PITCHING IN AS NEEDED IN MISSISSIPPI
Stacy Ahua coordinates volunteers after tornadoes, gets food to the hungry
Each week, this series will introduce you to an exceptional American who unites, rather than divides, our communities. To read more about the American profiled here and more average Americans doing exceptional things, visit onenation.usatoday.com. What does it mean to you to be an American? Our tribe (in Nigeria) is very prideful about who we are and what our history is, but there’s an undeniable fact that I was born and raised here, and I’ve been afforded opportunities by being here that would not exist otherwise, so American vs. Nigerian vs. African American have been very ambiguous kinds of titles.
Having been raised by parents who came here with nothing, who educated themselves — those kinds of things factor into what being an American means to me in the sense of development as a person.
It means opportunity. It means working hard. It means honoring what my parents have done. It means so much more than where you are born, and I can say that about Nigeria as well. It’s an honor to be able to be called an American because of what it took to get that. What moment touched and motivated you to launch this effort? A: I can’t stand any kind of injustice. I can’t handle that very well. What gives you hope or what concerns you?
What concerns me most, it’s kind of that all-
or-nothing mentality for what people want. It’s either you completely agree with what I think and we can co-exist, or if you don’t, you mean nothing to me. There is no middle ground. I don’t understand how anything can exist that way.
I feel the most positive about things I can control. ... I can affect what hunger looks like in Mississippi with Extra Table. What do you hope to accomplish through your efforts? I just hope I help people. I hope I am able to help somebody. It doesn’t matter what level it’s on. It’s important how you enter and leave somebody’s life. I try to do whatever I can to fill whatever need I can.