0:03

You have now entered a community

0:05

of impact engineers . Welcome

0:08

to the BSL Speaks podcast with

0:10

your host , brian St Louis . Here

0:13

we forge the path of leadership

0:15

by empowering young voices

0:17

and nurturing the wisdom of

0:20

seasoned pioneers . Seasoned

0:26

pioneers Join us as we bridge the gap between generations , blending the fresh perspectives of emerging

0:28

leaders with the tried and true insights of those

0:30

who've paved the way , ready

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to embrace radical empathy and unlock

0:35

the boundless potential in our youth . This

0:37

platform is committed to empowering

0:39

young visionaries and refining

0:42

our leadership in homes , communities

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journey is about more than just personal

0:50

growth . This is about

0:52

elevating humanity , one

0:55

inspired leader at a

0:57

time . What's

1:01

going on ? Everyone ? It's your host

1:03

, brian St Louis , and

1:20

with us today we have Austin Johnson . He is the executive

1:22

director of Ghana . Make a abandonment or

1:24

who have special needs until they

1:26

are able to reintegrate them with

1:29

their families or successfully place

1:31

them somewhere else on the path

1:33

to self-reliance . When

1:36

I look at the work that is

1:38

being done within Gotta , make a Difference

1:40

it is truly one

1:42

that exhilarates . Make

1:46

a difference it is truly one that exhilarates . I had the opportunity to meet up with Austin through

1:48

our conversations , and the energy is there , and so I'm really

1:50

excited to have Austin with us today

1:52

. Austin , thank you so much for coming on .

1:55

Hey , brian , I'm happy to be here

1:57

and it's an honor , and so thanks for

1:59

the invite .

2:00

Absolutely , absolutely . It's when

2:02

I see great things that are happening in the

2:04

world . We're just excited to

2:07

bring on individuals who see life

2:09

bigger than themselves . You

2:11

know , and want to truly make a difference

2:13

, and so we definitely wanted to

2:15

make sure that you came on to the show . How are you doing

2:17

today ? Just how are you feeling ? What's

2:19

going on in life ? Just how are you

2:21

?

2:22

Austin on

2:27

in life . Just how are you , Austin ? Thanks for asking . I'm doing good . It's funny

2:29

. I got back from Ghana just a few days ago and so I think

2:31

now I'm just over the jet lag and normal again . But life is good

2:34

. Thank you , that's good .

2:36

So we're going to get a very great

2:39

perspective , since you just came

2:41

on from your trip to Ghana

2:44

. I'm looking forward to this . I'm looking

2:46

forward to this . Where are you currently

2:48

based for most of the work that you do

2:50

?

2:52

You know , I am the only domestic

2:55

employee of Ghana Make a Difference

2:57

the only one on the payroll , full time , and

2:59

so it's anywhere my laptop is . If I'm

3:02

going to be honest , we

3:04

have like 40 employees over in Ghana

3:06

, but I'm the only domestic one here . So

3:09

I'm here in Boise , idaho to answer your question

3:11

. There you go , boise , idaho , in

3:14

front of my laptop .

3:15

I love it , man , I love it . Can you tell us why

3:18

and I know there's going to be some

3:20

focus on this in general

3:22

but why is it that you make

3:24

sure that you have so much more staff

3:26

there , rather than having staff

3:29

from all over the world or or

3:31

having them a lot more remote , making

3:33

sure that you have staff that are situated

3:36

where they are ?

3:38

Yeah , I mean good question . So they do

3:40

the real work . They do the real work . You know

3:42

I I mainly am doing fundraising

3:44

and I'm helping with these medical missions

3:46

. I'm not medical , but I'm helping

3:48

manage things here on this side of the ocean and

3:52

when I go over there , they

3:54

just got it down and so we hire

3:56

folks who are right there in Ghana

3:59

. They're Ghanaian . Probably

4:01

a third of our staff are refugees from

4:04

those surrounding countries like

4:06

Sierra Leone and Liberia and

4:08

Ivory Coast , and so it's

4:11

cool just to . I

4:13

mean , they are more than

4:15

capable of doing

4:17

everything themselves over there and helping

4:19

these kids . I bet man that's

4:22

awesome these

4:26

kids .

4:26

So I bet , man that's awesome . Can you tell us how this whole journey started to

4:28

creating GMAT , to getting yourself in that predicament

4:31

where you saw that you this needed

4:33

to happen in Ghana ? Specifically

4:36

, how did this , this one guy from Boise

4:38

, Idaho , come through to

4:40

Ghana in order

4:43

for us to make it for for you all , to

4:45

make a difference ? What's , what's the story

4:47

there ?

