How many people actually have equal opportunity to make choices that allow for them to live lives that they value? My interest in Development Studies as my major developed while I was growing up in Zambia. In Zambia, a clear divisional gap between societies exists, there is abundant inequality towards access of material and human resources such as social welfare, medical facilities, and basic human rights hindering people to live lives they value, additionally, hindering social transformation. Since a young age, I have always been involved with volunteer work, helping people in local communities. In 2011, I volunteered in Zambia for a one-week period, where I saw the divisional gap. I worked in a team helping about 80 people; people such as, HIV and AIDS patients, orphans, and …show more content…
Talking to the people we helped and hearing their stories, it was obvious that this way of life was one that they did not choose. I began to think how much more fortunate I was, to have a roof over my head, food, and quality education. Despite having all these things, I did not feel superior; rather I felt pitiful and rue towards the people I worked with. From this experience, I also realized I am no longer satisfied with the general speculations as to why a divisional gap exists in societies. I need to understand the real causes of inequality. My intention is to use my knowledge to help local communities and reduce the inequality gap towards access to basic human needs. To start off my educational journey toward the field of study, I enrolled, in economics, business, geography, philosophy and anthropology classes and came to realize that the reason for inequality was explained by a combination of different academic