Michael is passionate about the community he was raised in, and wants to see it grow to the potential he believes it has. His passion is exuded in the hours he has spent volunteering as an English teacher, mentoring orphaned children and assisting in a home for the deaf. Similar to his idol Nelson Mandela, Michael thrives to replace self-interest with group interest, and uses giving back to the community as his core aspiration.
Michael has found the possibility of community development in the waterfalls near his home in Kenya. He believes that generating electricity with water gushing through power turbines, and energy harvested from the sun is what Kenya needs to look towards to solve their electricity problem. Michael poetically advocates that the light is not only needed as a source of energy, but also as a source of empowerment. With his education at UBC, Michael wants to start an NGO that builds the educational foundation in local communities to improve infrastructure, democracy and solve unemployment in the long-run.