Though there are many international students at Tufts, sophomore Constantin Sabet D'Acre stands out in a crowd.
Born to an Egyptian father and a Uruguayan mother before growing up in Paris and learning English from his British nannies, Sabet D'Acre seems to define the term "international."
"[My background] enables me to go everywhere and not get 'French' stamped on my forehead ... I can go to any country in the world and not feel different," he said with a slight accent coloring his speech.
It was this perspective that helped Sabet D'Acre to found his own nonprofit, International Funds for Children's Computer Assistance (IFCCA), which is more casually known as Computers for Cambodia.
Sabet D'Acre first got the idea for the organization after a life-changing visit to Cambodia in 2005. He had visited many poor countries around the world before then, including Indonesia and India, and never before had such visits had compelled him to act.
Cambodia was different.
"What was really stunning about Cambodia more than anywhere else was [that there were] lots and lots of children in the streets ... kids missing an arm, missing a leg," he said.
The images haunted Sabet D'Acre, and though the trip was joyful, he felt embittered and convinced that "something was not right."
Upon examining the situation in Cambodia, Sabet D'Acre and a friend of his realized there were already many non-governmental organizations (NGOs) dealing with humanitarian aid in Cambodia. But while the aid organizations provided food and shelter for many Cambodians, few provided them with the tools and skills necessary for a sustainable lifestyle.
Now, Sabet D'Acre is working through his organization to "make sure that these kids don't go back into the poverty into which they're born" and to find a way to avoid a situation where they're "working on a farm and get[ting] paid poorly for their whole lives."
Sabet D'Acre said IFCCA will provide children in Cambodia and other poor countries with the working knowledge they need to be able to go into the tourism industry and the services sector, by teaching them sought-after computer skills that many people in the area don't possess.
Currently, he is working on raising the funds necessary to establish a computer center in the region as a basis for the organization.
Sabet D'Acre is in the process of organizing charity movie screenings, wristband sales and an Easter egg hunt fundraiser that will take place this Friday.
On campus, IFCCA is linked to Pangea, and it works with Enfants d'Asie ASPECA, a French NGO.
The organization hopes to establish a computer center in Cambodia, and will then bring computers to certain orphanages and hire instructors to teach the children how to use them.
Sabet D'Acre said that currently these children have little practical knowledge when they are evicted from the orphanages and are frequently lost among the masses of Cambodian poor.
He said he hopes some of these children will have a chance to work their way out of poverty and excel after learning computer skills from his organization.
"Between working in a hotel and working on a rice farm, there's a really big difference," Sabet D'Acre said.
Though he is busy between managing the organization and getting his papers done, Sabet D'Acre finds that his main obstacle is the people who are skeptical and uninformed about his project.
"People come to us and say, 'Why are you giving [the Cambodian children] computers when they are starving?'" he said.
According to Sabet D'Acre, what those people don't realize is that the focus is "making their lives a lot better" in the long run by teaching them how to support themselves, rather than simply giving them food and shelter.
In spite of the obstacles inherent in starting from scratch, Sabet D'Acre is optimistic about the future. He said he's received offers for help from other NGOs in the area for the computer center.
"It will be really interesting to start the project from zero," he said.
While the work is straining, Sabet D'Acre finds that he has gained from the experience, on the whole.
"On a personal level it's a fantastic experience .... I think it's amazing that if you handle people well then people from different backgrounds can work together and achieve a common goal," he said.
Still, the endeavor demands a lot of hard work.
"It's really tough," Sabet D'Acre said, adding that some people once motivated to help "don't respond" anymore when he asks them to become involved. Though it may be difficult, Sabet D'Acre is not in the least bit discouraged. The way he sees it, he's working to "give [Cambodian children] a better standard of living," he said
And that, he added, is essential.
