higher education.
Waite said Leslie Harper, the BYUH Sustainability Center manager, is his favorite example of how one person can bring significant community changes. “He established the Sustainability Center and brought so many changes on the campus and blessed many students’ lives through their innovative projects.”
Lukov shared she believes many international students at BYUH will make positive changes in their countries and communities when they go back. “I hope they will create better education systems and a better life for people in their countries.”
One example of a student making positive change in their country, she said, is Eritai Kateibwi, an alumnus who “introduced a hydroponics system to Kiribati that provides fresh food, nutrients and self-reliance to his home country.”
Tumursukh shared IWORK donors are a great example as well. “They are changing many people’s lives through their donations. As an IWORK student, I am so grateful for those generous donors who changed my life and my future posterity’s lives forever. They don’t know how big changes they are bringing forth in many of our lives in many nations.”
Dreams to create change
Uson said her dream is to create employment for Filipinos. “I want to create as many businesses as possible, along with my husband, to give them employment. I know it will not only help them provide for their families’ needs, but it can also help our country improve in terms of economics.”
She said she believes financial stability for Filipinos is one way to solve problems they face, so the answer is employment and business opportunities.
Hoiesi said, as a business student, she wants to help the people in her village and province be more self-reliant through entrepreneurship in farming, marketing and help youth be educated.
In her village, Hoisei shared, “I know many people who live in very humble circumstances, and their children do not have much opportunity to obtain an education. ... I am the first person from my family to go to college. I want those children to have the same opportunity as me and hope for a better future through education.”
Pono Cummings, a junior from Laie majoring in marketing, said one inspiring person can bring many changes, but he believes it is up to the people to follow that person and spread change.
Cummings said his dream is to build fitness centers and healthy cafes for the North Shore community. “From Haleiwa to Kahaluu there is no gym or affordable healthy cafe where the North Shore community can go.
“Health is wealth and important for people’s happiness and success,” Cummings commented. “So I want to build nice places where people can exercise, release their stress and eat healthy food.”
Tumursukh said her dream is to empower women and children in Mongolia through education. She believes an old African proverb, “If you educate a man, you educate an individual. But if you educate a woman, you educate a generation.” Tumursukh’s said her goal is to build schools and do all she can to educate women and help children to be well-behaved individuals.
Influencing through the gospel
Tumursukh said even ordinary individuals who do not have much power and resources can do great things by living the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
“I served in the Mongolia Ulaanbaatar Mission and baptized a little girl a long time ago. Recently, I received a message from her. She served her full-time mission in England and is preparing to come to BYUH. She thanked me for finding her and teaching the gospel that changed her life. I never expected that, but it was so amazing to hear that,” Tumursukh shared.
Uson said one Church leader told her she couldn’t help everyone, but she can always help someone. “I have lived by that teaching since then. Understanding the gospel and knowing the people around us are our brothers and sisters has been very helpful for me to change someone for the better.”
She explained she believes if she helps change someone’s situation for the better, she has changed that person’s posterity for the better. “We may not be able to see the good or the bad we do to someone in the moment, but we must always remember everything we do has an effect.”
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