It's a question that is often asked: how does change in a community start? Who propels the action; who begins the thinking? In Baltimore, the young people involved in Baltimore Community Fellow Emery "Tre Subira" Whitlow's video-production training program are learning not only how to better their video skills, but how to look at a larger goal of creating positive community change.

Last fall and this past summer, Tre Subira led that same group of young people to Ghana, West Africa. There they came to understand that community change often must start with personal change.

"To say it transformed the lives of the young people is an understatement," says Tre Subira. "They are very different people than they were before this trip."

The first group of 11 young men and women, aged 14 to 19, who traveled to Ghana to learn about their history and culture, now are more grateful and appreciative, he says. They are more confident and not as wasteful. No longer can someone call these young people "spoiled."

"This was not a typical tourist experience," Tre Subira says. "It was a cultural exploration of their heritage. It was at the same time very much a homecoming, even as it pushed them outside their comfort zone."

Tre Subira's fellowship project, The Griot's Eye, draws inspiration from the ancient role of griots in West African societies. The griots are revered storytellers who use song, poetry and history to perpetuate oral traditions and celebrate the community.

Tre Subira's program has modern twists: the storytellers he's training are all from Baltimore, and the mode of communication is through video. The program focuses on enriching the lives of young people and also on community development.

The youth who spent three weeks in Ghana--living with families, exploring the communities and soaking up the culture--left the continent motivated to do more with their lives and share their experiences with peers. They are now producing a documentary about what they learned.

"They were inspired by what they saw and experienced in Africa, and they saw that there was a lot they could teach to other youth," Tre Subira says. "They saw a real hunger and thirst for education. They saw that at home in Baltimore they have access to libraries and computer labs, and the youth in Africa--with not even half as much--were doing twice as much. This was very profound for them."

One young woman in The Griot's Eye, who already was a good student, vowed to be even better, Tre Subira said, and is now the top student in her grade. Another realized how often she asks her mother for money, instead of working and earning money to get what she wants and needs on her own.

"I think a lot of them felt like, 'Wow, I'm not living up to my fullest potential,'" Tre Subira said. "They saw they had taken things for granted. This really does a whole lot for their confidence, their leadership skills and their community activism."