never underestimate the power of a 16-year-old

day 4 in the big apple.

i just love high schoolers.

love love love them.

they inspire me

they make me laugh

and make me cry

and i just want to hug them all.

yesterday i had the opportunity to visit

Global Kids [http://www.globalkids.org]

which is an after-school program

for urban youth

that provides a space for

critical thinking, leadership-building and international awareness.

it

is

so

cool.

i went expecting to sit through a talk about

what global kids does

and how it works.

instead, we paired up with the students

and worked with them on a project.

step one was to identify an issue that they care about.

how many high schoolers,

if you asked them,

could identify an issue of social concern or injustice

about which they wanted to raise awareness?

yet there they were, discussing

immigration

recycling

violence in schools

robbery

relationships

poverty

and homelessness.

if someone asked you what issue you cared about

and wanted to raise awareness on

what would you say?

i was humbled.

these kids loved learning how they can make the world a better place.

they also loved learning.

we were in a language classroom

and all around the room

was posted

opportunities in the city where they could connect with the culture of their language

personal reasons why they were learning the language

and reasons they knew that learning language was important.

why are you driven to learn what you're learning?

one student

shared with a colleague

how badly he wanted to go to college

and how hard he had worked in school....

but he didnt know if he would be able to continue his education

because of finances.

it humbled me.

how many times in high school

did i go to school just to go to school?

in college, even?

taking for granted my education,

another day of class didnt really mean much.

i knew it was what i was supposed to do

it was my life

and i knew i was going to go to college.

but to these kids

their learning means the world

and they want to learn everything that they can

for a purpose.

and for the majority of these kids,

the purpose was to make the world a better place.

i cried.

tonight,

these same kids put on a benefit to raise money for haiti.

it was incredible.

a good number of these kids were haitian-american

and a good number weren't.

when the earthquake hit

they learned the history of haiti.

i didnt know the history of haiti.

[you should check it out...]

and tonight these kids showed that they CARE.

they raised around $1500.

they wrote poems

they wrote songs

they danced.

they shared their personal experiences

in haiti

and those who hadnt been there

or weren't from there

shared their thoughts and feelings about haiti's volatile

and potentially oppressed situation.

one boy couldnt finish singing his song because he was crying.

my eyes were welling.

then the next told about how his family had a great "roots" trip to haiti

a couple years ago...but his mom died there.

the tears were rolling down my cheeks.

i love high schoolers.

i think that the world underestimates them.

but i dont.

i think you have a whole darn lot to offer.

ask yourself what you care about.

get passionate.

change the world.

that goes for all of us...

not just the 16-year-olds.

modesty and traffiking

day 3 in the big apple

got me thinking.

ha. all of these days get me thinking ;)

but today, thinking differently.

we had speakers from GEMS [http://www.gems-girls.org]

which stands for

girls educational and mentoring services

they are advocating for girls who have been traffiked.

often when we think of human traffiking,

we think of asia, africa, HAITI [http://ow.ly/YGby]

but here in our country,

girls are getting traffiked too.

in nyc,

girls aged 11-17 are getting arrested for prostitution.

arrested. and imprisoned

rather than being treated as the victims.

long story short,

vulnerable girls are discovered by "loving" pimps

who care for the girls

and then sell them out

beat them

rape them

give them purses and clothes and money

etc.

because of their situation,

lots of them dont realize that what's happening to them is wrong.

especially becase they're making money.

also because

as the speakers - including a survivor - pointed out to us

we live in a culture obsessed with sex.

it's flooded the songs

the billboards

the tv

the movies

the advertisements

and look at what clothing is being sold to young girls.

i know we always speak about modesty

...mt, or modesty talk, we always fondly called it at church camp.

because as girls you should respect yourself

and not cause your brother to stumble.

look at it another way:

when the clothes on the racks for

high schoolers

middle schoolers

grade schoolers

are slinky and revealing

clothes that people wear to clubs

clothes thatlook old and cool and sexy

what does it do?

it tells girls that it's ok

that they are expected to dress like that,

to grow up quickly,

and do everything associated with dressing like that.

so, high school girls,

modesty is so much more than

not being able to wear a spaghetti strap tank top at church camp.

so next time you go shopping...

look at your options.

to you, it may mean nothing.

but to somebody else....

it may lead to so much more.

president obama has declared january anti-traffiking month.

