Teach Them What it Means to Know the World!

It's not enough to have children and take them around our families. It's not enough to teach them to love their communities. It's not enough to teach them about their ethnicity...If we want to make strides to end hate in our countries and around our borders, our children need to know and understand the world and the other people in it.

I have two beautiful sons that I've always believed were only loaned to me. I've never seen having children as a means to control a life or to even mold a person into what I wanted him to become. Rather, I have always believed that it was and still is my responsibility to expose them to people and chances I did not see during my childhood.

Last year, my eldest son, age 19, was here in the Gulf with me for more than a month and he told me that it was one of the most impactful experiences of his life. While he was in the emirates, I gave him a makeshift tour of the beauty and wonder...the magnificence of the United Arab Emirates, my new home. Yesterday, my youngest son began his journey from Durham, NC to Dallas, TX and then to Amsterdam. Shortly, he will arrive in Dubai and have an opportunity of a lifetime to see and spend time in one of the fastest growing countries in the Gulf region. 

His potential travels had both families (both mine and his father's) up in arms. Why would you want to send your seven year old to the Middle East? What if something bad happens over there? What if he never comes back home? His father and I went back and forth as he vacillated between allowing him to travel and keeping him stateside. The one thing I could say to plead with him is that traveling abroad would broaden his scope....coming to the Gulf and meeting scores of new children from all over the world would help him better understand the value of one's place in a global society. After much cajoling, he finally agreed. Now that the initial anxiety of allowing him to leave the country has subsided, I hear him saying how happy he is that he made the choice.

In the end, as parents, we have a short amount of time to make a strong impact on our children. It is my hope that something in my story either calms your fears or inspires you to begin looking at opportunities abroad for your children. If you have any questions concerning programs abroad for you, your children or both please connect with me and/or send me a message. Remember, my primary purpose for being on LinkedIn is to leave a legacy (and inspire others to do the same). It's not enough for my children to travel the world; I want your children to do it too. 

#HappyTravels