Together We Can Make a Difference

By Carlton Hickman
CTO & Co-Founder, CPX Interactive

As the role of technology in our lives increases with every day, we must not lose sight of the problems facing the world. Instead, we should use the Internet as a tool to confront these issues as a global community. Recently, I had the pleasure of attending an event that focused on women’s health and education issues in Africa. The event was sponsored by US Doctors for Africa, led by a good friend of mine, Ted Alemayhu, who is the organization’s founder and executive chairman. The Leadership for Health Summit brought together First Ladies from fifteen African nations to share firsthand accounts of the problems they are facing. The summit was also a forum where the First Ladies and the heads of corporations who do business in Africa discussed ways they could work together to make change.

The end of the summit was marked by a gala that brought in some of Hollywood’s biggest names in support of the African nations. Celebrities including Sarah Brown, Chris Tucker, Kevin Liles, Billy Zane, Kristin Davis, Jessica Alba, Naomi Campbell, Paris Hilton, and Rosario Dawson, made their way down the red carpet into the event. Attendees enjoyed a concert by Natalie Cole, as well as the inspirational words of renowned surgeon, Keith Black. Dr. Black spoke about the inexpensive medication that could lower the child death toll from malaria by 30%, and the HIV medication that is becoming more affordable and accessible in the US, but not in Africa.

At first, it may seem that many of our world’s problems are insurmountable, but if we work together as a global community, we have a much greater chance of making a difference. This event opened my eyes and motivated me to find out what I can do to help increase the quality of life around the globe.