27 million people are enslaved today, being used for labor and prostitution.

for more information about traffiking

check out

http://www.stopthetraffik.org/default.aspx

http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/

there is also a film called

"Very Very Young Girls"

that speaks more about the situation of traffiking and prostitution

in new york city.

it can be found on netflix.

mr. mokhiber

picture this:

to find respite from a busy day in a busy city,

i escape from my 35-person class.

i seek out a starbucks.

specifically, a starbucks that has a window bar

overlooking the yellow taxis screeching down the busy avenue

so i can watch the busy people

running hither and thither

from my protected, safe place behind the big glass window.

as i settle in with my cinnamon dolce latte

the warmth and voices and people embrace me

i reach for my chocolate bar instead of my apple

and here, in the middle of the big city,

i am home.

today is day 2 in the big apple,

day 2 at the united nations

and today i am feeling a lot better about life than i was yesterday.

at the end of the day, i decided

you know what?

governments are corrupt

and systems aren't perfect

but at least something like the UN exists

and there are people there who

care about people

and are doing as much as they can,

spending their lives

towards finding peace and fighting injustice.

granted, a lot can be done to increase

the amount of critical thinking

necessary on their tours,

like hmmm tell me about this radiation

and why it happened

and how it is being prevented from happening again.

but most of these people

minus the SIT alum [disappointing]

are there because they believe in what they are doing.

this morning

we met with the deputy director of the un commision for human rights.

like, he sat right next to me.

how on earth did i ever get an opportunity like this?

seriously, this class is like a dream.

sometimes a nightmare :)

but i am in new york meeting people and learning things in a way that i never ever imagined i would be able to do. and it's pretty cool.

anyway, back to craig makhiber, deputy director of the un commission for human rights.

what a day of hope!

unlike so many people,

he wasn't a diplomat

telling us as a room of [mostly] americans what we wanted to hear...

or what he assumed we as a room of [mostly] americans wanted to hear.

rather, he was transparent.

he was transparent about the struggles and the issues within and around the UN

and the struggles and the issues within and around human rights.

and the sad truth that lots of governments don't care about human rights.

we see a lot of power in play here

and it's sad....

because we're also talking about the wellbeing of people here.

read the declaration of human rights here: http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

this is what all of us as human beings are entitled to.

there is also a declaration of the rights of a child...

(initially written by eglantyne jebb - what a name! - who was a really cool and spunky lady i researched for an earlier project. she began the organization Save the Children [www.savethechildren.org] which is also doing lots of work in haiti right now to ensure that children get the aid that they need. check it out)

anyway, back to the declaration of the rights of a child

there are two countries that have not ratified this declaration,

agreeing that these are the rights entitled to a child.

would you believe me if i told you that these two countries are somalia [who hasn't had a functioning central government for quite some time] and....

the united states?

chew on that.

anyway, mr. mokhiber offered a lot of hope

and there are people who dedicate their lives and their passions to saving the world

and fighting injustice....

note: injustice is injustice, regardless of the groups or people enacting them. torture is torture, regardless of whom is torturing whom. we often get wrapped up in the politics of it all....how many times do we step back and focus on the wrongs that are being done to people?

so thank you, mr. mokhiber, for renewing our hope and making us smile again when we think of the un. thank you for the work that you're doing and your transparency about its struggles. and thank you for your versace suit jacket. maybe it cost a fortune, maybe it was a gift, maybe it was secondhand. i know a number of people who would rant and rave about how it symbolizes the amount of money you are making and that spending money on something like couture is hypocritical to what you work for....but i am not going to judge you. it made me think twice, yes, but it also made me think about my life. because i like nice things too. and how can i be sitting here in starbucks, exercising my right to food, shelter, clothing, free speech, and leisure when some people dont even have access to food? i am excited to go to the theater, to walk down 5th avenue, etc. etc. etc. and....i like versace. sooo....thank you for making me think. and for making me smile :)

a day of disillusionment

day #1 in the big apple

today was a day that began with direct discourse on our country

on our government

on the intent behind the structures that are in place

-power-

and how we will never change the world.

we moved on to the un

and i went on a tour

in which the tour guide pointed out the giant new conference building

that they have spent 1 point whatever million dollars on during renovations

then he told us they are going to tear it down in 3 years.

please take a picture.

he led us across the room.

i saw a giant poster with words making up the human body.

i step closer to see these words are the declaration of human rights.

intrigued, i wonder what he will tell me about this poster.

instead, he points to a tapestry that was woven

and tells of pain and suffering.

please take a picture.

we enter the general assembly.

this is where 192 countries make the important decisions

that will save the world.

look at the paintings on the wall.

what do you see?

i see a pizza. and french fries.

please take a picture.

we move on through the millenium development goals

(http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals/pdf/MDG_Report_2009_ENG.pdf)

and walk into a room full of pictures and information of child soldiers.

he shows us a guitar.

a wall about bombs...

look, this statue is from nagasaki.

the front didnt suffer radiation.

the back did.

please touch the radiation.

please take a picture.

your tour is over,

i hope you enjoyed it.

you will now go to a briefing

and learn about job opportunities at the UN.

including salary.

oh. please take a picture.

needless to say, the tour left me pretty disillusioned about the un.

pretty darn disillusioned.

we continued to meet with an SIT alum

who now works at the UN

we are 35 bright-eyed, eager souls looking for ways to fight injustice

to ensure human rights

to bring peace.

she tells us why she works at the UN:

she got a green card

and a visa

she only has to work 35 hours a week

and she gets to live in new york city.

she doesn't love her job

but the benefits are great.

question?

yes, if you work as a UN peacekeeper on the ground don't worry you will be safe.

you will live in the secure UN compound.

these are places of disaster, guns, wars, rape.

why on earth would you want to live with the locals?

hm. frustrating.