L0$ GATOS, CALIFORNIA LOS GATOS PUBLIC LIBRARY | tet] | itil Courageous Actions Around the World Garth Sundom by Wetheny HamiltonForeword by Bethany Hamilton ie Chapter 1: ids Saving the Environment 1 ‘The Doggy Dung Disaster (pon) a aa ram anime ey pp The Longest Walk seve) 6 ‘When Oma Castile Gallon ers abot he destrcten Turtle Power (USA) ” Anilis housing dewopenent het the habitat ert Tha ben ery Cie gts ough Plastic Bags Sacked (nda) 18 anit Apa ounds an enizrmental protection cb in ct don cr gr pe pk ‘Show Me the Water! (sical 23 omic Book Here Uozar) 8 hopter 2: Hids Standing Up for Themselves ‘op ofthe World Joa) ‘When Small Voices Unite (Clon) Fara Calle stele dy prient clones et Up, Stand Up (1S Living Proot (Cora) eat Doc Lev From Rg Moker to Rescuer Foster) »{omic Book Care) a) ae) ory Pd Ce Sacked, p12(aoa The Doggy Dung Disaster Haruka MARUNO: Would you beliove that a 12:year.old Japanese gil was named one of nine “Heroes for the Planet” by Time magazine for picking up dog poop? Whats even ‘weirder is that ths gil like most people hated picking, "up poop. “It was gross,” Haruka Maruno told Time maga Zine in 2000. Every morning when Haruka walked her dog, Patrick, she grimaced when she had to scoop his poop with plastic bag over her hand. felt warm and ‘mushy ike a handle well. dog, poop. Yuck! But it turned out that leaning up after Patrick with 1 plastic ag was more than just gross—it was also harming the environment. Just like they keep your sandwich fresh for lunch plastic bags also keep animal ‘waste from decomposing breaking down back into the earth. Instead of becoming fertilizer, the poop-bag, como jst sat in the local Landfil looking disgusting, smelling bad, and taking up space Cp Sg ean) Japan has over 10 million dogs, which produce over 2llion pounds of waste daily. Thats massive mo tain of poop every day Just imagine what the mountain might look like after a mont! And because Japan is a femal sland, there ist a lot of extra space, As much ‘8 people sould have liked to keep mountains and ‘mountains of dog poop sting around, there just wasn't enough rom... Japan had areal doggy dung disaster iaruka Maruno decided todo something about it “What eee could Luse to scoop poop?” she thought. shovel night work, but you coulda tus throw the whole shovel ay: People would have to wash when they ‘were done—not very convenient. Maybe aplastic cup, ‘butitemight pet aite mess, an messy was the as! thing she wanted, Finally Haruka found away t vt and fold !anemply paper milk carton into theultimate poop scoop. 2” JAPAN \ population arntThe Longest Walk ‘Omar CastiLto GaLLecos Like citizens of many big cities, people in Mexico City doa lt of walking, Many walk to work or srl to the bbus stop. Others mosey to the grocery store or amble fut at night to see movies and dine in restaurants. Kids jog down the block to visit friends and hike to city parks where they play soccer, baseball and other games. However, the ainforest is 800 mies away from Menico City, so people most certainly a not walk to the rainforest. Unless, of course, you're eight-year-old Omar Castillo Gallegos. ‘One evening Omar watched a TV show about the destruction ofthe Mexican rainforest. He learned that Up to 50.000 species a year become extinct as thei rainforest habitats slashes and burns o make room for farms. Omar aka found out that only one-third of the World's rainforest remain, and that many ‘hop Sng ha eat 7 [people believe in 40 years there will be no rainforests Jett at all. In fact, every second, over an acre of rainfor- cts destroyed, ‘Though many people sas this same TV show it (Omar who decides todo something about it But what could an eight-year-old boy do to stop a thousand bulldozers? He thought that if government leaders only knew about the destruction ofthe rain- forests, they sould have to do something to stop it SSo Omar decided to write to the president of Mico, Instead of puting the letter inthe mail he went to the presidents palace and gave the letter to the guards Standing outside. The president agreed to save the rainforest and everybealy lived happily ever after. that’s not quite how