4:48

You know I'm in deep and I'll I'm probably

4:51

going to end up telling you more than you want to know , but I'm

4:53

just going to take a stab about it anyway . Go

4:55

ahead , I'm looking forward to it . So from the

4:57

beginning here , most

5:00

would have considered me a junior

5:02

in college because I had enough

5:04

credits to be a junior or senior

5:07

. I didn't know what I wanted to do and

5:11

I was dating and I wasn't

5:13

making progress with school or dating , if

5:15

I'm going to be painfully honest with

5:17

myself . So each

5:20

night I would just kind of ponder and think

5:22

about life and

5:25

pray . And after

5:27

a few months of this , as I try to align

5:29

what I'm

5:31

doing with maybe something God

5:33

wants me to do , I heard just

5:35

words in my head that said Austin , drop out of school

5:38

and go to Africa . And

5:41

just a bit of background . I'd never wanted to go to

5:43

Africa before in my life and so

5:45

I was like , well , I'm not going to do that

5:47

for sure , roaming

5:49

with my best friends , and I

5:51

was comfortable . And then the next night

5:53

it was the same words just

5:55

in my head drop out of school and go to Africa

5:58

. And it just kind of these

6:00

words just kind of stuck with me for a couple

6:02

of weeks until I built up the courage

6:04

, sold

6:08

my housing contract , dropped out of my college courses and I took back

6:10

my tuition money and used

6:13

it for flights to Africa . Thank goodness

6:15

, anyway , a month

6:17

passed . I'm on this plane to Ghana

6:20

, africa . I'm beating myself up feeling

6:22

like I should be in school , I should be progressing in life and here I can just spend all my money

6:24

to go to Africa . I'm beating myself up feeling like I should be in school , I should be progressing

6:26

in life and here I can just spend all my money to

6:28

go to Africa . And the very next day

6:31

, this cute girl from Idaho showed up

6:33

and we became fast friends

6:35

and I ended up marrying her , and

6:39

so we got married , like you know

6:42

, about a year later . And

6:44

it was her parents

6:46

that were looking to adopt

6:48

, and they adopted out of the same children's

6:50

home that I met

6:52

Arianne , my wife , at

6:55

, and when

6:57

they came over they

6:59

saw abandoned kids in

7:01

the taxi parks and they

7:03

visited a few different children's homes and just

7:06

felt like we can help out . So they

7:08

started Ghana Make a Difference . And

7:10

my wife and I we just always had the sideline view

7:13

of like this good work her parents were doing

7:15

and they built the children's home and I

7:18

mean it was cool , we would save up our pennies

7:20

and in between semesters

7:22

we would find the cheapest

7:25

flight over to Ghana and go help her parents

7:27

out for a few weeks and then fly home

7:29

and like these were the highlights

7:32

of my year , we're going and and

7:34

just being a part of this work they were starting

7:36

. Yeah , anyway , fast

7:39

forward five years or so and I'm in the construction

7:41

industry and I have this corner office

7:44

and life is good . And and

7:46

then I heard the same familiar voice

7:48

in my head I mean it wasn't mine

7:50

and said you need to help your

7:52

in-laws . So I

7:54

got a master's degree at Notre

7:56

Dame and nonprofit work and

7:58

they hired me the day I graduated

8:01

and so that was . That

8:03

was about five years ago . I've been working , so

8:06

you could say my in-laws are are my bosses

8:08

. Yeah , they go on the board , but

8:12

I report to the board and um you

8:14

report to your , to your in-laws man

8:16

. And it's been a good work . So I've

8:18

always had this sideline view for like 11

8:21

, 12 years , but really it's just

8:23

beneficial this last five years that

8:25

I've been working full time

8:27

, so fully entrenched into the work .

8:29

That's awesome , man , yeah . But

8:31

can you talk a little bit about

8:33

and you may

8:36

know a bit about this

8:38

perspective ? You may not know

8:40

the whole story , because this may this is more so

8:42

their story , but your in-laws

8:45

went from adopting these

8:47

children to now creating

8:49

GMAT . What

8:52

was the story between ? That

8:54

point right there Because

8:57

that's large with how individuals

9:00

choose Because I've heard so many people who say you

9:02

know what I want to adopt , and they adopt children

9:04

from different parts of the world . But

9:07

we don't hear a lot of people who say I'm going

9:09

to help to create a

9:11

system where these

9:13

children are being

9:15

fostered , they're being helped taken

9:18

out of that enslavement or

9:20

taken out of that forced labor and the

9:22

trafficking that takes an extra

9:24

level of dedication . So can

9:27

you tell us a little bit about how that

9:29

happened there with DreamVest ?

