They say the journey of 1,000 miles starts with one step

And they say never judge a man until you’ve walked a mile in his shoes

Both scenarios are harder when you have no shoes

When you wake up wondering again just how you might lose

When you shake up thinking of how to pay school fees and dues

Yes, it can give you the blues and leave you confused

Trying to live your best muse and it feels like a ruse

Believing that world has abandoned you

But one day you wake up and realize you’re not alone

You realize others are fighting with you to save your home

You realize some have been on your side as you fight to end genocide

You realize that others want this mass atrocity to be an anomaly

You realize that there are more who want peace in schools and your streets

And sometimes it takes a preacher to see you through

And sometimes it takes a teacher to be with you

And sometimes it might take a Meyer…or two

But you must never forget that it all started with you

It’s sad that some see that basic human rights ain’t that basic

But we’re fighting with you to make sure the world ain’t complacent

For on the side of humanity, we’ll always be adjacent

Because even with no shoes we can walk to end genocide

With no boots we can help others hold their head with pride

If we listen closely we can Hear her Voice telling us that we must

That we must bear witness to the tragedies of the world before it turns to dust

We must do the work to save that boy or girl

And if they don’t hear us we need to cry out louder to the world!

Because a wise woman said that those who suffer need us to amplify their voices

And some of us with the megaphone need to make better choices

But here we’ve conspired to never retire

And rather than retire we just get rewired

We will never be overwhelmed

We will never be deterred

We will never be defeated if we stay inspired

To globally end all war to do even more for Darfur

To use permagardening to stop hearts permanently hardening

From the beautiful souls of the Virunga

To the powerful people known as Rohingya

Sometimes providing a little shelter can make someone’s life better

When we’re Syria-sly committed we can help refugees find refuge

Get them proper medical care and housing to survive the deluge

We build these homes so no one can hemorrhage hope

Because sometimes all you need to help is a small extension of rope

Because living your best life is only attainable

When your life is Sudan-ly sustainable

We know that few are guilty, but all are responsible

But in OUR hearts we hold the hope of what’s possible

And some may not understand why we do this work

And some may not understand why sometimes our hearts hurt

But we stand on the shoulders of those who don’t quit

We stand on the shoulders of those with true grit

We stand on the shoulders of those who walked so that we can fly

And for all of those reasons, we will not stand idly by!