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Want a Bucket-List Vacation? Try This! by Douglas Carlsen, DDS

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Dr. Akbarali Thobhani’s humble comments provide insight, especially to medical professionals, that happiness is not all about income and possessions.

My 2011 summer vacation was spent in Ethiopia. Nobody goes there except for anthropologists looking for more Lucys. Right? Wrong!

I was with a delegation, headed by Dr. Akbarali Thobhani, that is establishing mutual working relationships between Metro State College of Denver and the University of Axum in northern Ethiopia.

Metro State is Colorado’s largest urban educational institution, serving 24,000 undergraduates.

Dr. Thobhani has served on the faculty of Metro State for more than 30 years, developing and teaching numerous courses involving study and collaboration in Africa and the Middle East. Most dentists think of doing clinical work when going on a volunteer trip abroad, but Dr. Thobhani focuses on education. He has authored numerous academic articles and three books while fostering synergism involving third-world cultural, economic, environmental, political, medical and educational issues. Thobhani is the recipient of six Fulbright grants and numerous awards including the Golden Key Excellence in Teaching, the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Peace Award, and the United Nations Peace Medal.

Ethiopia is recently best known for Emperor Haile Selassie and the Rastafarians, yet there is much more. Ethiopia traces its roots to the second century BC and has never been a “colony.” Ethiopian Orthodox Christianity has long been its spiritual core. In spite of fast growth in recent years, GDP per capita is one of the lowest in the world, with the economy facing a number of serious structural problems. Ethiopia’s GDP per capita income for 2011 was $351, even less than Afghanistan’s $575! For comparison, U.S. per capita GDP income is $58,000.1

Ethiopia has an average life expectancy of only 53 years, one of the world’s lowest.2 As for vehicles – there is one for every 333 people. Ethiopia is the epitome of “dirt poor,” yet is bestowed with riches Westerners often refuse to understand.

I recently had the pleasure to interview Dr. Thobhani regarding his views on international service.

Carlsen: If you were trying to convince a colleague to take a trip abroad to volunteer, what would you say to him or her?
Thobhani: I think I would begin by saying that this world is such a fascinating and amazing place – so many natural wonders and so many diverse cultures. If we were all alike and belonged to the same culture, the world would be a fairly dull and boring place. In order to appreciate this diversity of great planet earth, there is no better way to do it then to immerse oneself in a culture in a different country. And the most effective way to immerse oneself is to share one’s knowledge and expertise by volunteering.

The most rewarding part of volunteering in another country is that it helps you understand your inner-self better. You learn so much about yourself by being in a different country. Volunteering in a global context is a most rewarding experience. Volunteers not only help improve the human condition, but also make valuable and, sometimes, lifelong friends. Lessons learned as a volunteer often translate into the volunteer becoming a more valued citizen, parent, employee/employer or mentor.

Carlsen: What emotional value do you find in working with those in need in third-world countries?
Thobhani: Having been born and lived in a third-world country, I grew up as one of those individuals in need during a good portion of my early life. My family was poor and in need of even some basic items such as food from time to time. It was the good-heartedness of some of our relatives, neighbors and friends whose generosity and helping hands got us through. I have never forgotten that. Thus, whenever I travel to a thirdworld country, I feel a sense of sadness when I see so many people living such a difficult life and in need of so much. When I am able to assist someone who is need, I feel that I am doing a small thing to help an individual or a family.

Carlsen: What are the biggest needs in third-world countries?
Thobhani: Among the saddest sights I have witnessed are when I see a four- or five-year-old child holding the hand of a blind parent and going around the streets every day to beg for food or money.

The needs list can be quite long and disheartening. Some of these are hunger and malnutrition related; lack of adequate health services; extremely poor sanitation; inadequate or no housing; lack of jobs; tremendous amount of pollution; so many people with various disabilities and diseases. It is hard not to be affected by such sights and at the same time feel bad to see so much suffering.

The immense wealth gap between the “haves” and the “havenots” is quite noticeable in third-world countries. Challenges are immense and situations appear daunting and irresolvable, yet every bit of assistance helps.

Carlsen: How has this service changed how you interface with colleagues and staff back home?
Thobhani: This service has intensified my interface with colleagues, staff and the local community.

During the past three years, I have focused heavily on projects in Ethiopia. One of these projects involved building an elementary school in a rural area in northern Ethiopia.

Three years ago, a colleague of mine – Dr. Carrie Besnette – and I chanced upon a one-room school built with nothing more than tree branches, crammed with 60 students sitting on a dirt floor or on rocks, being taught by a dedicated woman teacher. As we were leaving the site, the teacher asked if we could help improve the situation for the children. My colleague and I decided that we would make an effort to raise funds to construct a school building to replace the makeshift structure. Upon returning to our campus, we shared the story and pictures with co-workers, the campus community and the community-atlarge. Soon we engaged a major fundraising drive.

Thanks to a local and a national foundation and scores of individual donors, we succeeded in raising the money to build a fourclassroom school building. I proudly witnessed its dedication ceremony with the presidents of Metro State College and the University of Axum in 2011. This was a case of a dream come true. About 200 students are now being served at the school.

Another major project that we undertook was to collect nine tons of books for the Axum University library. Again, scores of individuals on and off-campus made this project a success. These activities help build new friendships and strengthen the spirit of collegiality while simultaneously making a difference in many peoples’ lives.

Carlsen: Are your values different than typical Americans because of your service?
Thobhani: I don’t think so. Many Americans share the values of understanding the world: building relationships, helping wherever and whenever possible, showing generosity, making this world a little better place, appreciating people of different cultures, and showing tolerance to differences.

Of course, there are many who don’t share these characteristics, but that is true of many other places around the world. I am an immigrant to this country and have been living in the U.S. for about 50 years. When I first arrived in the U.S. as a student, I was amazed at how friendly and hospitable the people were. They opened their homes to total strangers and offered warm hospitality. This was somewhat like culture back home, except that back home religious, racial and linguistic differences played significant influences.

Later on, of course, I discovered that people in the U.S. are also influenced by these differences in social interactions. Another difference between cultures is the level of formality – the U.S. is a lot more formal than other countries. No appointments or advance notices are required when people want to visit their friends or families. In the U.S., because of the busy lifestyle, prior arrangements are necessary before visiting.

If happiness is not all about income and possessions, maybe it has something to do with service to others.

References
  1. Downloaded on 3/3/2012 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_GDP_%28nominal%29_per_capita
  2. Downloaded on 3/3/2012 at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_life_expectancy




Bios
Dr. Akbarali Thobhani is the Interim Chair of the Department of African and African American Studies and Executive Director of the Office of International Studies at Metro State University. He is the author or numerous articles and three books.

Douglas Carlsen, DDS, has delivered independent financial education to dentists since retiring from his practice in 2004 at age 53. For Dentists’ Financial Newsletter, visit www.golichcarlsen.com and find “newsletter” button at the bottom of the home page.

Additional Dentaltown articles by Douglas Carlsen, DDS, are at www.towniecentral.com. Search “Carlsen.”

Videos available at www.youtube.com/user/DrDougCarlsen. Contact Dr. Carlsen at drcarlsen@gmail.com or 760-535-1621.
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