Honoring Our Unsung Leaders: Children

June 16 is the International Day of the African Child -- called "Youth Day" in South Africa. Thirty-five years ago today, hundreds of young black children were killed or injured by police as they peacefully marched through the streets of Soweto, South Africa to demand improved education standards and the right to be taught in their own language.

Today, as we honor the bravery and sacrifice of these young children and their pivotal role in the creation of a free South Africa, we are reminded of a universal truth: one is never too young to make a difference.

As an Ambassador for PSI and a supporter of Nothing But Nets, I have met individuals around the world who are lending their ideas, their voices, and their time to improve their communities and the world at large. And there are millions more that I have not met. On April 25, World Malaria Day, I launched an essay competition with ABC News' Be the Change: Save a Life to give these unsung heroes a platform to share their stories.

I should not have been surprised by the fact that the majority of the essays I received were from young students -- many of whom are the same age as those who took their ideas to the streets of Soweto in 1976. One such student is Micaela Martin from Argentina, whose essay is shared below.

I am honored -- and humbled -- that my work with PSI has helped Micaela discover new ways to be a part of global health and environmental solutions. But more importantly, I am inspired by her.

At only 15 years old, Micaela has a breadth of social awareness -- and a track record of action -- that encourages me to continue using my time and resources to support causes that are important to me. I hope her story convinces you to do the same.

Nelson Mandela once said, "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children."

Today, I argue that not only must our global society treat our children well, but we also owe it to ourselves to listen to them, to learn from them, and to let them lead.

Essay by: Micaela Martin, 15, Buenos Aires, Argentina

I always wanted to help, always wanted to improve the planet and I love finding a chance to do so. From little girl I always wanted to collaborate on a lot of organizations, have a room for children, disclose information, etc. And that was one of my goals for when I grew up, wanted to have a credit card but not for spend it on clothes or toys but for donations.

Now I'm not big, but with my 15 years I can do many things. Through the mass media (like facebook and twitter) I divulge information about Nothing But Nets, sharing links, using a picture campaign of picture profile, and most of all a special day on 25 April. This goes without saying that I have donated money of the credit card of my parents (with their consent) as both my mom and my dad supported me in this.

Nationally collaborate with the Hospital Garrahan (http://www.garrahan.gov.ar/) collecting plastic caps of bottles that are recycled and are used to buy wheelchairs and items for hospital patients as well as the contribution it makes to the environment. I started this when my twin sister started going to this hospital for a few problems in her maturity and I felt very good to know the good that was causing. Right now I'm trying to recycle paper and caps at my school.

I started with the issue of malaria by Mandy Moore, for years I'm a big fan of she, not only as a singer or actress, but also how she is like a person.

In conclusion, I love to help and thanks to Mandy for making me see how I can. If I can do something from my country in anything else do not hesitate to inform me.

 

Comments

[Peter Honey]

09:42 AM on 06/17/2011

June 16, 1976 was indeed a tumultuous day in Soweto, and Ms Moore's article rightly conveys its importance to South Africa's struggle for democracy. However, the opening statement that "hundreds of young black people were killed by police as they peacefully marched through the streets of Soweto" on that day must be corrected. In fact one black child - 13-year-old Hector Petersen - was shot dead by police that day, and two white men - a medical doctor, M. Edelstein, and government official N. Esterhuizen - were beaten to death in subsequent rioting. These facts were widely reported at the time and are contained in the authoritative South African Institute of Race Relations' Survey for 1976. Rioting and police actions spread to other townships in the region over the next several days, but abated within the month - though discontent and sporadic expressions of civic anger would simmer and flare throughout the remaining 14 years of apartheid rule. By June 24, 1976, the official death toll (children and adults, on all sides of the issue) was 140, with well over 1,000 injured, 908 arrested and numerous buildings and vehicles, belonging mostly to the government, damaged or destroyed.
The "language issue" alone could not explain so much violence, the Survey states. "It seems evident that the underlying causes of the initial riots and the continuing unrest are the poor socio-economic conditions in the townships and the lack of security and deep-seated resentment felt by urban Africans."

[noteaforme]

09:06 AM on 06/17/2011

I loved her in Tangled.

[William50]

08:43 PM on 06/16/2011

It's strange. Here in America the powers to be are not looking for excellence but to cut education.
The rest of the world knows strength and power relies on a great education. In America we would rather spend more on criminals and allow the educational system to fail.
If the powers that be want to cut because of the failure of tax money I suggest that we change the federal money for each student from the system to the student so the people can decide where to best educate their children.

[adcan49]

02:46 PM on 06/16/2011

Thank you Ms. Moore. Lately, I seem to be amazed and inspired by the youth this world has.

[PresidentBarackObama2012]

02:46 PM on 06/16/2011

This article puts things in perspective. Funny (odd, not haha) there are so few comments... We need more journalism targeted toward these situations.

[Mabryt]

11:35 AM on 06/16/2011

Wonderful to see inspiration prompting action by and for children. A note on the Soweto riots, though: the protests started when the Apartheid regime mandated the use of Afrikaans as a language of instruction in the township schools. Afrikaans, as the mother tongue of the regime's leaders, was viewed as an oppresor's language. The previous language of instruction and the one the students wanted to maintain was English. The students didn't want to be taught in 'their own language' because in Soweto that could mean Zulu or some dozen other vernaculars. But they did want to be taught in the language of their own choice. Students and language rights are a common story in struggling populations, whether Bangla versus Urdu in Bangladesh or Inuit versus English in Canada or Kurdish versus Arabic in Iraq. The brave children of Soweto are an example of how high a price will be paid for the right to learn in a language of choice, and to become the adults they want to become.

[Monrocsol]

08:46 AM on 06/16/2011

Mandy, I loved you on Saved!

[prettyd72]

08:11 AM on 06/16/2011

Well done, so inspiring! We're in a country where not only the education of kids and the kids themselves are being sold to the highest bidder. We fail to properly educate, instruct or parent then give them to boot camps and corrections institutions to fix what we essentially caused. Our government just said healthy school lunches are more than we can afford in the face of epic poverty & unemployment rates. Love the Mandela quote, the U.S. might do well to pay attention.

[eastin321]

06:42 AM on 06/16/2011

A truly touching article. Thanks for those kind words and for reminding us why this is so important. We are going through tough times, and people tend to ignore these issues as a result, but we need to keep fighting because our money and our efforts can go so far in these parts of the world. If you don't have money you can volunteer your time. It doesn't take much to make a big difference.