photo: IndianExpress.com
In our June edition of Philanthropolicious, published by the team at More2Girls Inc., we explored the issue of child soldiers. While reading the materials submitted by our writers and involved non-profits, I was shocked and appalled to learn to what lengths power-crazed leaders will go in their lust for destruction and domination.
It is very disturbing to know that today, in numerous places on our earth, a child will be abducted, tortured physically and emotionally so that their will can be bent to commit violent acts that defy the imagination.
What is of the utmost importance to remember when we consider this horrible issue is that these young boys are not criminals, nor are they beyond hope. The worst thing we could do is to give up on them, abandon them to their fate and resign ourselves to losing them forever, thus prolonging the violence that has been forced into them against their will.
If ever you find yourself doubting that there is a scrap of humanity left in a young man who has committed such extreme acts of violence, just read Ishmael Beah's account or listen to Michel Chikwanine speak with passion about the making of a better world. You will soon see that these fine young men, once classed as monsters, are among our strongest voices calling for an end to violence, now and for all time.
Get Ishmael's book here.
Listen to Michel here.
If, after having heard their accounts, you would like to do something to help others like them, check out www.invisiblechildren.com or www.warchild.ca Whether you are young, old or somewhere in between, there are simple things you can do to assist in the rescue of boys like Ishmael and Michel.
OK. So maybe you've never linked those two. But perhaps it's time we all did. In their ground-breaking book, Changing the Game, former Associate Director of the MIT Comparative Media Studies Program, David Edery and co-author Ethan Mollick make some compelling cases for games as a powerful tool for learning.
As a mom of 6, I have spent many hours both teaching and playing with my children (aged 22,17,16,15,14,10) and I have also taught in the traditional classroom environment. It has been confirmed in these situations, over and over again, that the information and learning that is acquired through play is more easily retained and more readily drawn out after the fact. I won't bore you with a detailed treatise on why a well-designed game promotes learning more readily, more thoroughly and more accessibly than a traditional classroom lesson. It suffices to say that motivation, reward, repetition and participation are crucial ingredients.
So, if games are one of the best ways to learn, why are there not more games that teach us the important things in life? Well... the good news is there is a growing movement of game developers and funders out there who are designing and building games that do just that. Witness Games4Change and the now running Games For Change Summit. Some of our best and brightest are creating fun, challenging games that teach us about poverty, world peace, world hunger, human rights, global conflict and many other social issues.
So then... check 'em out. You may just be surprised what you'll learn!
This made me inordinately happy. Funny thing is that it wouldn't have except for all the research the more2girls magazine team did last month for our child slavery edition. Many of us are so completely unaware that much of our sugar, coffee and cocoa is still purchased at a high cost: the continued use of child labourers and slaves.
This cocoa is being sold at Clarke's (2235 Sheppard Avenue East, Toronto, ON):
and this assortment is available (remarkably!) at my local Shoppers Drug Mart at the corner of Huntingwood Avenue & Warden Avenue, Scarborough, ON:
Make wise choices.
How will you celebrate ? If you’re not sure what you can do to get in the spirit, try one of these suggestions offered by Canadian Earth Hour Team.
1. Attend local Earth Hour events or organize one. Add your event or get details on events near you at EarthHourCanada.org.
2. Go outside and look at the stars.
3. Find a great viewing spot to see your town or city go dark at 8:30 p.m.
4. Take pictures and post them to the Earth Hour Facebook page.
5. Go for a lantern walk through a park.
6. Patronize local restaurants and businesses taking part in Earth Hour.
7. Gather your family or friends for a candlelit dinner.
8. Meet your neighbours at a street or block party.
9. Have an acoustic music jam.
10. Talk to your children about how much electricity your family uses. Brainstorm ways to reduce it.
11. Tell ghost stories.
12. Listen to the birds, bats or other wildlife.
13. Play flashlight tag.
14. Turn your thermostat down by 1˚C and leave it there.
15. Play Pictionary with glow-in-the-dark markers.
16. Change all your light bulbs to energy-efficient ones.
17. Have a night game of shinny with a glow-in-the-dark puck or ball (wear reflective vests).
18. Take a walk in the moonlight.
19. Have a candlelit bath.
20. Put a glow stick on your dog’s collar or leash and go for a walk.
21. Toast marshmallows over a tea light candle.
22. Get out your Ouija board.
23. Have a wine- or scotch-tasting in the dark.
24. Get out the sleeping bags and camp out… on the living room floor.
25. Make a list of ways you could reduce your energy consumption every hour of every day.
Source: wwf.ca/earthhour
So, this is my latest slice of happiness:
This book is chock full of super-cool youth-run organizations that are all pitching in to do their part, in grassroots endeavours to make this world a better place to live. So, the next time you find yourself saying, %$#&% teenagers, think about more than 500 teen activist organizations and think again.
(I love my job!)
I am the somewhat zany mom of six really wonderful young people.
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