As a coordinator team we agreed that the Change Agent for this session is most defiantly Sean Oliver. Sean is the nicest, most humble and hard working 22 year old Canadian we have ever met. No matter the task, Sean jumps right in with both feet, even it that means doing something extra when he thinks no one is watching. The kids absolutely love him, and you can tell Sean loves them back by the way he plays with them and helps them in the school. Sean is very giving and sincere in all he does. During Sean’s medical rotation last week, he took the time to clear trash out of the colony’s water drainage system. He is also very aware of his fellow volunteers and helps to unify the group my making sure to include everyone in conversations and games. When asked to describe his experience thus far, Sean wrote the following:

“The best thing a person can do is to be part of something that is bigger than themselves. That affiliation will enlarge their capacities, grow their perspective and deepen their souls. Working with Rising Star has helped me more then I’ve been able to help. The unique aspect of volunteering on their campus in India is that its service that has a three-fold impact. On the medical excursions you work to alleviate those affliction inflicted by patient’s past experiences with leprosy; the manual labor you do in the colonies helps provide relief for pressing present day needs; through working at the school you help impact the future of the people here. And the process changes you. I have been given new hope that problems we face both home and abroad can be solved, but the greatest hope instilled in me is that there are people out there who want to solve these problem, that want to work out these solutions. The people I’ve met through Rising Star were some of my closest friend I hadn’t met yet and they have given me hope that indeed, “Together we are more.”