Global Voices is all about you. The topics are big, the places talked about are sometimes far away, but the message of Global Voices is that you can get involved in social issues and make a difference.
Here's how it works:
Every other Thursday in the Toronto Star and on thestar.com, Craig and Marc Kielburger discuss an issue and how it impacts young people living far away and in our own communities.
Then, on the new Global Voices website, youth are invited to share their ideas by engaging in citizen journalism. Through a 'junior journalist' program, youth from coast to coast will report on global issues from their perspective and how it affects their school, their community and their world.
Lesson plans that tie into the topic of each column have been created for educators by Nipissing University Faculty of Education students. The resources are designed to bring alive social issues in the classroom and inspire youth to change the world! Visit www.thestar.com/globalvoices
Drought saps Kenyans' dreams
Toronto Star - March 30, 2006
Craig And Marc Kielburger
Global Voices
Craig and Marc Kielburger are founders of Free the Children and co-authors of Me to We. With this column, they begin exploring the impact of global issues on young people in developing nations and what it means to youth in the GTA.
You may not have heard about it, but history is being repeated. Anyone old enough to remember Ethiopia's 1984-85 famine will find the facts of this story familiar. They deal with poverty, climate change and a 14-year-old's dream to exercise his universal right to education.
Nambala stands with pride in front of us, looking confident in his crisp school uniform: brown shorts, a blue shirt and a tattered green sweater. The large holes near his elbows are from "studying," he says. For as long as he can remember, Nambala wanted to become a teacher. Two years ago, when the new Kenyan government made primary education free, he got his chance.
One of his happiest moments was walking to school beside his two younger sisters, joining millions of other Kenyan children now able to get an education. Last year, Nambala was accepted into high school - a first for his family. His father slaughtered a goat to mark the joyful occasion.
This term, however, Nambala will not be able to go back to complete Grade 9. As much as he loves school, survival is far more pressing. It has hardly rained since November, with no rain clouds in sight. The land is parched, cracked and thirsty. There's little help on the way.