9:32

Yeah , that's an excellent question , Brian , and I'm happy

9:34

you asked it because you're right , that's a big step

9:36

from point A to point B . You

9:39

know , I have the I've had the privilege

9:41

of having these , of just

9:43

hearing . You know how it started

9:46

and what was on their mind and everything Just

9:48

through these dinner conversations we'd have

9:50

and living room conversations

9:52

, and so I

9:54

knew they thought , well , we saw

9:57

a need and we want our kids , who are

9:59

adopting , to be proud of their country

10:01

of origin , you know , and so it'd be cool to kind

10:03

of have this tie back to Ghana . You

10:05

know , I remember hearing like those types of conversations

10:07

and then when

10:10

it started , there was this children's

10:12

home in Kassawa and it didn't

10:14

have a bathroom and

10:16

diseases were starting

10:19

to go around , you know , because of the unsanitary

10:21

conditions and they were really just going

10:23

potty in this pit , and

10:26

so that's like where it started . That's

10:28

where gonna make a difference started is I thought , well , we

10:30

can help these guys with the bathroom and

10:33

that's very manageable and we

10:35

can hire a few people and help

10:38

them and work and they'll have a bathroom

10:40

. And that's what we did . And then

10:42

it just kind of snowballed from there

10:44

and then a few months later we were building a

10:47

little children's home and and now

10:49

we've been at it for over a decade wow man

10:52

.

10:53

I mean , you talk about one idea

10:55

that turns into a massive idea

10:57

, right , you talked about that snowball effect , and I

11:00

think those are those

11:02

moments that we have to be willing to

11:04

step into what we're

11:06

called to do , right , and

11:09

when those ideas come , we

11:11

don't run away from it or shy away from

11:13

it , because how

11:16

did it feel for you If

11:18

you don't mind jumping into this a little bit

11:20

more how did it feel for you , dropping

11:23

out of college or university

11:25

, to even make that decision

11:27

? Because I

11:29

don't know how many of us in this world

11:32

would say , hey , you know what , I'm going to leave

11:34

college to go all the way

11:36

to Ghana . What was

11:38

it like for you at that moment ?

11:40

You know I was , I was just trying to follow my heart

11:42

, and that sounds really

11:45

Disney to

11:47

me , but it felt right

11:49

, you know , and so that gave me some confidence

11:52

. I know

11:54

how I think and how I act

11:56

and this just felt different . I thought , oh , I got

11:58

to follow this . But to be honest , I

12:00

mean I remember having a little talk with my

12:02

mom because my mom's like you're dropping out of college

12:05

and I'm like , yep , and

12:07

she's like you're going

12:09

to Africa . I'm like , yeah , I am . What

12:12

are you going to do there ? I don't know I'm going to help , I

12:14

don't know . You know , I didn't really

12:16

like have much of a plan thought out

12:19

, but I remember just looking at

12:21

her and I'm like I'm

12:23

pretty sure my mom thinks I'm an idiot

12:26

and I'm not so sure she's

12:28

wrong , you know . So

12:31

I mean there was some doubt and I was , I

12:34

was worried . I I made friends on the plane

12:36

on the way there and they said what are you doing ? And

12:38

I remember I was like

12:40

, uh , I don't know

12:42

, like you know , but I know I got to

12:44

go this direction . So anyway

12:47

, I don't know that that's kind of murky . I don't

12:49

know that makes sense .

12:50

but those were some of my feelings

12:52

and thoughts as I was heading out there that

12:54

first

13:00

time and

13:02

you know you're a man of faith and so sometimes

13:04

when we get that directive from

13:06

God , it's like man , we got to move

13:08

. I don't know what this is supposed to look like

13:10

, but I got to do something out

13:12

of this Right , right and clearly

13:14

in your story that that has

13:17

turned into all that we're seeing

13:19

today and I mean hindsight

13:21

is cool , huh , because it's so validating

13:24

and I'm like God

13:26

has been good , I got , I

13:28

found my wife and a brother and sister-in-law

13:31

and a career .

13:32

I mean that's

13:35

awesome .

