Let me tell you about one of my favorite organizations, africActive, which has cared for me like a true family would.
April 2023
What is africActive?
AfricActive is a nonprofit that has provided free groceries to the local community. Guests may drive or walk up and are given a generous mix of products from every grocery store aisle. Beyond food, seasonal resources, such as diapers and menstrual products, support the family’s complete well-being. Thrinicko Beaboa, the founder of the africActive, leads these efforts.
October 2024
How did I find africActive?
I remember the first time I met Thrinicko, or Nicko for short. It was a hot Saturday during my first semester in Los Angeles. As a volunteer, you had every reason to frown. We had 30 minutes to set up chairs and tents and unload and organize hundreds of pounds of food. A line of cars had already formed and extended beyond where you could see on the lot. Yet, Nicko had the biggest smile. He greeted all the volunteers by name and grounded us in the mission of africActive before starting our work. Throughout the resource distribution, he danced around the lot to music while shouting greetings and encouragement into the mic to our guests. His cheery voice echoed throughout the entire park; if you could not see us, you probably would’ve thought a party was happening. Nicko was doing what he always does, sharing joy and seemingly having an endless supply. One of the africActive slogans is
“it is a giving culture,”
and Nicko lives by that day in and day out.
September 2021
For the last four years, the resource donation has occurred every Saturday without fail and continues to grow in capacity. When I started working with this organization, we were unloading the food out of Nicko’s personal SUV; now, the organization has purchased a climate-controlled truck to maximize the amount and types of food they could provide. This work would not be possible without co-founder Virginia Beaboa and a team of committed volunteers who support this effort as a labor of love; most manage other jobs daily to make a living.
October 2024
Why do I care?
Engineering a better world may start in the classroom, but it continues beyond those four walls. You must go out in the world to see what society needs. In the United States, 1 in five children faces hunger [1]. Yet, 40% of the United States food supply goes to waste. AfricActive noticed a need and was able to curate a sustainable solution to meet that need; however, progress still needs to be made.
How can we use technology to optimize the resource distribution experience further? What measurable factors contribute to hunger levels in a community? How can we use artificial intelligence to predict the needs and types of foods for the food? How can we design sophisticated, replicable systems that salvage and divert food waste to those in need?
I do not have the answers to these questions right now, but I hope to someday.
How can you support us?
Learn More about africActive here!
