“In the blink of an eye, we can all make a difference.”
— Maggie Doyne, BlinkNow Co-Founder 

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A large group of people, mostly children, stand together in a room holding star-shaped crafts. The room has colorful posters on the walls, and wooden furniture is visible in the foreground. Everyone appears to be smiling and enjoying the activity.

Generation of Change Makers

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.)

“Nepal is located on the North Eastern border of India,” a boy, no more than 9 years old answered. “And what is Nepal famous for?” I asked. 15 hands shot in the air, desperate to be chosen. “Mount Everest!!!” a little girl exclaimed. “Anyone else know anything interesting about Nepal?” I asked. “Yes,” a little boy answered from the back of the room. “It has a VERY different shaped flag.” “Wow!” I said, “You’re right!” And so the dialogue continued. “Okay I said, I have a favor to ask you guys. I have something that I think you can help me with. I’ll tell you about it, and then you can decide if you think you want to help. I was telling you before how most children in Nepal don’t get to school and how sad it makes them. Many of these kids would do ANYTHING to go to school. Now I want you to guess how much it costs to put a child in school in Nepal.” “$1,000?” the first child asked. “No, but good guess,” I answered. “$500!!!” the next child said. “$300?” said the next. “Nope.” I said, “lower.” “$100,” said the next little girl, “$25?” said the next. “Okay, guys I’m going to tell you the answer. It can cost as little as $5 to put a young child just like you in school. What if I told you that everyone today could put their own special friend in Nepal in school? You’re all going to pick out a name out of this brown paper bag of a child that is unable to go to school. Then you’re going to decorate an ornament in their honor and put the age and name of your child on it. I’m going to sell the ornaments next week and you’re all going to help put that child into school. I showed them some examples of the ornaments my sister and I had created the night before. “Wow!” all the kids said. “Sound good?” I asked, “Do you all want to help me?” “Yes!!!!!!!!” they all yelled with enough enthusiasm to wake a sleeping village. So we passed out the glitter, the glue, the sequins, the stickers, the ribbons and the cardboard cutout angels for them to decorate. Each child picked a name. “Is mine a boy or a girl? they all asked. “I want BBC!!!!” said another one. “I want Hima,” said another. “All of these children are special.” I told them, “And they all need our help.”

A young girl with blonde hair smiles while holding a small figurine. She is standing in front of shelves filled with stacks of boxes. She is wearing a light-colored shirt with a horse design.

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?”

So, that was the point of the angels and that’s why I gave the kids the name and the age of the child who they could put in school, who have spent their entire childhood working in factories as child laborers or recruited as military soldiers. I think it has to be real and tangible for them. I left Red Oaks the other day really excited. I truly believe that this world is preparing itself for a new generation of change-makers.

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.)

“Nepal is located on the North Eastern border of India,” a boy, no more than 9 years old answered.“And what is Nepal famous for?” I asked. 15 hands shot in the air, desperate to be chosen.“Mount Everest!!!” a little girl exclaimed.“Anyone else know anything interesting about Nepal?” I asked.“Yes,” a little boy answered from the back of the room. “It has a VERY different shaped flag.”“Wow!” I said, “You’re right!” And so the dialogue continued.“Okay I said, I have a favor to ask you guys. I have something that I think you can help me with. I’ll tell you about it, and then you can decide if you think you want to help. I was telling you before how most children in Nepal don’t get to school and how sad it makes them. Many of these kids would do ANYTHING to go to school. Now I want you to guess how much it costs to put a child in school in Nepal.”“$1,000?” the first child asked.“No, but good guess,” I answered.“$500!!!” the next child said.“$300?” said the next.“Nope.” I said, “lower.”“$100,” said the next little girl, “$25?” said the next.“Okay, guys I’m going to tell you the answer. It can cost as little as $5 to put a young child just like you in school. What if I told you that everyone today could put their own special friend in Nepal in school? You’re all going to pick out a name out of this brown paper bag of a child that is unable to go to school. Then you’re going to decorate an ornament in their honor and put the age and name of your child on it. I’m going to sell the ornaments next week and you’re all going to help put that child into school. I showed them some examples of the ornaments my sister and I had created the night before.“Wow!” all the kids said.“Sound good?” I asked, “Do you all want to help me?”“Yes!!!!!!!!” they all yelled with enough enthusiasm to wake a sleeping village. So we passed out the glitter, the glue, the sequins, the stickers, the ribbons and the cardboard cutout angels for them to decorate. Each child picked a name.“Is mine a boy or a girl? they all asked.“I want BBC!!!!” said another one.“I want Hima,” said another.“All of these children are special.” I told them, “And they all need our help.”
A young girl with blonde hair smiles while holding a small figurine. She is standing in front of shelves filled with stacks of boxes. She is wearing a light-colored shirt with a horse design.

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?”

So, that was the point of the angels and that’s why I gave the kids the name and the age of the child who they could put in school, who have spent their entire childhood working in factories as child laborers or recruited as military soldiers. I think it has to be real and tangible for them. I left Red Oaks the other day really excited. I truly believe that this world is preparing itself for a new generation of change-makers.

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