i happened. After writing five letters and detiveringeachone to the guards ‘outside the president’ palace, Omar Castillo Gallegos Stil had received no response. He didi even know if the president had ru! hi eters “ifs that important to you” joked his father, "you should go to the rainforest and save yoursel, Later that evening, Omar packed his bag, The next _morninghe was ready toleaveforChiapas the Mexican sate where the rainforest was being destroyed Because he didn’t want Omar to walk alone, Omar's father decided to go, too. He probably thought that ‘Omar would get tied and want to retum home before they got far, Once Omar started, though, he wasn’t“They reached the outskiets of the city, and ect uct, Only another 785 miles to go! Day after day Omar and his father kept walking. Along the way something wonderful started to hap: pen. One day, a woman came out to the road and hae: Sntg conan 9 fered Omar and his father food and water. She had heard about their journey to protect the rainforest, and. she wanted to help. The next day, tro people met (Omar and fis father on the road and offered them homemade tortillas. The day after that, a man offered them a place to sleep. Word of Omar and his father’s walk was teaveling faster than they were! ‘Now people came out to jin Omar and his father ‘on thee walk, Instead of being just hike, twas mone like a parade. And as people came from all over to see this eightyear-old who was walking 800 miles, the parade grew! Finally, after three pairs of shoes, 800 miles, and 39 days of walking, Omar, his father, and the parade came to the town in Chiapas where the governor lived. Omar Jed his flowers tothe steps ofthe governor's palace and yelled with ll his might, “Save the rainforest!” He Yyelled again and again, "Save the rainforest!” Omar's father and al the people who had followed them to the ‘governor's palace also yelled, “Save the rainforest!” Finally, the governor came out onto the balcony of hhispalace and the crowd fellsilent. The governor looked down at Omar Casilo Gallegos and his father and ‘said, “Tm sory, but if you want to save the rainforestHenry Gilley lived in a suburb of Chicago where new ‘buildings sprang up every day It seemed like he could Fide past an open feld on the way to school, and on ‘the way home there seould be ive department stores, a couple of fastfood jints, a movie theater and a gas ‘sation. Many people calle this “progress.” ‘But Heney Cilley was not “many people.” In his pinion, progress and. pavement didn't have 1 0 together Ty 2001, Henry's thind-grade teacher rad the lass a newspaper article about constraction tha was due to Startinnearby Lakeln the Hills Thisconstrction would be next tothe 117-cre Exner Marsh Nature Preserve Unfortunatly: many’ ofthe endangered Blanding’ tar tes that ive inthe marsh would soon find thelr mest Ing sites paved over, Turtles could be squished by cars {they wandered onto the parking lot Or polsoned By ‘the gros sludge tht would likely wash ito the marsh. pe Sty noone BL ‘Many’ students in Henry Cilley's class wanted to save the Blanding’s turtles, They wrote letters to the Laken the Hills vilage president asking him tostop the ‘onstruction. One of the teaching assistants in Henry's dass, who lived near the village present, personally ‘delivered the letters. The class never gota response “That's when Henry started to bug the ving day- lights out of me about what was going to happen tothe turtles” remembers Henry's mom, Katherine, But what ‘ould they do? Henry and his mom called the Ilinois Nature Preserves Commission, a group set up to pro- tect natural habitats from overdevelopment. “They sidPlostic Bags Sacked Harsurr AGRAWAL Have you eve Bn lute They ores ae ae tha fet trough the ocean Ike Gating parece Gionlog ys ek i ese Statute yah would ook ke lunch eve ou cre oen pat mgs They oe Bg ar toby tt oat though tbe oct ke difing park eins ceed poy eons ele srovt os te plas bas weak ok er Unfortnahy you were oe tri se Jul «plastic bag instead of a ellis, you would be toast “More than 100,00 sea animals die every year from eat- ing or getting tangled in plastics. According to www ‘urtlsorg, one out of every three dead leatherback turtles that washed ashore between 1979 and 1988 had plastic init stomach ape Sgt ea ‘And plastc-bag use as only increased. Today, 500 billion t0 600 billion plastic bags are made very yar That's an average of about 1 million bags per minute. ‘And lke diamonds, aplastic hag is forever Paper cloth, and cardboard biodegrade, or beak down back into the earth, Plastic doesn't, Bags made of plastic just sit around in landfills or fot through the water looking, like seaturle's lunch. One thousand years from now, the same plastic bag will still be floating around the ‘ocean that f i's not eaten frst ‘And isnot justsea lie that is endangered by plastic liter In Bangladesh, plastic hogs clogged storm grates and caused flooding. In New Delhi, India, 18 deer died {in Bannerghatta Park after eating plastic bags.122 fl dt So, tl Cage and schools. They teach people how to conserve water And ese items that usualy end up ia lands In 2002, the Litle Eco Friends won the Volvo Environment Prize, Harshit and. the eight ‘original members flew to Sweden to collect the $10,000 award. Do you think the Little Eco Friends blew the winnings ‘on new bikes, MPS players and video games? Actually, they donate all their winnings toa new campaign to «lean up the pollute lakes of New Deli. Show Me the Water! Any Brat If you wanted i Know about he baled betiong, engl pokes, extern hay rumed wea Beem yoni ea pees at Teac eta fre arepialt—and Any happeo to be on expert emilee bene gee eee eee ciate amen ge eat yeanold ee reee tee al ee acer foi ele eee start oes Geet te totiferda meth ringed psu ow 1 oS Seater ges ieee eerie tally grow: When takingcare of newborn, Amy ever Reece west phic Wir aie Docc net Sere Soper eery teers Towieige new mene Dut leidng menopa and teaching oes abut them weet te only things that Amy Bel id tobeabout ecosystems in the area and how they protect them. ‘But what relly got Amy Beal thinking as water “And it wast because she was thirsty.“ Adelaide isthe ies stat nthe driest country inthe word,” she said. ‘The whole region was thirsty! ‘Most of the water in Adelaide comes from one place—the Murray River. And because the Muray Riveristhe ony fresh water around itis used for every thing Farmers use i to water thie fells. The ment uses it to generate electricity. People drink from. reservoirs filled by the river. And when itis hot which {almost always people waters swim, and fish in its cool waters ‘Amy attended the Intemational River Health Conference where she and kids fom around the world learned more about the Murray River. They discovered ‘the biggest problem was that once people took water ‘ut forall thse things, there wast enough left for the river That is why thousands of re um tees were ‘dying along its hanks. And why fish were being left high and dry, unable to spaven inthe shallows. Cap Sg nanan 25 Even though the problem vas obvious, nobody ‘could agree on what to do. Some people wanted the farmers to useless water. The farmers thought people should take shorter showers. And the government told people inthe region that if they wanted clectity, they would have to deal withthe effets of dams on the Murray. ‘The only people Amy Beal could find who stl had an open mind were the kids at her school, and ‘what could they do to save the Murray River? Amy ‘wasnt sure, But she did know that one day her ger ‘ration would lead the country and ‘she thought she could help make sure these young leaders had the wel- fare of the Murray omAika Tsubota Have you ever wanted to make your own comic book? ‘Aika Teubota did From the time she was five years old, Aika wrote stories, created characters, and made them into comic strips: She shared these creations with her family and friends, Aika drew comics about animals and things that happened to her at schoo. She also made up com- {cs about things she could only imagine —like unicorns and space aliens She was a gifted artist, and hee fame ly thought that someday her comic books might be in ‘every supermarket and toy store in Japan. ‘Aika was also concerned about the environment. When she was 10, she wrote