Meet Laurence Carolin

Oct 2nd, 2009 2:22 PM UTC
By Sheila Nix

ONE member Laurence Carolin, who is 15 years old and lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was diagnosed with an inoperable malignant brain tumor two years ago. Passionately devoted to the fight against extreme poverty in Africa, Laurence recently decided to take the $5,000 he received from the Make A Wish Foundation and donate it to help fight global poverty through the UN Foundation. We met Laurence at a U2 concert in Chicago just a few weeks ago, and we were blown away by his generosity and beautiful spirit. He has written two essays about why he believes the fight against extreme poverty is so important, and why we all need to get involved. Laurence asked us to post some excerpts on the ONE blog, and we’re honored to do so.

-Sheila Nix

We Must

We must stand tall. We must not turn our backs and let this thing called extreme poverty live on, and continue to kill thousands of Africans every day. This is our generation’s time to get their boots on and start marching. It’s our generation’s time to get their thinking caps on. It’s also our generation’s time to use their voice!

The people of Africa without the U.S.’s help and intervention are in a hopeless situation. The statistic of every three seconds a person dies in the world from disease, famine, lack of food and water will sadly still ring true. Some people think that this is just the way of the world. Yes this is the way the world is, but history shows that the way of the world can be altered and changed. We put a man on the moon, we made the Soviet Union fall. I know we can make this stupid thing called Extreme Poverty a thing of the past!!!

Another reason why we should fight extreme poverty is that I think it’s our ethical and moral obligation to help others who are in need.

…Why must we always get caught up in what separates and divides us? So I think if the Pope wants to see extreme poverty vanish, he with his power being the Pope should help invest in Africa’s education. First it would get young people off the streets and out of gangs, which is a problem down in Africa. It would also help invest in their future. I believe this struggle in Africa is our area to shine, this generation’s area to shine!!!!!! Some people ask why we must handle and deal with this problem. My answer to anybody who asks is that nobody else is, which is the sad truth.

Another thing people may argue is that we can’t afford financially to fight extreme poverty right now because of the current economical situation. My stance on this topic is that we can’t afford NOT to help!

First, like I said before that this is our moral obligation to help the poor and suffering. Another thing is that this problem will get larger and larger if not dealt with now. This could potentially pose a threat to our national security. If someone like Osama Bin Laden or someone like him in Africa proposes a deal for example, food for fighting, I think a lot of people would join his or her cause. It happened in Rwanda where the independent army promised a better living for murdering their community. That turned into genocide where hundreds of thousands of people were brutally killed and promises were not kept.

(The number of deaths is not quite known. At least 500,000 to a staggering 1,000,000 people died in this struggle which was about 100 days long)

These are my reasons, beliefs, and understanding of why I think we, and the global community should fund and support Africa’s struggle.

How Extreme Poverty Became My Life’s Goal

My name is Laurence James Carolin. I’m a 15-year-old, who lives in Michigan in the U.S. My life story began in South Korea, just south of the DMZ, where I was born in the military town of Dongducheon.

At the age of five months, I was adopted by my parents, Lisa and Patrick Carolin, who lived in Ann Arbor, Michigan. I don’t know what life would have held for me in South Korea, but I had all sorts of opportunities in the U.S. to do an endless number of things with my life.

From my excellent medical care to my personally beneficial education, I have had the kind of start that I wish everyone could have.

In 2007, my easy life was challenged. I began a troubling road when I started experiencing headaches and fatigue, and then severe depression that made me suicidal, and led to me being placed in a mental institution. After my release, and additional symptoms ensued, including problems with my balance and vision, I received a CAT scan that revealed a huge mass in my brain.

On December 27, 2007, I was diagnosed with cancer, soon identified as a glioblastoma multiforme, an inoperable, malignant brain tumor. Since that time I’ve received radiation and chemotherapy, procedures I’m lucky enough to have had the chance to receive living in a country like the U.S.

That said, I wouldn’t be alive today if it weren’t for the music of U2…

U2 not only inspired me musically, but inspired me to see the world differently. You let me see the world for what it is, and that is that I live in a country that’s unique and prosperous. Compared to the rest of the world, the U.S. is on a mountain of gold.

By opening my eyes to war, poverty and disease around the world, I realized that I was in a position to help make a difference. I felt privileged to be able to take the wish granted me by the Make-A-Wish Foundation, and turn it into a donation to the United Nations Foundation.

My goal has been to educate as many people as I can about extreme poverty, and to inspire them to make a difference as well. Some of them have added their own contributions to the United Nations Foundation. Although my ultimate goal—to see extreme poverty end during my lifetime—will not be achieved, my belief is that the mission will continue not only through donation, but through the peoples’ voices to get government on our side.

I am grateful to you for helping me to realize this goal and set it in motion.

TAGS: ONE