I've never been a fan of the word, "charity". -C. Kielburger
I tried to remember as best I could.
Here goes:
Iqbal Masih, told a story.
When he escaped from harsh labor conditions at the age of 10 he said something in front of students that I will never forget, “Every child has a right to hold on to a pencil not a tool.”
In countries, where the people dip their fingers in ink and use their fingerprint as a signature because they cannot read or write there are huge problems. I’ve heard stories of a father who thought he’d signed his son for 1 year of labor while it was in fact 10 years and when he went back to the “employee” he just waved the document in his face telling him he hadn’t read it correctly.
What I want is, universal primary education.
This is a call for action.
We have seen crisis after crisis, headline after headline.
We’ve seen Anderson Cooper, relief teams.
These are not the real heroes!
In Haiti after the earthquake, there were doctors who were staying awake on caffeine pills.
There hands were shaking violently so they told people what to do.
These were ordinary Haitians.
I remember my heart leaped when a random nurse came up to me and gave me a hug.
When I asked her who she was, she said she’d graduated from one of our schools 10 years ago.
I remember people were sleeping outside, away from the buildings because of the aftershocks.
These aftershocks were so violent and when they happened there were these two boys who ran towards one of the buildings and we were all yelling at them to come back, to turn away.
But these boys had a friend who had a cast on his leg. So they propped him on a mattress and tried to get him out of the building as quickly as they could.
That is the message I want to leave with you today, we have to go back.
After the headlines are over and events are not in the newspapers, a lot of relief groups leave.
We have got to make that long-term commitment.
It is so painful to see NGO’s fold up and leave.
Of the 11 billion $ pledged to Haiti, 30% has been spent, the rest hasn’t left the coffers.
It is not a question of corruption, we just cannot keep our promises.
Yet we spend 18 billion $ annually on cosmetics.
15 billion $ on perfume.
Stephen Lewis said earlier, do we have enough?
I think it’s a matter of, do we care enough?
Of the total world spending in Africa:
42% is tied investments like construction,
16% is invested in rich countries,
26% is emergency aid,
14% is debt servicing, (we’re paying them to pay for our interest)
… this leaves 2% for the actual development.
It doesn’t have to be this way, things are changing.
I believe every generation has a problem, ours is to get rid of poverty.
You are part of a movement, of students who want to stand up and be heard.
Take the vow of silence, spend 24 hours in silence.
Without talking, without email, without a cell phone.
We do this to understand the plight of kids around the world who have no voice.
I’ve never been a big fan of the word, “charity”.
Change happens everyday and most groups undersell your potential.
My challenge to you, social entrepreneurship.
To get water, education and health resources in places in a manner that these areas are able to sustain themselves. So that when we leave, we’re helping people help themselves.
My challenge to those of you who are graduating, what are you doing this summer?
Volunteer with us.
Use social media, adopt a village be socially responsible.
The greatest heroes are not on stage, their stories are untold and will never make Time magazine.
In Sierra Leone, the Revolutionary United Front a rebel organization was going around recruiting children to join it’s army. They went to a village and they met a boy by the name of Santosh.
Now Santosh, was the head boy of his school.
Smart kid, eager to learn, had good grades.
He stood up and said, “Mr. Rebel Commander, our village believes in peace. Please leave now.”
The Rebel Commander laughed.
So Santosh repeated what he’d said, ”Mr. Rebel Commander, our village believes in peace. Please leave now.”
When the Rebel Commander learned that he wouldn’t be able to persuade Santosh he simply asked him, “Long sleeve or short sleeve?” so that Santosh would never be able to carry a weapon for the government.
Santosh chose long sleeve.
So did a few other students.
When the RUF realized that no one in the village would join their cause, they left.
I couldn’t imagine the courage that took.
But Santosh said that wasn’t tough.
It was a few years later when he was in the marketplace and he saw the commander he went over and offered him his left-hand as a sign of peace.
He was 14 years old at the time.
If a 14 year-old could do this.
How can we choose to give up?
How can we be overwhelmed?
