We are delighted to share a blog written by student Rafia from Roots Millennium Schools, Paddington Campus, who is part of a team delivering a Global Goals project for the 2020-21 GSL Global Goals Competition.
Their project is among over 957 social action projects currently running as part of the GSL movement and we are excited to be supporting them to design and lead positive social change in their community.
My experience has been remarkable!
Project Overview
Education has always played an important role in building the characters of people, and in making their lives, but what about those people who have been deprived from the power of education? How will they build their lives? 40% of the population in Pakistan is illiterate either due to their family backgrounds, financial issues and lower quality education.
With the ongoing pandemic in 2020, the illiteracy rate has increased as they can’t even go to their local schools to have some education. And this can ruin the future of children. We’ve participated in campaigns before but have never started one of our own but this time, in order to overcome this obstacle, we have registered our team Umut for the GSL Project and are ready to bring a change by starting a campaign of our own!
Our project is known as the ‘Revival of Enlightenment’ following the fourth SDG, Quality Education. In this project we’ll be collecting books (mostly reading books) from people in our local community and then we’ll be providing these books to the foundation which are providing education to the underprivileged children, this way the children will learn new things, get knowledge and would also revive the tradition of book reading.
Our Journey
By taking a part in this competition we have got a chance to use the skills we learned from our ‘Digital Entrepreneurship Club’ in school. We have got a chance to write blogs, create social media accounts and edit videos in order to create awareness regarding our project and run a successful campaign by getting more participants.
Besides this, our communication skills have boosted as we’ve got to engage with a lot of people. We faced some issues like when we told people that we’re about to start a campaign and would be collecting books to donate, some parents of the underprivileged children didn’t want donated books for their children. But once when we told them the benefit of even these books and how these can improve their education and make them successful in future, they were happy and said that they’ll be allowing their children to read and learn from these books once donated.
The Next Chapter
There are many issues in the world and it is our duty to overcome them as the youth of the world. If we; youth unite together and fight for different issues, like to end illiteracy, end pollution, and to use renewable energy resources, we can help the world become a better place for the upcoming generations.
I invite all the young minds of the world to take part in GSL Projects and bring a positive change in the world with their enthusiasm. I’d like to add a saying by Harriet Tubman to inspire you all young stars. The saying goes, “Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.” Never feel small. Even a small step you take in your local community can bring huge change. So never feel that you can’t do it. You can and always will. Go ahead and take an active part in making this world a much better place!
The 2020-21 GSL Global Goals Competition is now open and runs until June 2021. If you belong to one of the 500+ teams of students currently delivering a social action project as part of the competition we would love to hear from you and feature your blog and project photos on our website to inspire others.
