Ngoie - Part 1

I want to introduce you to the student that I am working with this week. Our assignment is to shoot a photo-documentary (basically telling a story with 5 - 8 pictures), dealing with any injustice. I met Ngoie ("nn" + "goie" rhymes with joy) about 1.5 weeks ago. I was giving a Voice for the Voiceless presentation to the grade 11's at the high school where I'm been volunteering (when we first arrived, I was SO excited to find this school because it's a block away from our house). Once I was finished, Ngoie literally jumped up to speak with me and asked for some of the quotes I had used in the presentation.

Later that afternoon I met with the Interact/CHOC club at school (they deal with fundraising and charities in the community), of which Ngoie is a member. Ngoie, the Interact/CHOC teacher and I went to the local pregnancy crisis center, but before we left, I asked Ngoie why she was involved in Interact/CHOC. She replied, "I want to pay it forward."

I couldn't get Ngoie or her comment about paying it forward out of my head. I talked to my fellow Trackers that had been working with her in the Film Club (she's a very active student) and also to the Interact/CHOC teacher and everyone said that she has lived a pretty hard life in her short 17 years. It begs the question, "WHAT do you have to pay forward and WHY do you want to pay it forward?"