think ofthe earth asa gentle le at watches ce lof the lives om The next year when Aika was in the sath grade, hee teacher assigned a special project. Students could do whatever they wanted as long a they finished before ‘winter break. ape: Sg oan 28 Forher projet, Aika Teubota drew a comic book ‘And she poured her heart into this book like no ‘other project. Aika drew late at night until her mother insisted she go to sleep. She checked out dozens of books from the library to lear more about the envion- tment. She sculpted each page until it was perfect. Aika rade ure her comic hook was funny informative, and ‘easy to understand, When her friends asked her to pay ‘orto goto the movies, Aika said she would love toa 000 a8 she finished her comic book. Did she know this book would be her last? When you read Aika's Secrets of he Earth you meet boy named Bichi and a gil named Rumi, Rumi checks ‘outa library book, and when the wo kids apen it, out jumps the earth, “Hi, there!” says Earth, before taking, Tichi and Rumi on a magical tour of the environmentEscaneado con CamScannerChop 2: Song Up for Temes 35 jrls in her a neart ian wontinepclianeed nates Brothas went gm a8 Santostt Yapay climb mountains, Shadead’eregice st thats what people told Santosh Yaday- white noel oe S growing up i hemselves against in the small village of Haryang “ ‘lim mountains,” said her parents, tats can't climb mountains” said hee five older brothers “itis cant climb mountains,” said her ‘cousins and | atmisand uncles and grandparents | Even her neighbors and schoolteachers said that ‘mountains. And until she was 14 years o them. She had ni ld Santosh believed '-letalone thought ‘op of a mountain, idn't go to school "ven know there ing tothe market the Escaneado con CamScannerCopter 2: Kis Soning Up for Tansee 37 ‘santosh talked her family into visti tains during one school break. She wantec her own eyes what he had read about in ma, When her family got to the mountains, Sang five older brothers talked about India’s famous = cs Some had reached the top of Mt. Everest. Her bros Je in her village thought she was crazy The Fey ker that gsc’ cinb mountains. cat deed what se wa doing runing around ey puffing, when she should be getting, shorts, hung ready to hav ly. Sentosh ‘small amount of money she had washed away to enroll a mountain climbing class. ‘ein good money ora useless denn? sid the people of ‘page. They couldn't believe aly her father had had enough. He decided to pt an end to Santosh’s mountain-limbing dreams jughter and wanted her to be eto do? that he would go to the first day of in-climbing class and drag her home. But as Santosh’s father stormed out of the house on the ‘way to the class, he slipped, fell down the stars, and broke his ankle ‘After his fall, Santosh’ gave up trying to pressure her. Santosh st the mountain-climbing clas. She didn’t get married, and her family members land neighbors remained upset. Santosh had passed up having a family and everything normal for an impos- sible dream. Afterall everyone knew that girls couldn't £6 oer Escaneado con CamScannerssi Isl ge 5005 ing mee mada ee oda ied Mt Everest again to become jy Taner to standon the top ofthe World fy on right think that Santosh would credit he ozs to song legs oF lungs of steel, but she says, Edscaton the key” If she hadn't fought to stayin ‘col se says, she never would have Known that ‘mourns exe, And se never would have stated dreaming boat climbing them. With Sunoh asa ole model, more young gils are saretosty inschooand eam dream too. They may ven ok up at Mt Everest and when they ask about it ther parents and alder brothers and neighbors and eles willy “Yes, dea gis can limb mountains.” When Small Voices Unite Fanliz CALLE AND THE CoLOMBIAN CHILDREN FOR PEACE 11096, Farliz Calle was 15 years old. She had a wide ing eyes and was the president of fer student council. Farlz’s father picked bananas at a nearby plantation and her mother cooked for the plantation workers. She had two sisters, a brother, fand many friends. Farliz. wanted to go to college and ‘become a criminal psychologist when she grew up. Tt ‘was impossible not to