WE DAY is here! It’s another time of the year where all youth, celebrities included join hands to cerebrate causes. Do you know what the cerebration is all about? Well, before I confuse you, Me to We is one of the organizations that I would like to touch base on today. Our school is a big fun of this organization, so as me. In a nutshell it’s all about charity and making a difference!! We’ve all heard that and probably participated as well. Haven’t you? As per the founders, the organization focuses on giving people a better life while including socially conscious and environmentally friendly clothes and other accessories. Also it includes life-changing international volunteer trips, leadership training programs and materials, an inspirational speakers’ bureau, and books that address issues of positive social change. This is locally and globally.

Actually according to the founders; We Day, Me to We, We Act, and Free The Children all are the organizations which share one goal: ‘to empower a generation to shift the world from “me” to “we”—from a focus on the individual to the power of community’. These organizations were founded by Craig and Marc Kielburger. They are brothers whose journeys and their stories have inspired so many youth to make a difference. We are ALL invited and encouraged to make a difference of our choice.

The reason I wanted to shine a spotlight on this organization (Me to We) is because I feel a very big connection to it, as I mentioned I’m a FUN and this is because:

  • I have witnessed a Me to We presentation that changed my life. It explained about some many problems I didn’t know about, and so many heart touching stories. A young lady presented at our school while giving us some of her personal connections in the working of Me to We.
  • The good news is from our school, I and 11 others have been selected to attend We Day! Yes I’m attending We Day Event on Oct 2nd!! ‘We Day’ on the other hand, is the movement which champion the idea that every youth has the power to change the world. It’s a happy day to cerebrate teen volunteers around the global. Watch here: http://www.weday.com/we-day-events/we-day-cities/toronto/
  • We day is an annual series of stadium-sized events, We Day brings together world-renowned speakers and performers—from Malala Yousafzai and Martin Sheen to Demi Lovato—with tens of thousands of youth to kick-start a year of action through We Act. The thing is: You can’t buy a ticket to We Day—you earn it by taking on one local and one global action. Our school has been taking on a lot of actions by donating and staying update so we had the great luck and got tickets for 12 of us to visit the event. Of course when the teachers asked for everyone who was interested to come to the gym, tons of kids from twelve to thirteen showed up! SO they decided that we would all have to make a video or an essay to describe it deeper on why we deserve to attend We Day. My video was selected and I started researching immediately on We Day and more on Me to We and did everything I was supposed to do to equip myself.
  • Both organizations as I said are relatable. Me to We explains about many stories of kids our age who are less fortunate and are working at an illegal working age. Not by decision, but by force. Their work conditions are far from good, and they get unreasonable wage. Letting it all sink in was very hard for me. The question I asked myself was: What if God put me into the world to have a life like that! How would I feel?

Just a brief story about the Kielburger brothers, the founders: Craig was the one who really realized Me to We. At the age of twelve, Craig Kielburger had read in the morning newspaper that a kid has died due to child labour. He hadn’t understood what that meant so he researched a bit more on that topic! There were more than 215 million child labourers in the world, many working in slave-like conditions. Craig took the story to school and when he asked for help, 11 classmates raised their hands. Free The Children was born! Marc, then again, was put in charge of desperately sick AIDS patients! They are now both full-time workers for Me to We! Here was one of the testimonies: “Listening to Mr Kielburger speak to us was like being in another world, one where anything is possible. He spoke about how one of the goals of Free The Children was to empower young people and by the end of his speech we certainly felt empowered to get up and make a change. Thank you Mr Kielburger for taking the time to speak to us, our eyes have been greatly opened thanks to you.” Participant, Global Issues Service Summit – Johannesburg (March 2012)

There are many ways to take action for Me to We! Those include:

As an individual you can:

  • Join a campaign! Participate in a local or global campaign and take action on issues you care about, from hunger to education to clean water. For more info you can visit http://www.metowe.com/
  • Fundraise for (AVV) Adopt A Village! Make an impact in a community overseas by supporting Adopt a Village, our holistic and sustainable development model.
  • Volunteer at We Day! Join everyone else in inspiring a generation of youth to change the world. Volunteer at We Day and experience a day you won’t forget.

Well, I will end here with George M. Adams quote, “If you have nothing else to do, look about you and see if there isn’t something close at hand that you can improve! It may make you wealthy, thought it is more likely that it will make you happy”. Let’s all dream to make this world a better place for all. One action at a time! Locally or globally! Think about all watotoz around the world; the children in Africa, those in Asia, Europe, including here in America. They all deserve to live a dignity life. I can go on but the simple answer is yes we can, so let’s champion for social change we all want and desire to see over time!!

Venus Wambura