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World population day: Power of youth
We Rock!
I say so’ coz I believe so.
We Rule!
I say so’ coz we are over 58,902,551
We Are!
I say so’ coz I see so.
We shall not be.
I say so’ coz malnutrition, poverty, illiteracy, inequality, ill health, gender inequality is the reality that SHALL BE so.
I want to BE…I want to ROCK…I want to RULE…they say I am young and young have to do with enthusiasm, young have to do with willingness, young have to do with power, young have to do with future. Rightly so, I have the power to be heartless, I have the willingness to overlook the present and I have the enthusiasm to believe in the fake dreams that I WILL be the future.
With him I share…
On every road I meet another of my age parted by a mere window sill, expecting for a favour of parting with some metal pieces from my trendy bag to his little palm. He is young as I am, he smiles as I do. He makes amazingly believable false claims as I do. He adds on to his name what he aspires to have (Isaac Biryani) as I add on to my name what I aspire to be (Sara, the princess). He sniffs samad-bond to enter a new world, I dream while sleeping on my water bed to enter a new world. He hugs the electricity pole and dies off, while I hug my mum and doze off. On that very road there then comes another of his kind, seeking happiness at the fact that he would get to share my metal coins instead while I seek happiness in the picnic that awaits.
Here’s our day
Eleventh of July, is the day dedicated to all inhabitants of mother Earth and is named as World Population Day. We live for ourselves everyday but this one day we ought to live and think for the whole wide world. The theme for this year’s World Population Day was “Young People”. The focus in the year 2006 is primarily youth; they comprise nearly half the world’s population as more than three billion people living on this planet are under the age of 25. “They (youth) represent the largest cohort of young people in human history, and far too many among them confront bleak prospects.” — Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General.
The youth today is shaped by forces that are beyond their control and are rather bequeathed with poverty, crime, illiteracy, unemployment, and ill health. Unlike our prior generations we are more aware of the lives led by our counterparts across the world. However, with awareness we demand. We demand for action. We demand to increase opportunities for all. We demand for a healthier, educated and happier world altogether.
Uneducated to educated
We truly rock so far as we are ignorant, so far as we are not aware of the definition of inequality and the worth of money. In other words we are great beings if we are not shadowed by the prejudices, biases and greed that are the core of the real world. Or must I say we are great beings so far as we are uneducated. Education is aimed at enlightening individuals. Prevalent educational standards, however, are not fulfilling this obligation as they enlighten us to a real world which they depict as developed and advanced. It does not enlighten us to the fact that the one living on the street is our kind, is worth shaking a hand with and is worth being friends with.
If educated individuals mingle with those who do not have the privilege to attend school, things can change. An educated friend of their age can better counsel them; can better help them feel the charm of studying and can better direct them to a path of opportunities. It’s high time that we take a stop forward and stop expecting from others. If our parents, teachers and government do not take the required initiatives…WE COULD.
As a summer vacations project groups of friends could open up a small evening school in a garden. Teaching them your favourite subjects and playing with them your favourite games could be a mutually beneficial activity. “Education is important for everyone, but it is especially significant for girls. Girls who have been educated are likely to marry later, for example, and to have smaller and healthier families. Educated women can recognise the importance of health care and know how to seek it for themselves and their children. Education helps girls and women to know their rights and to gain confidence to claim them.” —UNFPA Executive Director Thoraya A. Obaid.
Unhygienic to hygienic
Looking down at the underprivileged as unhygienic and eliminating their presence is not a means of attaining hygiene. Eliminating unhygienic aspects through counselling and giving a hygienic hand to them is what makes your community a hygienic place. Living in the open, playing in the dirt, taking drugs is what makes our underprivileged youth suffer from diseases. Diseases such as malaria, HIV Aids and viral diseases can be spread through the above mentioned ways.
For a society to be healthy all its inhabitants rich or poor need to be made aware of hygiene and prevention of illness. Invite a few kids to your place and counsel them to stay clean. It seems impossible but is very much possible, for you could ask them to take a bath every day so as to pray with you at the mosque, church or temple. After all equality and cleanliness is a core pillar of all religions. Little initiatives like these can surely make a great difference.
Malnourished to nourished
Invite a few little ones to be your guests. Buy some paper plates and ask your cook to make some nutritious food. Eating with your friends with a group of underprivileged kids will not only be a perfect treat for them but will also be a great learning experience. Feed them till they are full and that one satiated smile could make your little self a proud national. “Healthy, educated and informed young women are better prepared to participate fully in society and contribute to the life of their communities.” — Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General.
We shall!
Pakistan is a developing nation. It’s the youth who work towards development and prosperity of a nation. It’s the youth that is receptive to change and change we should for the better. “On this World Population Day, let us all reaffirm our determination to promote the human rights and well-being of young people, and work with them to build a better world for all.” — Kofi Annan, UN Secretary-General. Every decision of ours matter. It’s the duty of every educated individual to realise the striking reality that we are all one, we are all equal and each and every one of us matter. To a future business person every employee matters, to a doctor every patient matters, to an architect every mason matters and to the Mother Earth every individual matters. Surely, with such an attitude WE SHALL BE.
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