I’ve spent the past few months going into schools in the area and talking to children and young people about the work I’ve been doing, my journey over the past few years, and what I’ve learned from it. I’ve been to high schools talking to students about gap years and the importance of world travel and to middle schools talking about what it means to help others. This week I particularly enjoyed the time I spent at Red Oaks school in Morristown. Supposedly the children had been asked the week before to cut out newspaper articles to go along with a topic they had been discussing in their unit on moral courage. The assignment led to a voice mail on my BlinkNow Headquarters message machine (haha) from 6th-grade teacher at Red Oaks, Priti Maheshwari. She asked if I could come in and talk to a group of students about my work in Nepal.
I went into the school feeling anxious and nervous. I had never talked to this young of an age group before. Thankfully, at the last minute, I remembered to edit the slide on child prostitution, thinking about how ironic it was that girls the same age as the ones in the room are who sex trafficking affects the most. I showed pictures of the children in Nepal and told their stories to the 40 some kids in the classroom. I couldn’t believe their reactions. They started asking questions, tons of questions, ooooing and ahhhing, sometimes gasping at each photo. I asked them questions too. I was shocked when I asked if anyone knew where Nepal was and 6 hands shot in the air. (I’ve found that most high schoolers don’t even know where Nepal is. I excitedly shared this with the kids.)
I believe that if children start making these kinds of connections at a young age (the fact that they can single-handedly change a child’s life), then THEY can make a huge difference in the world. I believe in the importance of planting these kinds of seeds as early as possible. I want kids in our community to start thinking about what it means to be a global citizen. I think it’s possible to have children become socially conscious at a young age and to learn that there is no limit to what they can do. I want these kids to realize that you don’t have to be old, you don’t have to have a lot of money, you don’t have to be famous to have an impact on the world. When I go into schools my goal is not to raise money, actually bringing money into the equation makes me feel uncomfortable. I don’t expect or want these kids to start whipping out their lunch money. My intention is not to make the kids feel guilty about the things they have in their life, and what they take for granted. I have yet to come across a kid who finishes their meal with the “there are starving children in China” spiel. That never worked for me as a kid. “Well, what am I supposed to do, ship this to them?” I would say. I also don’t want the children in the room look up to me and say, “Wow, look what she did.” I want them to feel like they can do the same thing. I want them to see that I’m really just a kid too. I was 18 years old when I set out on this path. My message is simple, this is sad, really sad, so let’s work together and do what we can do to change this. How can we “be the change?”