I came outside my apartment to go for a run and found a little girl waiting for me. Her bike was rusty and small, but she steadfastly pedaled beside me on the the hot Malaysian road. This soon became routine. I spent a year teaching in Malaysia [15] and each day Athirah biked behind me on my daily run. As she cycled, she quizzed me on random words like “goat” and “coconut tree," and my Bahasa skills slowly grew. While most of my students were reluctant to speak in English, Athirah bravely struggled to communicate in a foreign language. I was often lonely in her conservative Muslim village, but could count on her to look beyond my uncovered head and American ways and treat me as a normal human being. I was twenty-three and she was ten, but our friendship grew deep and fast.
A few weeks ago I was back in southeast Asia and spent a day with Athirah. She is now twelve and I now work at IREX on programs that bring international teachers to the United States [16]. As I sat in her one-room house on the edge of the South China Sea, her step-mother urged me to take Athirah back to the United States. Upon considering this request, I realized that many exchange programs are probably out of Athirah’s reach. The English classes at her village school will likely not equip her with the fluency to stay afloat in an American school. Her father drowned several years ago so she cannot afford private tutoring. She is bright and quick-witted, but her intelligence is not adequately captured by standardized tests. Because her latest test scores were mediocre, she won’t gain entry to a good secondary school and a university degree is that much more unattainable. Athirah has never been outside her state, never visited the capital city, never set foot inside an airport. She doesn’t have internet access or a computer. Yet, she is one of the most open-minded and brave people I’ll ever meet. She could be invaluable to increasing mutual understanding across cultures.
I’ve encountered so many amazing people while working on exchange programs: individuals who have propelled themselves out of difficult circumstances to attain opportunities. But when you encounter kids like Athirah, it makes you consider anew how many obstacles exist and how many deserving people fall through the cracks. I’m proud of the work we do at IREX: we strive to make application materials accessible to those without reliable internet access; to use text messaging when email isn’t feasible; to thoughtfully consider the stories and dreams we read about in application essays. But the need to find more ways to reach deserving people who need these opportunities never wanes. Every time I go out on a run and miss the little red bicycle trailing behind me, I'm reminded of this responsibility.