Children Who Make a Change
Children, with their strong sense of right and wrong, are often troubled by the unfairness life seems to mete out to children in developing countries. In the past decade, a surprising number of children, for example, Craig Kielburger, have made a great difference by their efforts. Here are some children who offer inspiration and practical advice for those eager to find a way to help.
In Making Change: Tips From an Underage Overachiever (Orca Books, $12.95) 12-year-old Billal Rajan, UNICEF Canada’s Child Representative, presents a remarkable plan for organizing effectively to raise money for charity. At the age of four, he was so upset by the stories of devastation in India after the earthquake of 2001 that he raised $350 selling clementine oranges door-to-door – a remarkable sum for such a young child. But Billal didn’t stop there. Over the next few years, knowing that it takes more than one person to make a significant difference, he went on a speaking tour, teaching other children how to be creative about raising money for charity. The results of all he learned about effective fund raising are summed up in this remarkable book.
In all his activities Billal was fully supported by his parents, but he supplied the drive and determination. Motivation comes from within – “I feel the need to do something.” – but first we need inspiration from without – “I see a problem and I want to solve it.” So for inspiration let’s look to stories of some remarkable heroes who’ve made a difference.
Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson and David Oliver Relin has been on the adult bestseller list for many weeks. Now it is available in a Young Reader’s Edition (Puffin, $10). As many of you may know from reading the adult version, on an expedition to reach the summit of the second highest mountain in the world, part of the Karakoram range in Pakistan, Mortenson became disoriented from lack of oxygen, lost sight of his guide, and wandered off the trail. Several days later, he stumbled into the village of Korphe. Poor as they were, the villagers didn’t hesitate to offer help – help that saved his life. The rest of the story tells of Mortenson’s determination to build a school for the village children. But first he had to teach himself how to raise the money. So successful was he that over the next 10 years, he raised the money and oversaw the building of schools in 60 villages.
The Young Reader’s edition tells an absorbing story suitable for children 10 and up. For younger readers Listen To the Wind (Dial Books, $18.50) tells the same story in picture book format. Told from the point of view of the children of the village of Korphe and illustrated with collages by Susan L. Roth, it is the heartwarming story of how everyone worked together to raise the walls of the school. The final pages show photos of the actual construction.
Courage and Compassion: Ten Canadians Who Made a Difference (Maple Tree Press. $19.95) by Rona Arato takes a more biographical approach. Starting back in the 1600s with Jeanne Mance, who established the first hospital in Montreal, Arato works her way into the 21st century looking at the heroic in many guises from escaped slave Josiah Henson to social activist June Callwood.
True Stories of Rescue and Survival: Canada’s Unknown Heroes (Dundurn Press, $19.99) by Carolyn Matthews looks at acts of bravery and adventure. The heroes are the trained rescue workers who risk their lives over and over for the lost and stranded. For example, when a helicopter rescue unit drops supplies to someone trapped by a blizzard, they realize from radio contact that the person on the ground really doesn’t know how to use the equipment. One of the rescuers makes the dangerous decision to parachute down to him to wait out the storm. In another story a search and rescue team go after a climber who has fallen off a mountain. All these stories are exciting adventures, but they also give valuable information about how trained rescue workers think their way through life-threatening situations.
When Elephants Fight (Orca Books, $19.95) by Eric Walters and Adrian Bradbury is not about heroics so much as about the quiet heroism of children who are living horrific lives in the war torn areas of Afghanistan, Bosnia, Sri Lanka, Sudan and Uganda. The five children in these stories live in dangerous circumstances similar to the children for whom Bilaal Rajan and so many other child activists have been raising money. The background presented in this book helps us to visualize the daily lives of these children and understand the need to reach out a helping hand to those whose world has been devastated by war or natural disaster.
