Looking at the monumental problems and human suffering in the world, it’s hard for an individual to see how he or she can make a difference in doing something about them. Conditions such as poverty, hunger, disease and oppression are so staggering, so widespread, that even the most motivated person is tempted to throw up one’s hands in frustration and resignation.

But don’t tell some students at Assumption High School they can’t make a difference or shouldn’t try. One group of students is conducting an awareness program to educate the public about the genocide and human suffering in the Darfur region of Sudan. The students are asking people to give up a luxury and donate the money they save to help the suffering masses there.

Another group of Assumption students is raising money to build a school in Cambodia, an effort they hope will keep young girls out of the sex trade. The goal is to raise $19,000 for construction of a school and to provide for a computer and an English teacher.

Don’t tell other area young people — whose efforts have been reported recently in this newspaper — that they can’t make a difference. These include:

• Trinity High School students who collected more than 2,523 pounds of food and raised more than $9,500 for Dare to Care, which provides food for the needy.
• Students at Our Lady of Lourdes School, as well as other local Catholic schools and parishes, who have made or collected blankets for the homeless in the Blanket Louisville program.
• Students at Ursuline Campus Schools who collected toys and clothes for Christmas gifts for more than 225 needy families in West Virginia served by the Christian Help Organization.

And don’t tell St. Xavier High School freshman Anthony Flaherty he is not making a difference as a response to Alzheimer’s disease. Flaherty said of his efforts in helping his grandfather, who has Alzheimer’s, and in raising awareness of the disease and money to combat it: “I also want to show people my age that they can make a difference. It doesn’t take too much of your time, and you can make a difference.”

Some might say the efforts of these students — and many more like them — are attributed to the idealism of youth. Perhaps so. But perhaps what they are doing with their time, talent and treasure is what we all should be doing.

In fact, the efforts of those who are trying to make a difference in addressing seemingly overwhelming human problems are exactly what the U.S. Catholic bishops were talking about in a Nov. 14 statement on “Stewardship and Teenagers: The Challenge of Being a Disciple.”

“Stewardship is about acting for others,” the statement said. “Discipleship is about doing for others and not counting the cost. Even the smallest act of kindness can bring joy and relief to another. You are in a unique position to reach out to your peers and share with them the unconditional love of God. Seize every opportunity to show them God’s love through your random acts of kindness; an encouraging word, a pat on the back, a helpful hand.”

The bishops told young people: “God has given you many gifts. Look around at the people in your life; think about the many opportunities you have been given; rejoice in the ways you are already using your talents for the betterment of the church and your community.”

The bishops added: “We encourage you to search your heart and discover ways in which you can make a difference. ... This call to living out the Gospel value of stewardship is a call for all of us to do more, to be more, to love more.”

These words are reflected in the comments of Meredith Doll, one of the Assumption students involved in the effort to help the people of Darfur.

“People watch a video (about the crisis in Darfur) and say, ‘That’s horrible.’ And they don’t do anything about it. We’re doing something about it,” she said in a story in last week’s edition of The Record.

“I can’t go in and save every person there,” Doll added. “But I don’t give up on things. When I think of a rough day at school, it’s nothing. A bad day for them (in Darfur) is ‘my Mom and Dad were killed.’ I can’t believe there are people having that kind of a day and not do anything about it.”