Hey Empacters! If you're looking to add to your to-watch list, check out the 2024 film Paper Flowers.
It follows the true story of a USC graduate named Shalin Shah who had just left behind his loving family and girlfriend to pursue his dream of becoming a Peace Corps Volunteer in Peru when tragedy struck. A doctor's visit for a raging cough soon become a diagnosis of Stage IV synovial sarcoma, a rare and aggressive cancer.
So what exactly is the Peace Corps and what do they do? The Peace Corps is an incredible government agency in the United States that sends volunteers to live and work overseas in more than 60 countries worldwide. Skilled Peace Corps Volunteers provide the people of these countries with assistance in a variety of areas, ranging from Education to Healthcare, to Agriculture, with the added goal of fostering connections between cultures.
Surprisingly, the Peace Corps was created after an impromptu speech given by John F. Kennedy. While making a speech at the University of Michigan, JFK decided to challenge students to serve their country by living and working in a developing country. He later transformed this idea into the US Peace Corps.
Shalin Shah, the amazing human behind "Paper Flowers,” was training in Peru as a Community Economic Volunteer, where he would have been working to improve their drinking water—a project that is still being worked on to this day.
Unfortunately, Shalin was unable to complete his volunteer time, as he was forced to return to the United States, only to receive his terminal diagnosis. It would be completely expected for Shalin to be depressed about having only 6-9 months to live, but that was not Shalin's attitude. He felt that cancer helped him find meaning, and allowed him to appreciate the things in his life that were truly important.
Shalin Shah left this world peacefully at 22 years old after a long battle, but the legacy and inspiration he left behind will never die. Shalin left a message of love, hope, and courage that is beneficial to anyone who hears it. Hopefully, learning more about Shalin's story and his message through the movie Paper Flowers will inspire you as well.
While the actions of the Peace Corps are incredibly meaningful, they are lacking in diversity amongst volunteers, as 71% of Peace Corps volunteers are white, according to the Peace Corps' 2023 Volunteer Survey. In fact, Shalin Shah was part of the 7% of Peace Corps Volunteers representing the AAPI community, a remarkably small number.
To ensure Shalin's legacy lives on, Shalin's family created a nonprofit in his honor, the Shalin Happiness Foundation. The Shalin Happiness Foundation encourages the spread of Shalin's joy and positivity through a variety of projects, including the establishment of a school in Hirapur, India, and continuing efforts to improve water in Peruvian communities. While the Shalin Happiness Foundation has done meaningful work and is worth supporting, it has been less active in recent years.
If interested in aiding Shalin's legacy and the AAPI community, consider supporting the nonprofit 18 Million Rising. 18 Million Rising is an amazing nonprofit that uses the internet, cultural work, and movement-building to grow Asian-American political power by educating, mobilizing, and organizing Asian Americans towards taking collective action both online and offline.
Empact has a whole database of related nonprofits, so check them out!
Thanks for reading.
Written with the help of Empact’s amazing intern, Emma Laskey.