13:36

But what about it for you made

13:39

you want to get that degree

13:42

and what was the degree in as well , when you went

13:44

to Notre Dame . Because a

13:46

lot of people may say to themselves , hey , you know what

13:48

I've done , I have

13:50

the connection I could . My in-laws

13:52

are the ones that are that are there to

13:55

work the program . I don't have to work

13:57

harder to try to prove

14:00

myself in a sense . But you said

14:02

, man , I'm going to go back to college , I'm going to get my

14:04

university degree , I'm going to get my master's degree , so

14:07

I'm even more prepared . What was that motivation

14:09

or that discipline that helped you to

14:11

really tie that in

14:13

so that you can be

14:15

the best executive director for

14:18

the program ?

14:19

Yeah , thank you . I am extremely

14:22

dyslexic and so it

14:24

was a big decision . I remember like , oh

14:27

, I don't know that I really want to go do more

14:29

tests in school . And

14:31

you're right , I think they would have hired me , Like

14:33

I was very willing and I wanted to help

14:35

, but I , I didn't feel

14:38

like competent , you know . I didn't

14:40

feel like I knew the nonprofit

14:42

world or strategy

14:45

or you know . I just thought there was a lot I could learn

14:47

and so that was my main

14:49

motivation was like I want to bring something

14:51

to the table , yeah , and

14:53

these guys are experts . So the master's

14:55

degree I got was was an executive

14:57

master's program in nonprofit

15:00

administration and

15:03

so I got to learn

15:05

from some pretty neat professors there

15:07

. And it was kind of cool

15:09

because I went in with this gonna make a

15:11

difference mindset and so every

15:13

project I did I was able to

15:15

do that's right , we're gonna make

15:17

a difference . And I kind of came out with a game plan

15:20

Like this is how I want to see the next

15:22

few years , and so it was helpful

15:24

.

15:24

What you did there , I think , is to a degree that you know

15:27

that level of genius , because so

15:29

many people they go on to university

15:31

, they go on to college , they go even

15:33

sometimes into their master's degree have no idea what they

15:35

really want to do . All right , they don't have that experience

15:38

, they don't have that feeling , they don't have that sense

15:40

of a true desire

15:43

in the field that they're working through . But you

15:45

were able to have that experience

15:48

, and getting

15:50

your master's degree was that

15:52

extra supplementation to

15:55

the work that you know you're going to do . So

15:57

again , like you said , all your perspective

15:59

was on GMAT

16:02

. How is this going to ? How can I make

16:04

this happen for GMAT ? And I

16:06

think that there's a lot of lessons that we can take from

16:09

that , especially if we have young

16:11

listeners that are in right now , know

16:13

why you're doing what you're doing , and

16:15

a lot of times that will help you to

16:18

propel your future and align

16:20

those with the visions and the mission

16:22

that you want to create , because I think what

16:24

you did right there it doesn't . You

16:26

never want to get to a place where you

16:28

lose that motivation , where you don't

16:31

know why you're doing what you're doing . That always

16:33

helps you to stay on track right .

16:36

Yeah , no , and what you kind of described

16:38

was my bachelor's degree . Right , I felt like

16:40

I didn't really have much and

16:43

it was okay and

16:48

I got you know , yeah , and there are benefits from that , but

16:50

for sure , my master's degree , that's definitely the way to go , if you guys , I

16:52

mean having this vision in mind . That was cool . I love

16:54

that .

16:55

Yeah , I'm glad he pointed

16:57

that out why don't you break

16:59

down what is it that gotta

17:01

make a difference is doing specifically ? We

17:04

know that they're working with the kids . We know that there's programs with

17:06

the kids . We know that there's programs that are being affiliated

17:09

in order for them to create a better

17:11

future for them . Right , we're pulling them

17:13

out of forced labor . There's

17:15

rescue missions and special needs and

17:18

, ultimately , as the

17:20

states talks about , the reintegration of the family

17:22

. What are the programs specifically

17:24

that is happening within GMAT and

17:27

how is it working to make sure that they're

17:29

having that better future for these kids

17:31

?

