I know this is a US History blog, but...
The Sundarbans are a remote area of the largest mangrove forests in the world. Solar power arrived in local villages approximately 5 years ago and began to change the way life had been lived for decades...especially the ability to have lighting during the nighttime hours.
A teenager shares through an interpreter:
"Before, I couldn't study at night because we only had kerosene lamps. They were dim, and there wasn't always enough oil to keep them lit."
She was then asked, "what do you want to be when you grow up...why are you studying...what do you hope your life will be?"
"I want to serve human beings."
As (privileged and may I say spoiled) students all around the United States prepare for finals and the end of another school year, I hope that their learning has taught them to:
- Think more critically
- Develop Voice and Agency
- Recognize and call out "isms" and systems of oppression
- Build empathy and a strong social consciousness
- Appreciate the struggles/ fight/ sacrifices for freedom of previous generations
- Stand up and fight for what is right
- Consider living their life "to serve human beings"
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