by Irina Bokova
Before long, even adult women and men were asking if they could join. Sine always said, ‘The more, the merrier!’ and Kaimon would dance in excitement.
Soon, all the women and most of the men in the village had signed up. They were becoming very active, even starting their own little projects. Many of the girls and women started their own small businesses: growing flowers or vegetables to sell; raising chickens and delivering eggs to families for breakfast; painting pictures and carving sculptures; even making necklaces out of shells. One woman had the idea to begin a tiny new savings bank, so that all the women could borrow money to start their garden or craft businesses, then pay it back to be lent out to help others.
One afternoon, Kaimon and Sine were leading their radio programme and taking calls from girls all over the island who wanted to share stories of their activities. They were playing a song to rest their voices, when the telephone rang.
It was a friend called Tau and he wanted to arrange a meeting with the Prime Minister so that Sine could tell him what the group was doing. Sine felt all nervous again, but Kaimon didn’t hesitate. She answered right away: ‘That would be awesome!’ And then the music ended, so straight away, Sine announced over the radio that the women’s rights group would be meeting the Prime Minister. Everyone was surprised, but also very proud. And they knew they couldn’t back down now.
Chapter 4
The next morning, Sine and Kaimon woke up early. Sine’s mother had made her favourite: bananas and fish! After breakfast, Sine went down to the beach for a bath. She saw her friends in the waters nearby but did not stop to say hello, as her mind was too busy. Sine and Kaimon played in the warm waves together to help each other calm down. They could see leaping silver dolphins just beyond the breakwater, and this filled them with happiness.
When they arrived back at Sine’s house, a visitor was waiting. Sine’s mother was sitting on the mat in front of him. It was Tau, the friend who had called them on the radio. Tau had very exciting news for Sine and Kaimon – the meeting was arranged and the girls would travel all the way to Port Moresby to meet the Prime Minister of their country.
Sine was terribly excited and nervous all over again. She glanced at Kaimon, asking silently for reassurance. Tau looked too, and then asked Kaimon directly, ‘And what would you like to say to the leader of your country, little brave one?’ Kaimon smiled and answered gaily, ‘I’ll just explain that there is strength in all of us. When the girls of Papua New Guinea come together and stand up for each other, we can change the world.’ Sine nearly jumped two miles in the air. She was amazed! It was the first time that anyone – except her – had really been able to see Kaimon.
Sine felt her heart fill with joy. She was happy that people were finally recognising their girls’ education programme and all the efforts of the group to bring boys and girls together for a better village. And she was surprised but overjoyed that her best friend, who had always been quietly beside her and supporting her, was finally becoming… visible!
The next morning, the girls were woken by the sound of crashing waves. They prepared quickly and Tau knocked on the door an hour later. They stopped at their local market to pick up some supplies, then travelled all the way to Port Moresby. Kaimon laughed and told stories for the whole trip and Sine loved it, because Tau really answered. He could see Kaimon and understand her, too!
Chapter 5
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the Prime Minister’s office. Tau pressed the doorbell and stood there with a large grin on his face, while Sine became very nervous again. Kaimon gave her a quick hug in reassurance and then straightened up politely.
The large wooden door opened and a tall thin man, with his nose high up in the air, led them to an elegant office. They quietly entered through the door and approached the Prime Minister. He was sitting comfortably in a large cushiony chair at the end of a bulky, wooden, oval-shaped table in a bright room with lots of certificates and carvings on the wall.
Tau was the first to say hello. Then the Prime Minister turned to Sine and Kaimon, saying welcome. Sine answered with a trembling voice and Kaimon smiled brightly, but said nothing. Sine was terrified that her friend had disappeared again. But the Prime Minister asked both girls to sit down in the chairs diagonally next to him.
He had heard about the WFGT programmes on the radio and he was interested in what they were doing. Sine told him about their mission to improve awareness of women’s rights in the community and eventually the whole country. Kaimon added that women are citizens of this planet, too.