17:33

Yeah , so we

17:35

have learned that it's impossible

17:37

to look at a child and

17:40

their vulnerable situation without , like

17:42

seeing their family , like it's just impossible

17:45

because that's kind of how they got in a vulnerable spot

17:47

, and so it's been our experience

17:50

over there in almost every

17:52

case . Why is this child vulnerable

17:54

? Oh , it's because their

17:56

parents had like a medical

17:59

tragedy happen , you know

18:01

, like dad broke his arm . He's unable

18:03

to go to work . That's right , yeah , or

18:05

that's scenario one . Scenario

18:07

two is just this lack of education

18:10

, and so that

18:13

brings us to like our three focus areas

18:15

. We have our children's shelter , and

18:18

then we have medical care and then education

18:21

. Those are our three focus areas . So we have a school

18:23

on site , we have a medical clinic on site Like I just got home from

18:25

this on site . We have a medical clinic on site Like I just got home from this

18:27

medical mission . We do four of those a year

18:29

and our hope and I I

18:32

mean it's super effective is

18:34

that we keep kids and their families

18:37

. You know when , when someone has

18:39

a big hernia

18:41

or or a broken limb or something

18:43

we can repair , that we

18:46

bring over surgeons , we repair it and

18:49

then they can just keep going to work , you know , and life

18:51

goes on because we step

18:53

in . So our hope is that we're keeping

18:55

those families together and

18:57

same with our educational focus

19:00

area . But at the children's home

19:02

, you know , at any given time we

19:04

have 70 to 80 kids that we're

19:06

looking over , and

19:08

you can't have a children's home , a

19:11

children's shelter , without social workers

19:13

there , and so we hire three

19:16

full time social workers who , you

19:18

know , we , we , we have a few different partners

19:21

there within the country . Our number one partner

19:23

is just the department of Social Welfare

19:25

there in Ghana . We work closely with them and

19:28

our social workers gather information

19:30

off each kid and we

19:32

sometimes have to do investigative work

19:34

. And you know , I could go into this

19:36

, this could be a whole other podcast . But

19:39

basically we're finding their families and

19:42

a lot of times , culturally , if their

19:44

parents are deceased , like an aunt will

19:46

step to the plate and be like I'll take this

19:49

kid and we do follow

19:51

up visits and you know , and just make sure

19:53

they're secure . So we've , we've placed about

19:55

300 kids back in their

19:57

families . That's amazing and they're doing

20:00

good , you know , wow

20:02

.

20:04

I mean , when you look at that , you know that

20:06

there are impacts that are being made and

20:08

I love the fact that you work so

20:10

tirelessly with keeping

20:12

the family structure in some way shape or form and

20:15

trying to find a way to reconnect

20:18

or to make sure that the bridge is

20:20

always there . Was

20:25

it for you ? Cause you just came back ? You said just a couple of days ago so you

20:27

, you still a little jet lag . Uh , what ? What was it for you that

20:31

in this past time

20:33

may have been different or

20:35

may have impacted

20:38

you just a little bit differently

20:40

, comparatively to other

20:42

times that you've been to to Ghana

20:44

or you you've done the work that

20:46

was there ?

20:48

I love just sitting on the steps and

20:52

the progression is just

20:54

palpable , like you

20:56

can just feel it . I mean some

20:58

of the kids who are just new at the children's

21:01

shelter . This is their

21:03

first time where adults

21:05

around them all have their best interest in

21:07

mind , you know , and you can kind of see

21:09

the fear in their eyes . And

21:12

just in the one week , you know , or

21:14

10 days that I was there , a

21:16

couple of these new kids . There's a very

21:18

big difference from the day one when we

21:20

got there and and when we were

21:23

leaving for the airport

21:25

. They settle in and it's pretty

21:27

cool to watch because they

21:30

open up to the social workers we have

21:32

. And some of the kids that

21:34

have been there longer . It was fun

21:36

for me this time just to see what peacemakers

21:38

they were . I mean , in the large

21:40

part it's these kids who

21:42

are set in the tone of the children's

21:45

home , and I can't tell you how many . You

21:48

know , like kids are fighting over something

21:50

. Yeah , and these

21:52

older kids , I'm watching

21:54

them and I'm thinking

21:57

what's going to happen here ? Are they going to , like , assert their

21:59

dominance or something ? Or , you know

22:01

, take the toy that they're fighting over and

22:03

put it up on a high shelf . You

22:05

know I'm watching them , yeah , and

22:07

they are so kind , you know they

22:10

put their hand gently on one kid's shoulder

22:12

and they start talking and twee , and I don't

22:14

know . You know , and I'm just watching from a distance

22:16

and it just diffuses the whole situation

22:19

. The kids go off and play and , like

22:21

, I just probably saw that more

22:24

than a dozen times and I was busy and

22:27

so I think that was my main takeaway this

22:29

time . It's just it was fun to see kids

22:32

helping kids and

22:34

and I mean we have plenty

22:37

of adults and everything there and their staff

22:39

, but it was fun

22:41

to see the progression there .

