Thomas Stallings, a 2016 School of Accountancy graduate, serves underprivileged children in a small village in Zambia. He teaches business studies to ninth-graders and works as controller for Lifesong, a mission-oriented organization. The Montgomery native passed up a job offer at a Birmingham accounting firm for the opportunity to serve others.
“To care for orphans and widows in their affliction (James 1:27) is something that weighs heavily on us and is something that we feel called to do,” says Stallings, who is joined in Africa by his wife, Kathryn.
But Stallings isn’t the only member of the Harbert College School of Accountancy family to help those in need. Fifty-nine Master of Accountancy students spent a week last December in Santiago, Chile, where they spent time with schoolchildren and upgraded a playground, and also raised $8,900 for air conditioners to be installed at a school.
“Reaching out and contributing even the smallest amount of time or resources can have a big impact on someone’s life,” says MAcc student Erika Goodwin, from Aiken, South Carolina. “No matter who you are, or what you’ve experienced in life, participating in projects like these creates a new and different perspective that serves as a unique learning opportunity.”
Stallings considers his mission work in Africa rewarding and taxing.
“It is rewarding because it is exciting to see real change in children’s lives as they learn to read or graduate from high school as well as knowing that what we do is breaking the poverty cycle by teaching real skills and offering hundreds of jobs,” he says. “It is taxing because these are real people with real suffering. You have to operate knowing that every decision you make has a direct impact on a family already living in poverty.”
Stallings says that many villagers live in modest dirt or brick houses built very close to one another. “The unemployment rate is 80 percent and those who do have jobs must support sometimes as many as 15 family members.” The result: poor
“To care for orphans and widows in their affliction (James 1:27) is something that weighs heavily on us and is something that we feel called to do,” says Stallings, who is joined in Africa by his wife, Kathryn.
But Stallings isn’t the only member of the Harbert College School of Accountancy family to help those in need. Fifty-nine Master of Accountancy students spent a week last December in Santiago, Chile, where they spent time with schoolchildren and upgraded a playground, and also raised $8,900 for air conditioners to be installed at a school.
“Reaching out and contributing even the smallest amount of time or resources can have a big impact on someone’s life,” says MAcc student Erika Goodwin, from Aiken, South Carolina. “No matter who you are, or what you’ve experienced in life, participating in projects like these creates a new and different perspective that serves as a unique learning opportunity.”
Stallings considers his mission work in Africa rewarding and taxing.
“It is rewarding because it is exciting to see real change in children’s lives as they learn to read or graduate from high school as well as knowing that what we do is breaking the poverty cycle by teaching real skills and offering hundreds of jobs,” he says. “It is taxing because these are real people with real suffering. You have to operate knowing that every decision you make has a direct impact on a family already living in poverty.”
Stallings says that many villagers live in modest dirt or brick houses built very close to one another. “The unemployment rate is 80 percent and those who do have jobs must support sometimes as many as 15 family members.” The result: poor health conditions and, often, illiteracy. But Stallings is hoping to change that.
“Our program provides opportunities to help the people here,” he says. “We provide them with two meals a day, a free Christian education and full medical care.”
Children at the Liceo Violeta Parra School near Santiago, Chile, had a home to learn in. However, they did so in stifling heat. That’s why Harbert’s MAcc students raised thousands to provide air conditioning to classrooms.
“It will make a huge difference toward their learning environment,” says Kerri Inger, assistant professor, one of five School of Accountancy faculty members to make the trip. “When it’s sweltering hot, students can’t concentrate. Students can’t pay attention when they are trying to learn in a sauna.”
Inger relished watching MAcc students interact with children who had not received attention from a first-world country. “Watching them will melt your heart,” says Inger.
“We wanted to make a good impression for not just Auburn, but for America, too,” Inger says. “A lot of these children had never had exposure to Americans. This trip was a good cap on a five-year Auburn experience. Helping others is important, and that’s a great takeaway from the Auburn education. It’s part of the Auburn Creed.”