like But like most teenagers, Farliz had problems, too. If you have ever been to middle school or had a pimple or been born, then you can probably relate to the prob- lems that most young people have. However, Farliz’s difficulties were a little different—she worried about her father, “I dream that one day I will wake up and my father will go to work and I will not have the fear that Ihe willbe shot,” Farliz sad. Escaneado con CamScannertes Soe, fol Chnge “ten Chopter 2: Kid Stoning Up for Thomsshes Al ‘And it was not just her father she worried abou [All of the people of Apartad6, Colombia— adult 1a or new sports equipment for recess. But she cafeter ‘hildren—were in danger. There had been. fighting’! eat t atop the ighting could she? Falz decided to the country for over 80 years. During that time, 76,8 | find OBL tot Nations —_ ee than 300000 people had died. Much of the death destruction had been caused by fighting between tne govemment and drug gangs. In the capital city Bogottcarbombs and kidnappings were common’ ee a ee ter Falz ept hope in her heart that someday the ete dren of Colombia would sleep through nights witheus ting awoken by gunfire. She could imagine a tine oc! wisted Apartado gather information about how Mat fics children, Faliz helped organize a greeting for war ia included an exhibition of poems, leters, paint her culptures and stories—allby children. Thecreatons ing ed the effects of war on kids as wel as kids’ hopes ‘pe ponce In all, more than 5,00 children participated in 101 iek of Reflection, Fariz Calle read Ms. Machel lt- ‘ee wittenby the children of Apartadé. tasked the adults for peace in our homes, for them not to make orphans of children, toallow us to play freely inthe streets, and for no harm to come to our small brothers and sisters.” ‘Graca Machel was moved by the children’s work. When she reported back to the United Nations, the strug- gle of Colombia's children burst onto the world stage. ‘The Children’s Peace Movement was born. ‘And as soon as the movement began, Farliz found others who wanted to help. Like Juan Elias Uribe, who "wanted peace on behalf of his father, a doctor who was Killed when he spoke out against the violence, And Mayerly Sanchez, who stepped up to help after her best ‘As president of the student council at her school, Farliz could organize assemblies: She could try to get better food in the seeing dead bodies in the streets of Apartad6. Dilio Lorenzo, another participant, said, “Enough is enough and wewon'taccept this anymore, Wedemand change.” None of these members were over 16 years old. Escaneado con CamScanner(AD kod ids, lS, Rec Charge “The first thing Farliz and the other leaders of Children’s Peace Movement noticed is that they 2 (quickly outgrown student goverment. Under ya Colombian constitution, citizens could elect a maygs what the young leaders of the group. I fand form their own local government. That's just children spoke out, their government and the govern- rents of the world would have to listen. ‘After a lot of hard work geting the word out about the vote and connecting with other kids around the country, the group met its goal—and then some! ‘On October 25, 1986, after only six m zation, the Children’s Peace Movemen young, people to vote forthe right family, and freedom from abuse.” Chop 2: Kids Sending Up for Themsebes A they must be careful about what they say” sro ats leaders received daly death threats. Tren edger Fico ct oon peace—and this included rk ; sh pied forte Nobel Fece az in envied to pea at evens all ver the 199, Fa wa recs ine Nera atc world tt up the goals ofthe Childrens Peace Movement: suriWe request to all the adults of all the countries in world sec inthe word Face in our countries Peace in our homes, Peace in our hers” Escaneado con CamScanner4 sondeg Up Thenihes AS chop 2: Kis fora ing DN rights The Serbian goverment jg ap 1 the a complicated situation. It tren eon tna streets ring ths Hine Ia pallet hoes inthe concrete walls- vould have seen ee gave we watched the windows a Come Together Yeu rut Rave mated ee nana PH : Wan Sexutovic & Perret Sein ao gt e paren made you stop hanging