22:43

You said , something that I really hit my heart

22:45

. You said that this

22:48

is the first time that they're in a room where

22:50

all the adults have

22:53

their best interest . And

22:56

I've been working with kids for

22:58

years , man over a decade , been

23:00

able to really pour

23:02

into youth and society , and I've

23:05

seen how an adult can

23:08

change the life of a child . I think

23:10

it was Josh Shipp that says it

23:13

takes one adult to change the trajectory of

23:15

a child's life . And

23:17

man to hear that it

23:20

gives me joy , but it also

23:22

pains us knowing that it

23:25

takes that much in order for them to

23:28

have that type of experience . But

23:31

then when you tell me now that you

23:33

see that empathetic side , for

23:35

instance , you see these children who are

23:37

older , who could have their dominance

23:39

, are still showing

23:43

that care , that guidance

23:46

, that empathy towards the little children

23:48

, where do you feel as though they

23:51

learned that ? Or where do you feel as though they

23:54

were able to grasp that concept

23:56

of empathy where in

23:59

most of their lives they haven't been able

24:01

to see that level of care

24:04

, dedication or empathy

24:06

towards them ?

24:08

So , as he mentioned in the intro

24:11

, most of these kids come from labor

24:14

trafficking , in the fishing industry in

24:16

particular . So most of them have

24:18

slave masters when they're

24:20

rescued . You know , I read

24:22

their files when they come in and you can

24:24

see like the scarring from the paddle

24:26

and , um , it's

24:29

pretty brutal , like I don't think I could really live

24:31

a day in their shoes . And then how

24:34

are they so kind ? I mean , that's , that's

24:37

a good question . I think a lot of it comes down

24:39

to just the staff that we have

24:41

at Ghana make a difference and , and

24:44

you know my

24:46

in-laws as they started it , they set some rules in place . So , for instance , one example

24:49

in Ghana um , you

24:51

go to pretty much any any

24:53

school and caning

24:55

is a disciplinary measure . You know , and

24:58

it's very common in Ghana , kind

25:00

of probably like America was a

25:02

hundred years ago . You know you , you're late

25:04

, you get caned , you're not wearing the

25:07

dress code , you get caned whatever . Well

25:10

, they said right out of the gates this

25:12

will be a no caning zone . We're not going to discipline

25:14

that way . You know , we're just going to sit

25:16

with the child and help them out and help them work

25:18

through these big feelings they're having , and

25:21

that's made a big , huge difference because

25:23

there's there's no fear within

25:26

the walls of going to make a difference . Kids

25:29

are all of a sudden being fed all the meals

25:31

they need , they're being watched after

25:34

, they can even play after school

25:36

and go to school . All these things are like

25:38

first-time things for them and

25:40

I think they just ease right into that and

25:43

kindness is just natural when

25:45

that's . All they're being shown

25:47

is kindness , you know . So I think

25:49

that's a there's a few factors to that

25:51

answer , but I think a lot of it's just

25:53

the environment that we've created there going to

25:55

make a difference .

25:58

I love that man and for me

26:00

, when I hear that that

26:02

really is a testament to

26:04

the work that is being done

26:06

, I've got to make the difference . And

26:09

I'll say this because I do believe

26:11

that , when it comes to how

26:14

individuals are within

26:16

the workforce right , right

26:24

Staff they get their , their directive from the higher ups . You know they get their directives

26:26

from leaders , from the founders , and

26:28

, and so , ultimately , to

26:30

know that From top

26:33

to bottom and I know we're not looking

26:35

at it in that sense of you know , certain people are

26:37

certain levels , but , at the end of the day

26:39

, when you have leadership , it's important for us to

26:41

show that leadership properly , and

26:43

so individuals can follow through

26:46

with proper leadership . And so it shows

26:48

that the leadership at GMAT is

26:50

proper . They're taking the initiatives

26:52

, they're making things work in order for

26:55

programming , for these kids

26:57

to feel amazing

26:59

, to feel wanted , to feel

27:02

safe . I think that was the key

27:04

takeaway that you said . A lot of these kids feel

27:06

safe coming into this , and so

27:08

there's so much , as

27:10

you said , that could be taken from this man

27:12

. But just the more I hear about

27:14

what you're doing , the more I'm just enthralled

27:17

by the work . I

27:20

need to find a way to get out there , man

27:22

.

27:22

I'll invite you the next time I go . Yeah , I'll

27:24

send an invite your way .

