Staying Proximate: Fighting Longer, Harder, and Smarter

Written by Eyal Rosenblum, Executive Director of Operation Groundswell

Last year I had the opportunity to hear the brilliant lawyer, writer, and activist, Bryan Stevenson, speak at the NAFSA conference for International Educators. Bryan is an extremely gifted speaker and a thoughtful, humble human. He took to the podium and his message was clear: the only way to stay inspired in the work, the only way to ensure that the work you are doing is truly good, is to be proximate.

He encouraged us to be physically close to the people we are trying to help, and to be close to their problems as well. We fight longer, harder, and smarter for the people and problems we are close to. You will know when you are winning, and you will know when it’s simply not working.

This past summer, I was sent on my first official site visit to Southeast Asia as Executive Director of Operation Groundswell, and Bryan’s lesson became abundantly clear.

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Read about the rest of Eyal’s time in Southeast Asia on Medium!