out with —-3Myan and Petrit didn’t om te Sete a te ff) etter reese Te | glee wer ah ronda a as I person who was a litle diferent from you in some violence to stop. So th boys sna week tray? What if some kids weren't allowed in school? Or _kids who were fed uP (eee the country? the Albanians, Serbian governs to school, they were fred from participate inthe government. (One place where this tension in the city of Pristina, where Sekulovic lived. Petit was Serb. According to all the a 15-year-olds should have was very strong was Pettit Selimi and Ivan Escaneado con CamScannersori, Real Chonge Chapter 2: Kids Stondng Up forThonsshos 47 ae ba Be World War Il Tt a : : jan hero from Wo was a place Ten ped Thee alpanipoth groups of kids shared memories of oc: onboth sides al Senet Eee adults wh practice and ‘other sports in the peaceful past. couldn tive thei children ing with kids “ id work together to repair the sports cen- aad yale tome ote group. They forbade their children yo 11eY he they could work together to repair the at meetings. Tnstead of falling apart amidst the danger and ten, mney fay when gunshots echoed through the ‘son, Ivan, Perit, and the group only grew stronger, city and people threw rocks at tanks, 600 Albanian “Be the group star. 3 Gerbian kids showed up at the Boro and Ramiz el too oes) teat Ne Center. They were ready to work. For a talk peace. They orga. SP01" ghey cleaned and scrubbed. They pulled out nized art classes an “arpet, repainted cracked walls, and cleared plys—even a graffi is off long-forgotten basketball courts. Each estima! taught jnorning 600 kids showed up and worked like they had hi mons ndy i worked before—like their country depended on. eee eneabeblinn lotsrenaliitiog ‘each wheelbarrow load of broken cement, rep sgesofwar thatweresprayed. ‘an Sekulovic, and their friends uncov- Erie rctrantei o e 2 oye igh ieeen aioe ie ‘At the end of the week, the Boro and Ramiz Sports Center was almost perfect. It looked like the old days, before the war, before Serbs and Albanians fought and destroyed everything that was good in the country. over the city. Still, Ivan and Petrit nes flew When the dust settled, the group opened their arms and Instead, they planned their most enlsge? Showed the city of Pristina what Serbs and Albanians could do if they worked together. For six months, kids from both groups played soc- cer and basketball and other games peacefully with fone another at the sports complex. Unfortunately, the war continued to cause destruction and, on the night y Escaneado con CamScannerABs tds, ol Sere, Ret Chonge ‘young adul i E ‘eth their own hands. And that is something ty S.A.) amount of fire can burn away. ees: GET INSPIRED: - Get da rotenee By stand Up Sete fi a Matsa SANDERS tier Kids from anaes Malika Sanders grew up with racism, fie wed by goog to ‘And in her hometown of Selma, Alabama, disrimi- wo student wna ‘t stop at name-calling. When Malika was sedly grouping students based. ty, were actually grouping students based con race, All the black students were going into one set Of classes and the white kids were going into another. Escaneado con CamScanner{SLs ids el Sve Rol Chonge 1M this be happening? took action by starting a group cq ‘Stadent Movement Against Racial Ty (CTracking” isa way to group students in classro, She taught students and parents about racial trackine ‘and she led demonstrations demanding quality ed, nothing had changed, Mai msn frends were stl lasses—even if they fot ats slat nd telngd in an advanced ca Something daca tobe doe, ae ris onal pci stin where student ima, Al students for class class placement, all races would have an Chapter 2: Keds Stonding Up for Themselves ST parents were bo! began fighting for ‘name on national was still mayor. Je a yhen Rose Sanders was about to vote against Joe jNtherman in the 2000 election, she was met by six ‘officers who tried to stop her. = might have had something to do with her ka... ime Malika Sanders had joined the 21st ith Leadership Movement and had organized the “Joe's Gotta Go” campaign. As Malika said,"Democracy was nowhere to be found in Joe Escaneado con CamScanner