How iStoodAbove

Sangu Delle – iStandAbove Pioneer

In 2008, two Harvard undergraduates and I, Sangu Delle, co-founded “Project Access to Clean Water for Agyementi” (Project ACWA). A village in southern Ghana, Agyementi had the desperate need for clean water and a population sizable enough for the project to have a real impact on the lives of the people. With the assistance of local engineers and the members of the Agyementi community, the project entailed the installation of a borehole fitted with a hand- pump to tap into safe, underground water. Under the project community health seminars for both adults and children were conducted, which focused on hygiene at the individual, household and community-wide levels.

With the supply of clean water, mental as well as physical health improved, along with school attendance. In addition, the self-esteem of individuals and entire communities was dramatically improved. Economic opportunities for women increased, as did the chance for girls to take part in formal education. The narratives of the members of Agyementi spoke volumes. Project ACWA also revealed that communities like Agyementi, more so than anything want to be empowered to tackle their own problems, not just be passive recipients of aid.

Under the auspices of the African Development Initiative, a 501c3 organization founded by the members of the Project ACWA team, we are now working with three communities in Northern Ghana, St. Lucia and Ethiopia on economic development initiatives that seek to empower these communities to tackle their own development problems. All these projects employ the themes of grassroots community participation, collaboration among the various actors of development, and an innovative research-driven methodology in determining the most effective interventions.

In an interview earlier in the year, I was asked to give three pieces of advice to the youth, and I discussed the importance of hard work, the power of dreams, and the centrality of giving back. In retrospect, while all those are important, I think the super most important singular focus should be spiritual growth and strengthening of your faith. Without question, my faith is what has given me the strength to overcome all adversity and to accomplish my many goals in life. Thus, my single greatest advice to young people can be encapsulated in the words of Matthew: “Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.” Read More

Cody Romness – iStandAbove Pioneer

“Never forget who you are and where you’ve been. Because that person and those experiences are what you count on when it matters the most.” -Story of a Football Walk On

I played football. It was my life, and then I quit. I quit on the sacrifices. I quit on the dedication. I quit on the time commitments. I quit because I was going to college for academics. Little did I know that me leaving football then finding it again my sophomore year in college would serve as the best educational lesson I’ve learned thus far in my life: I will NEVER quit on believing in myself.

I can do whatever I set out to do and I swear by that now. It’s a passion to prove myself wrong. A burning to show the world that I can. That I truly Stand Above. I thought I couldn’t do it, so I went out and tried. I did everything in my power to prepare me for that moment so that if it weren’t meant to be then I knew it for certain.

Flash forward and I am fortunate enough to be practicing with the best football program in the nation. I am a walk on, the lowest on the totem pole. I am not supposed to succeed and I am not supposed to make plays. Well, at least that’s what I think people keep telling me. But I can’t really hear them. I’m too focused on making plays.

Benjamin Brown – iStandAbove Pioneer

It’s hard to be the fat kid in school.

People always told me I was one of the ‘bigger kids,’ and I came to realize that phrase was far from a good thing.  Sure I was quick on my feet, but what did that mean when I had a gut instead of friends.  The local McDonald’s manager knew me by my first name.  

That was me at age 11.  I needed to change, and I was the only one that could make it happen.

I have always loved to run.  Playing soccer for twelve years, I was the sweeper who beat the forwards to the ball, taking out their legs in the process.  I was a baseball player for nine years; that leadoff hitter everyone hated…you know, that kid who’d hit a grounder to shortstop and beat out the throw to first, steal second, steal third, and bolt home once the next guy made contact.  I knew I was fast, and the more I realized my love for running, the more I realized my love for exercise.  I kept running, kept working to make myself a new identity...  Read More

Nana Yaa Bartels – iStandAbove Pioneer

"After I met the Pioneers of iStandAbove and got exposed to the reasoning and lifestyle behind it, i started to ask myself, What have I done to merit such prestige. How can I become a person who stand above all adversities and stumbling blocks while attaining great achievements. With the help of a great mentor, I started challenging myself in everything that I did. I begun working 200% more than I used to and i realized, it all started paying off. I stood out among my peers in school and at work, I started to encounter so many awards and attention from prestigious people I would have only dream to meet. In a nutshell, I learned how to stand above.

iStandAbove because I feel I have something great in me that I can share with the rest of the world. iStandAbove because I want to help my fellow people realize their full potential......

Come Stand Above with me." – Nana Yaa Bartels