27:27

Man , please , seriously , man , Seriously

27:29

, because I think I told you this from before

27:31

, but I think that's one of the things that I want to do

27:34

with Madcasters is

27:36

have an opportunity to also

27:38

travel and see the difference

27:40

that is being made in the lives of

27:42

people through the organizations

27:45

that I bring on to the podcast

27:47

. And so , man , yeah , please

27:49

let me know , I'll make a

27:52

way , I'll figure something out so that we can make this

27:54

happen . Man .

27:55

If I could share just another story or two

27:57

. So I shared what was

27:59

real but it was

28:01

kind of a sad thing . You know , with the paddles

28:03

and you can see the scars visually

28:06

on these kids that come in and you know that they've

28:08

been abused . Well , there's been a few

28:10

really cool stories that

28:12

have come out of . These kids have very unique skill

28:14

set in the fishing industry

28:17

. Well , a lot

28:19

of them had water trauma . And our

28:21

head social worker , his name's Solomon , he

28:24

just kind of got thinking I'm going to find a

28:26

swimming pool , which aren't common

28:28

in Ghana . They're not very common but

28:30

anyway , he finds this private

28:32

school that's only like five miles away

28:34

and he works out a deal

28:37

with them and says can I just bring these kids by to

28:39

just have fun in your pool , just

28:41

swim , see what happens . He

28:43

brings these kids by wondering how

28:45

they're going to react . You know if

28:47

it's going to be , if they're going to act scared or whatever

28:50

, and they just have a blast . And

28:52

this school has a water polo

28:54

program . So some

28:56

of these kids have now been playing

28:58

water polo and they

29:00

just kick butt . You know they like they're

29:04

going to these tournaments and they're doing well

29:06

and like just years ago they were . They

29:08

were slaves . And then

29:10

I got to go on a little tour

29:12

of some of the improvements at the home , cause

29:15

I hadn't been there , you know , in several

29:17

months , and we got these new fish

29:19

ponds that we've built down at

29:21

the bottom . We have tilapia and catfish

29:23

in there and we eat some of it and

29:26

you know the kids eat it . Cooks

29:28

prepare it , just to be clear . But

29:31

I say , how did you get the fish

29:33

? How did you get the fish ? You know , did

29:35

you buy it ? And their

29:37

face just lit up and they're like we caught

29:39

it . And I'm like what do you mean ? You caught it ? My

29:42

their face just lit up and they're like we caught it . And I'm like what do you mean ? You caught it

29:44

? Hey , my director pulls out his phone and he just starts flipping through

29:46

these pictures and they had

29:48

found an old mosquito net

29:50

and they went down and he said

29:52

you know I'm talking to the director . And he said Austin

29:55

, you should have seen it , these guys were

29:57

amazing and I guess they were just grabbing fish

29:59

with their hands and tricking the fish into

30:01

the net . And I guess they were just grabbing fish with their hands and tricking the fish into

30:03

the net and he's like we just caught it . And the kids are telling

30:05

me and you know , like fish stories

30:07

, you're like holding up the hands on how big the fish

30:09

were . Here are these kids who are like former

30:12

slaves like Austin

30:14

. The fish is this big . I caught it with my hand

30:16

and I mean it was just like pure

30:19

joy to see here's this

30:21

evidence of their really rough past

30:23

. And now I'm looking at them and

30:26

their future is just bright

30:28

. I mean it's blinding . You're looking at these

30:30

kids smiling and they're getting this education

30:33

and they're safe and they're just , they're

30:35

thriving and it's just cool , like it just sent

30:37

right . Even right now , talking about it , it just

30:39

sends like shivers up my spine , like goosebumps

30:42

, because it's just cool

30:44

, like any kid you

30:47

know can do anything if , if you put the

30:49

right opportunities in front of them . And

30:51

that's all it is . It's not even like

30:53

this huge opportunity . So it's like here's a pool

30:55

who lost that right ? Here's a pond with

30:57

some fish in it . Yeah , just just

30:59

a little pond Wow

31:02

man and I could go

31:04

on and on . They learn on tablets

31:06

and laptops . Now it's very unique

31:08

for rural Ghana and these kids just

31:10

take to it and after a couple months

31:12

of this curriculum , they're sending

31:14

Bluetooth messages to each other in

31:17

English in rural Ghana . I

31:19

mean the kids are amazing , they

31:21

impress me , they're some of my heroes . I mean the kids are amazing , they impress me , they're some of my heroes

31:23

.

