When Sashi first read Dreams From My Father, she couldn't believe how much she could relate. If you're Sashi, it's not every day you find a candidate running for President who has lived in Indonesia, like you, who was raised by a family that valued education and hard work above everything, like you, and who chose community organizing and social service over other jobs on Wall Street -- just like you.
Sashi recommended the book to everyone she knew.
"Growing up in the developing world gives you an understanding of poverty that is impossible to grasp otherwise. We live in an increasingly global community, and Barack Obama is exactly the right person to lead this country, and other countries, into the new interconnected age."
30-year-old Sashi was originally born in Sri Lanka and came to the United States when she was 6. Her family left their country because it was in a state of war. Once they got to South Florida, Sashi says she watched her family live the American Dream.
We didn't live in the best of neighborhoods, but my parents instilled in us strong values and an appreciation for education. They helped us improve ourselves simply through hard work and school. My sister and I went to public schools our entire lives until we both received scholarships to college. In college, I became involved in social change and mobilizing people to advocate for the betterment of their communities. Reading Senator Obama's memoir, I understood why he stayed in Chicago and could appreciate some of the difficulties he faced in learning his own identity. I also know how hard it is to choose a career, such as his in community organizing, that is not lucrative and is outside the norm. He did these things because he felt he had to.
We didn't live in the best of neighborhoods, but my parents instilled in us strong values and an appreciation for education. They helped us improve ourselves simply through hard work and school. My sister and I went to public schools our entire lives until we both received scholarships to college. In college, I became involved in social change and mobilizing people to advocate for the betterment of their communities.
Reading Senator Obama's memoir, I understood why he stayed in Chicago and could appreciate some of the difficulties he faced in learning his own identity. I also know how hard it is to choose a career, such as his in community organizing, that is not lucrative and is outside the norm. He did these things because he felt he had to.
And Sashi herself went on to do work that needed to be done, leading a group of students on a HIV/AIDS peer education trip throughout South India after college, interning with the World Organization Against Torture, working in an NGO for 2 years in microfinance, and working on economic development issues in Sri Lanka. When she read Senator Obama's first book, she found someone as committed to the same principles she valued -- and so, what seems like ages ago, started recommending the memoir to anyone who might listen.
But she knew that wasn't enough.
During the primaries and over the summer, Sashi got seriously involved in the campaign and canvassed in Pennsylvania and also Northern Virginia, where she currently lives. She recruited lots of friends to join her in canvassing and phone banking and she also donated to the campaign.
I've been a pretty outspoken advocate of Senator Obama, because I want people to know that his supporters are not afraid to talk politics and not afraid to confront the major issues. If we can't talk about these things then are we really informed voters?
Now with only six days to go, Sashi and thousands of other Virginian and Floridian volunteers are making the final push to prove, as she says, "that grassroots movements and communities CAN have a voice in government."
Every door knocked is one step closer to electing the first President to inspire our nation to be global citizens and local community organizers; a President who knows that the American Dream is alive in red states and blue states; in public schools and private schools; and on the main streets of small towns everywhere, from South Florida to Northern Virginia.
Vote Hope.
And get out there:
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