Jim Ziolkowski signing Walk in Their Shoes at FPM

Jim Ziolkowski left his fast-track corporate career with General Electric and became the founder, president, and CEO of the nonprofit buildOn. The organization’s mission is to break the cycle of poverty, illiteracy, and low expectations through service and education via youth-oriented after-school programs in U.S. high schools, and the building of schools in developing countries. Ziolkowski is also the best-selling author of Walk in Their Shoes (S. & S., 2013) and recently visited the students and faculty at Floral Park Memorial (FPM) High School in Floral Park, New York. FPM has an active buildOn chapter under the leadership of social studies teacher Christina Blanc. The members are preparing to make their third trek for knowledge with buildOn in February 2015 to build another school in Nicaragua. High school librarian Donna Rosenblum, who accompanied Blanc on the first trek to Nicaragua in 2012, arranged for Ziolkowski’s presentation at FPM and had a chance to ask him a few questions. What was your motivation to leave a corporate job and dedicate your life to buildOn? In 1989, I was backpacking around the world and witnessed firsthand the severe and widespread poverty people live with every day. While in Nepal, I came upon a village that was celebrating the opening of their first school and was overwhelmed by the immense pride and joy these villagers expressed—the value they placed on education. It was like nothing I had ever experienced and it was a true revelation. These moments and memories stayed with me and when I returned to the United States and was working at GE, I could not forget what I had seen and experienced. It was then that I knew I had a different calling in life. Where was your first school built? The first school was built in Misomali, a village in Malawi, Africa in 1992. It was a physically difficult trip since this village had such limited resources and suffered from HIV and AIDS as well as malaria. I actually got very sick while I was there and almost died. My brother was able to bring me to the only hospital in the area and I was fortunate to get medical treatment. I realized that when the people of Malawi contracted malaria or other illnesses they are not so blessed. Most will die. This renewed my determination to finish this school as it was the only way to significantly improve the lives of the villagers.

Completed buildOn school in Malawi

I recently returned to Misomali and was shocked and overjoyed to see that there are now five schools in the village. When I left in 1992, 150 children were attending the school built by buildOn; now there are over 1,000 children attending all five schools and half are girls. Steven Tenthani was a close friend and a committed volunteer at the work site every day. His daughter Ruthie was only a few weeks old when the school was completed. She not only attended the schools of Misomali but went on to university and is now a teacher. Why did it take you 20 years to return to Misomali? The experience was a difficult one on many levels—physically, psychologically, and emotionally. When I came back from Malawi, buildOn expanded quickly and I was involved in so many aspects of the organization that it never seemed to be the right time. Maybe part of me was afraid to go back but I realized I needed to come full circle. So I returned and feel blessed that I did so. Why is buildOn involved with inner city youth and afterschool programs? I realized that we have extreme poverty here in the U.S. as well—a different kind of poverty, but poverty nonetheless. I moved to a drug trafficking neighborhood in Harlem, New York and learned a great deal. The most important lesson was that urban youth don’t necessarily want to escape their surroundings; they want to transform them. Everyone wants the power and ability to change their life for the better and that is what buildOn tries to do—give people the tools to take charge of their lives. What was it like to meet such people as Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama? Meeting Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama were pivotal and spiritually gratifying moments in my life. They each shared words of wisdom that have guided me and allowed me to forge ahead as the leader of buildOn. The poem “Never Give Up” by the Dalai Lama is a plea for compassion and resilience and its ideas validate so much of my own life. The mantra “never give up” has been with me all along and is essential for anyone who wants to make a difference in the world. Why is “We’re not a charity—we’re a movement” a favorite saying of yours? Based on the statistics I quoted during the presentation (sidebar), it is clear that buildOn is not a charity or a relief agency. The word I use is ignition—to start a fire. That is what buildOn represents. From the South Bronx to sub-Saharan Africa, children are subjected to abject conditions, but through it all they possess hope. That is all the fuel we need. I know that we can’t inspire every kid, but if we provide alternatives—namely the opportunity to change the world through service and education—we can help many teenagers regain control over their lives.

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For more information about buildOn and founder Jim Ziolkowski go to www.buildOn.org

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