Center of the Universe
It is an unusual ‘tween or teenager who doesn’t see herself as the center of the universe. In fact, it’s a fairly human trait. I remember hearing a sobering story from a friend of mine who taught fifth grade in an affluent private school. A guest speaker had come in to talk with the class about disadvantaged children in third world countries. The class was bored and inattentive until the speaker asked them to list all of the things in life they felt were “not fair!” The young people became animated and shouted out injustices in their lives as the speaker wrote them on the black board. The answers ranged from not being allowed to have a cell phone to an older sibling being able to stay up later at night to having to attend school every day.
Then the speaker then began to talk about what is unfair in the life of an African child who has to walk 10 miles a day to get drinking water and who is not allowed to go to school because he is needed to work in the fields. The fifth graders became quiet and focused.
That’s why teaching about the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will be an important part of my work with youth in the coming school year. I will begin with handing out “One” bracelets from the The One Campaign to make poverty history, and including games with an earth ball. I hope these two concrete objects will serve as reminders throughout the year that we are all connected as part of one planet and we can all be part of the solution to the world’s problems. See www.e4gr.org for more ideas about including MDGs in the life of your congregation.
Kathleen Capcara
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