about us

the story behind belong

A word from our Co-Founder:

I may not have met you in person, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be friends! My name’s Emma, and I’m 20 years old. I live close to Seattle, Washington, but I’m attending university near Portland, Oregon.

At Belong International, we hope to connect teens and young adults to youth near and far, so we can show and grow love for and understanding of each other. When I was 7 years old, my teacher often talked about the time she had spent in Kenya. Her love for the people she met while there, sparked my interest in learning about other cultures. Ever since then, I have always wanted to meet others living in different countries. When I was 14 years old, I was presented with an opportunity to visit South Africa and Namibia to form and grow relationships with other youth. While visiting  southern Africa in May and June of 2015, my perspective was broadened and I realized that while the cultures of the United States and Namibia are different, youth in Namibia actually have many similarities with youth in the United States.

In Namibia, we met many different people, but I grew closest to our leader’s daughter and her friend, who were close to my age. As we spent time together, we discovered that even though we live on opposite sides of the world, we could personally relate to much of what we each shared. Although coming from different cultures and speaking different languages, we connected  through our similarities, as well as a curiosity to learn about how our experiences were also unique.

Our hope is for other youth around my age to have the chance to learn about others and to connect together all around the world. We desire to learn more about what it is like to walk in each other’s shoes, discovering both the differences and the similarities we experience. Whether we live 10,000 miles away, or just down the street, we are all of equal value as human beings, no matter what we look like, how we live, or what we believe.

This is my story; it is fueled by my faith in God and my desire to foster compassion, understanding, justice and peace throughout the world.

-Emma, Co-Founder