When the internet is used for good, people can create amazing resources to help each other.
This is the story of the digital humanitarians who created a movement called e-NABLE which is being presented through a beautiful video from Learn Liberty. It tells the story of our growing e-NABLE Community and how the world is coming together to create positive change for others.
Through the video you will hear from a father who helped design and create a device for his son, a recipient who created a hand with his father who now considers himself a cyborg, wonderful scout leaders who have been impacted by this project and who are now changing the lives of hundreds around the world and the founder of the e-NABLE Google+ Community.
Below are some of my favorite quotes from this beautiful video:
“I see myself as a cyborg. I started thinking of myself as a cyborg when I started wearing my mechanical hand there. Having that human-machine hybrid..at least when I think of a cyborg, I imagine someone who spends a large part of their time – dedicated to upgrading and repairing themselves.
The more I get into this “Cyborg thing” – the more I see technology as a way to achieve our “Best self.” It’s not about becoming some kind of universal ideal here, its about becoming your own ideal, what you feel you should be.” – Peregrine Hawthorn, e-NABLE device user and designer.
“STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) has always been a field that I have found to be a lot of fun. It’s where I’ve felt that I work best. This project has been a joy to work on. It was a whole new way to look at the world. This is a way that you can make a difference in people’s lives.” – Sarah Esquela, age 16, Venture Scout.
“In the local community, we’re able to work with kids, up to like150 at a time at our huge workshops and e-NABLE has shown me that there is an opportunity for me, you know, as a kid. The fact that I’m able to lead others to better themselves and better others is kind of a huge part of my life, and it means a lot.
It’s a huge team effort, but I think it’s awesome – and it goes to show that kids, teenagers like me – anywhere really – if given the right resources and people, can accomplish great things.” – Connor Brock, age 17, Venture Scout.
“A lot of people want to learn what we have done and work with us, and together we are creating not only more devices, but more designs that will help these kids and transform the adults that’s transformed these kids who went from some of them wondering if they mattered at all …to planning to be engineers…and looking forward to a future where they made a difference.
And the kids that thought they weren’t going to be able to use a limb, are teaching us how to be better designers because we are listening to them as clients and it has transformed what we thought these devices were for…it’s really a form of self expression and its a really powerful message of hope.
It’s been a change in thinking, so it’s not really been about the hands…it’s been about changing the way we think people should help each other and how this could happen.” – Maria Esquela – Scout Leader and e-NABLE Volunteer.
This is who we are.
We are “Enabling The Future.”