31:24

I love that man Is the program

31:27

primarily in English as well

31:29

.

31:30

Yeah , it's the national language . No

31:34

, but you're right , these kids don't

31:36

know English when they're rescued , but

31:38

that's the common language . So it usually

31:40

takes them about six months or so , but

31:43

that's the common language among everyone

31:45

that want to make a difference is English . That

31:48

makes sense , that works . Yeah , that works

31:50

.

31:51

I don't know . Just

31:54

listening to your story , listening

31:56

to what is being done

31:58

, I just my heart is full . I'll say that my

32:00

heart is full . I'll say that my heart is full

32:02

and I want to see the

32:04

continuation of Gonna

32:07

Make a Difference . How can people come

32:09

in and volunteer to

32:12

help , to donate ? What can they do

32:14

? We just want to make sure that's clear , for those

32:17

who are yeah , no good question .

32:18

So our website's gonna make a differenceorg

32:21

Gonna , like the country G-H-A-N-A

32:23

, and we do four different medical

32:26

missions a year One's dental

32:28

, one's eye , and two of them are surgical

32:30

. And then we invite families

32:33

and individuals to volunteer their year round

32:35

and just help . There's

32:37

plenty to do a lot of tutoring . When

32:39

people ask and say , oh , I'm not

32:41

really the type to like go to Africa

32:43

and help , I said that's okay

32:45

. Almost half of everything

32:48

we do in Ghana at Ghana Make a Difference

32:50

is funded by what

32:52

we call navigators . A monthly

32:54

donor , Like the average monthly

32:56

donor for us , is giving between 10

32:59

and $20 a month and we're able to do

33:01

just a ton with it over there and

33:03

we have a 100% giving model . So

33:05

whether someone donates a dollar or a

33:07

thousand , it's all

33:10

going to Ghana make a difference over in Ghana

33:12

. So I say sign up to be a monthly

33:14

donor , donate $10 , just let's

33:17

do it together .

33:18

Yeah , I'm going to be a monthly donor . I'm

33:20

definitely going to make that happen myself now

33:23

, no question about that . And if

33:25

anyone's listening , please make

33:27

sure you become a monthly donor , start

33:30

listening out and helping out to what's

33:32

happening and got to make a difference

33:34

. Well , austin

33:36

, again , as I

33:38

mentioned , this has been , to

33:40

be honest , this is probably one of my just one of

33:42

my favorite interactions that I've had with

33:45

a guest and just being able

33:47

to really get to understand

33:49

what's going on with GMAD and understand

33:51

your heart behind it and finding

33:54

a way to just connect so we can

33:56

continue to make a difference . A

34:03

difference because I think and maybe it's because of my

34:05

bias , but I love things that deal with youth work and helping children to have

34:07

better futures , so that's probably why

34:09

, a lot of it , I was just like man . I

34:11

love every bit of what you're all

34:14

doing , but thank you so much for

34:16

not even just for coming

34:18

on to the podcast , but thank you so much for listening

34:20

to the voice of God and doing what is

34:22

important in the world and

34:24

making those risks , taking

34:27

those chances when you were at a young

34:29

age and having the courage to

34:31

to step out and do the work

34:33

that needs to be done you , your family

34:36

and all those who are involved with this

34:38

. So thank you all so much

34:40

for the work that is being done to

34:43

make a difference through kind of make a difference

34:45

.

34:45

Oh geez . Thanks , Brian . I just

34:48

again thank you for having

34:50

me on . I've just been delighted

34:53

being here being your guest , so I

34:55

want to thank you for that . This

34:57

has been a cool podcast

34:59

listening to your episodes

35:01

and seeing what you're doing , just

35:03

putting the spotlight on the

35:06

good things that are happening in this world . So

35:08

thank you .

35:09

Glad I'm able to spotlight people like you , man . So

35:11

thank you again , Austin . I appreciate it . I'm

35:14

looking forward to continued

35:16

ventures .

35:17

Yeah , hey , you're welcome . I

35:19

hope our paths cross soon , 100%

35:24

, 100% . Have a good day . Yeah , thank you're welcome . I hope our paths cross soon , 100% , 100% . Have a good day . Thank you , brian

35:26

, see you .

35:29

Thank you for joining us on today's episode of

35:31

BSL Speaks Podcast . Your

35:33

dedication to this journey is greatly appreciated

35:36

and I invite you to continue this journey

35:38

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35:40

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35:58

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36:00

inspired , stay empowered

36:03

and keep engineering impact

36:05

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36:07

next time .