Written by Darilyn Hackett, NELA Principal
At NELA students practice public speaking as part of our holistic learning curriculum. We do this so that students know that they have a voice, know that they can use it, and grow confident in doing so. This past month, middle school students were asked to prepare speeches that responded to the question: Are Children Important? Brothers John Sein and John Win decided to write about children from their homeland of Burma.
I want to tell you about my homeland. I want to tell you about Burma and Myanmar. I want to tell you how the children need help. In every small village, every town, and all big cities children are in need. In Myanmar half of the kids go to school while the other half do not. This half is poor. We need to give them a safe place to grow up. We need to help them to live. These kids are dying from war and disease.
Who will help them? We can. Who will care for them? We can. Who will teach them to be smart students? We can! Who will give them a bright light in them? We can. Who will give them a better world? We can. How many things do we take for granted? Do you think that we can’t help these kids? Well, we can.
We can help by making safe places for the kids to learn. We can help by raising awareness. Did you know 1 out of 10 are able to go to school? Some kids must walk to school for 2 hours and 2 hours back. Can we help them? Yes! We can. We can cry at the top of our voices until people will listen. Today we can. We can shout out loud to the whole country. Today we can. We can help us make a better life for them until they are happy. You matter. Kids matter. All of us matter. But let’s not forget about Burma kids. They matter too. Thank you for listening.
John Sein, 7th grade
Imagine. Imagine this, kids aren’t educated. And if they are not educated, they cannot carry your legacy into the future. They are the next generation to change the world. And if they don’t have education they cannot move forward.
When I went to a village in Burma, I saw kids not going to school. The children who went to school walked very far; they did not have cars like us. Instead, they helped take care of their brothers and sisters or they lived on their own. When I see that I feel weird and bad that they don’t go to school, and they don’t talk to people like me.
All children should be allowed to go to school and not have to pay. Some schools are very far away. These children should be allowed to go to school.
We can help by donating books and building schools that are closer to villages for children. Imagine instead a world where all kids are educated. If they are educated, they will be able to fulfill their dreams. They need to go to school to have a bright future and a good life.
John Win, 6th grade
We are so proud of John Sein, John Win, and so many of our other students for taking their own story and moving it beyond themselves in love and service to others.
To learn more about the challenges children are facing in Burma (also known as Myanmar), please visit Learning | UNICEF Myanmar.