I'll be honest with you...I may not fully understand why I chose to teach high school kids how to use social media and all but I do understand the value of it.

I work with High school students between the ages of 14 and 18 and the one thing about them that provides a common ground is their ideas and their dreams! Most of these students come from the rural parts of Kenya and probably don't have as much of a chance at life as their colleagues in urban cities...but they still cherish their dreams and ambitions and keep hoping that one day they will live to see their dreams come to fruition.

Every time I talk to these kids they all seem to jump at any opportunity they recognize to advance their causes and ambitions. They recognize that they have the potential to make a change, not only for themselves, but for their family and for those around them...So when they learn about social media and the opportunity it accords them, their faces light up with a glow and a wide smile spreads across their faces...

...and that's what makes it worth the effort: the smiles on their faces!

As digital natives with causes we are obviously burdened by things like bandwidth costs (or bandwidth availability and speeds for that matter), needs assessment, monitoring and evaluation....the list is endless! None of these compare to the satisfaction you get knowing that you have made a difference in someone's life and because of your effort, your initiative, someone has a better shot at achieving their goals.

...and for me, that is what change is about: empowering someone to make a difference in their own little corner of the universe! And when they do, they have the same glow, the same smile on their faces they had when they were first empowered.

I may not exactly know why whether all I do is really my business but I know for sure that its something the worked urgently needs. And as a digital native, I am empowered to use technology to effect that change in many ways. I will not shy off! This is my way of making the universe a much better place...this is my bubble, my space, my voice. Someone's future depends on my activities and I risk that if I fail to fulfill my self adopted responsibilities.

Sone of you may be smiling as you read this and I strongly believe its because you recognize and understand the value of being a digital native...with a cause. And because you have seen the smiles and the glow on other people's faces as you go about your work. And I bet you wouldn't want to trade that experience for anything!

In the current state of the world where despair and disbelief are the status quo, we need to appreciate the value of a smile...we need to put a smile on people's faces.

...so what are we waiting for?