What Took You So Long Foundation

We have all heard of the ‘butterfly effect’ – that a wing beat on one side of the world can eventually cause a tornado on the other. Small actions often have huge consequences. Yet people feel disempowered and hopeless in the face of ‘big’ issues like poverty or war or social injustice. ‘What difference can I make?’ they say. ‘I’m just one person, nothing I do will change anything.’

But the actions of a few can change the world. One small stone kicked down the mountain of inertia can start an avalanche of hope. Two people who firmly believe in the power of ‘just doing it’ are Swede Sebastian Lindstrom (25) and Hong Kong Brit Evan Fowler (29) who have teamed up to create the What Took You So Long Foundation.

The movement aims to help grass roots NGOs by giving them publicity and access to a global network of unskilled and skilled volunteers. The WTYSL Foundation also wants to inspire young people by example, beginning with a 14,200 kilometre trip from Marrakesh to Johannesburg down the west side of Africa leaving on 23 June. In the spirit of true international co-operation, Lindstrom and Fowler will travel with five young colleagues, all aged 25 or under, from Japan, the USA and Hong Kong. They will be using public transport like the locals and visiting 20 small NGOs en route.

An experienced documentary film maker, Fowler has his own media company and will be filming the journey. There will be updates on the website blog and twitter as well as the team’s photos and journals. They aim to celebrate unsung heroes, the people whose efforts make a huge difference to the locals but who are unknown outside their own small circle. ‘I met an amazing Dutch guy called Eric when I took a group of Hong Kong students to Ghana recently,’ says Fowler. ‘He is virtually a one-man band, living and working in a tribal community on the border with Burkina Faso. He has set up a small charity to help kids who’ve been abandoned because their parents died of HIV/AIDS. I asked him if he had applied for any funding and he told me that the paperwork would take up too much time which could be spent with the people he needs to help. And they probably wouldn’t give him funding anyway. It’s people like Eric that we want to tell the international community about.’

Former Swedish Special Forces soldier Lindstrom has already set up one NGO the Light for Children in Ghana which he founded in 2005 at the age of just 21 after a three-month stint as a volunteer in the country. Light for Children recruits young volunteers from all over the world to help disadvantaged children in Ghana’s Ashanti region. One such volunteer is young British lawyer Rhianydd Griffith who ended up getting in touch with Lindstrom and helping in an Ashanti orphanage after Googling ‘volunteer Ghana’. At 24 she was older than some of the other students, but the experience changed her life. ‘A lot of young people lack confidence,’ she says. ‘But doing something like this shows you that you really can make a difference.’ Volunteering has had a big impact on Griffith who now works for a CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) law firm in London. ‘I’d tell anyone thinking about taking a gap year to combine travel and volunteering,’ she adds.

Lindstrom and Fowler met while studying at Hong Kong University. They hit it off immediately, discovering a mutual interest in environmental and social issues. They both wanted to mobilise the Hong Kong students and show them what could be achieved by a group of motivated and determined enough individuals. Inspired by Ewan McGregor, they first discussed a motorbike trip through Africa to help small NGOs but decided against. ‘It wasn’t very environmentally sound,’ says Lindstrom. Fowler agrees. ‘And we wanted to interact with the locals, to live with them and learn their stories. That’s easier to do using public transport than on motorbikes. And it’s cheaper.’

The ten week trip is the first one for the WTYSL Foundation, but both men hope that it is the start of things to come. ‘We want to encourage other young people to do this,’ says Fowler. ‘To show them an alternative way of travelling. And if a group wants to do something similar in India or South America we are there to give advice and help.’

‘We are going to share positive, hopeful stories,’ adds Lindstrom. ‘We are not going to dwell on the stereotyped clichés of misery and hopelessness, because Africa isn’t like that. It’s full of positive, enthusiastic individuals who are striving to achieve their hopes and dreams. We can learn from them as much as they can from us.’

Lawyer and volunteer Rhianydd has the last word. ‘Sebastian is totally inspirational. He has taught me that you’re never too young, you just need to be brave. And I’ve learned that what you do and what your team does, even on a small scale, really can change the world.’

To follow the WTYSL trip go to http://twitter.com/wtysl .

Written by Fiona Tankard
Photos by David Ranc in Regent’s Park