I am Samuel Gachagua and I hail from Kenya! I arrived in the US three years ago from a small orphanage in Nyeri, Kenya. Exactly ten years ago, I was living in the streets of Kenya without food, shelter or anyone to take care of me. One thing that has kept me sane, breathing and alive every day is to see people coming together as a community and working together to create opportunities for others. People created opportunities for me to get an education, get me shelter and parental love. Because of this, when people come together to create opportunities for others, I am always involved. At my old school, I planned events and helped organize previously planned events that positively affected the community I was in. Finishing high school in a very different culture than one I grew up in has made me realize what I can do and accomplish.
So, when my attention was brought to Global Citizen Year by one of my colleagues, I saw a great opportunity to immerse myself in a new culture and get a whole new set of skills for being a positive driving force in my community. Global Citizen Year brings an elite group of young leaders together, training them to create opportunities for others in a global economy. I am joining them with an open mind; ready to turn my inexperienced and untrained brain all around!