My name is Emilia and I am a grade seven student at the Karen Kain School of the Arts. I am also a member of my school's "Me 2 We" Club and I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to go to WE Day held last week in Toronto. I learned so much and was inspired by all the moving stories of sacrifice, giving and need that were told to me!
One speaker who really impressed me was Hani Al Moulia, a seventeen-year-old Syrian refugee who is legally blind. But has a lack of eyesight stopped him from being an amazing photographer? NO! When he and his family had to be moved to a refugee camp he took photos of all the things going on there while teaching English to the other kids in the camp. I was in awe! His speech really impacted me because with the help of our Me 2 We Club last May, my school supported six Syrian families in Toronto by collecting plenty of good clothing for their kids.
Another thing that blew my mind was Gord Downie's performance of his own song Secret Path. The song is about a 12-year-old ( the same age as me!) First Nations boy named Chanie Wenjack. Chanie was taken away to a residential school that was more than 600km away from his home. He escaped the school, but was wearing only light clothes and died from exposure. His story was very sad but it got the message through to everyone that there needs to be change and that was what mattered. To be honest, it shocked me. I was upset and I wanted something to change. When we got back to school, we decided to do something with the Truth and Reconciliation Campaign, which is working to repair a bond with the First Nations. This campaign is now a branch of WE. My school's Me 2 We club is trying to make sure that the First Nations voices are heard and that their living situations will be improved!
One more thing that stood out to me was how the Bishop Morocco Soccer team helped the kids and teens in Attawapiskat to get their minds off the suicides that had been happening on their reserve. The Bishop Morocco Soccer team went to Attawapiskat to meet the surviving kids. On the first and second day the kids in Attawapiskat were not really interacting with the soccer team, but on the third day the soccer team had an idea to pick up the soccer ball and just play. It worked. The kids joined in and they played the whole day! By the end of the day everyone was having fun and everyone made friends! I just found that story of simple friendship to be awesome. It makes me realize how lucky I am to live in a good and nurturing environment and I want to help other kids have a good childhood as well!
I just think that the idea of freely giving to others is an amazing thing. I know that I will never know what it feels like to live in poverty, or to be forced from my home - to not have clean water to drink or good food to eat, but hearing the stories at WE Day made me realize that change IS possible. I want to support anyone one who needs help in any way I can!
Emilia MacDonald is a Grade 7 student at TDSB's Karen Kain School of the Arts. She likes playing guitar and piano, swimming and reading. She is in her second year of Me 2 We and hopes to help many more people in years to come!