The Prime Minister was delighted. He was proud of the girls and everything that they had done. He was also happy because, as he explained, it was his mission to make sure that girls and women never felt frightened or silenced again. He had just been to New York, he explained, to the United Nations, and world leaders had agreed on Sustainable Development Goals for the whole planet.
Gender equality, and participation of girls and women in the community, were two of the most important goals that the world leaders had committed to achieving. ‘As soon as I heard your radio programme, I realised that it won’t be as hard as I thought for my country,’ he admitted. ‘With visible girls like you on our side, we’ll meet our goals, and I believe that we’ll even have fun doing it!’ Kaimon’s smile was brilliant and Sine nearly cried for joy. By standing up for themselves and for each other, they could help make the world better for everyone.
Welcome to Mexico!
The author of this story is Allison Hazel Liévano Gómez. She lives in Mexico. Allison is a keen reader and writer. Her favourite author is Malala Yousafzai and she enjoys books from authors as varied as Roald Dahl, Joaquin Salvador Lavado (Quino), J.K. Rowling and Nick Vujicic.
In her stories, Allison draws on her experience of growing up with her older sister Daniela, who has Down Syndrome and autism. Allison is passionate about working for the rights and opportunities of children with disabilities.
Allison has also won an award for robot design! In 2016 she designed and programmed an educational robot and won first place in her category at an international robotics competition.
Chapter 1
Reading a dog’s mind is easy: they mostly think about food and cats and fetching balls and rolling on the grass. Reading a human’s mind is more difficult. They think about work and are tense, especially adults.
Michelle was very special, kind and gentle. But she couldn’t express how she felt by talking because she had a double diagnosis: autism and Down syndrome. Michelle’s parents couldn’t find an appropriate school for her. Michelle was Clara’s big sister. They lived in Mexico City.
Clara was the ‘middle of the sandwich’. She was a splendid girl (that’s what her mum always said!). She gave all her effort to her work at school and she was also very joyful. She wished that her sister Michelle could talk. She loved Michelle very much.
Clara also has a marvellous little brother called Jorge. He loved programming, coding and building things. He was an inventor. He called his inventions ‘Jorge-apps’! He designed computer apps that came alive, like virtual robots, and they really worked. He created an app to feed and clean up after Cafecito, the family’s fancy and adorable Chihuahua; an app to pick up his toys; a monster-detector app to look for monsters under his bed; and even a nanorobot app to plant hair on bald heads. Clara’s dad really liked that one! There were so many Jorge-apps!
The children were very happy together. They would laugh, sing and dance, and especially liked jumping up and down on the trampoline. They visited the park, where Michelle had a special flowering jacaranda tree that she loved in all seasons and never tired of visiting. They sometimes had fights, but they always worked things out very quickly. They were like magnets: they wanted to be together.
Once, the children visited an amazing fair with big rides and had a fabulous time. Michelle and Clara tried the fastest and splashiest ride, but Jorge was too small for that, so he quickly invented a special floating shoes ap
p, to make himself look taller. He really enjoyed that ride in particular.
Chapter 2
The children also made up their own games. One game they always played together is called ‘superpowers’. Jorge and Clara imagined that Michelle had special powers that only they knew about: Michelle could fly or see through walls, and she could hear conversations from very far away. She used these superpowers to help Jorge and Clara to escape from trouble.
Sometimes it really did seem like Michelle had superpowers! Like the time when she found the note ‘Doh’ on the piano, like magic, after the piano teacher sang the note to her, or the time when she suddenly sang perfectly in front of hundreds of people!
One day, the children’s parents finally found a special school for Michelle. Clara was very excited because she thought Michelle would be very happy there. But it did bother her. Clara did not understand why her sister Michelle could not be in the same school as her and Jorge. The three children should be together, in Clara’s mind. It would be fantastic, she felt. She dreamt of it.
There was something else that Clara found hard. Every time they played with their neighbours, she noticed that they didn’t want to play with Michelle. They didn’t understand her. And worse, sometimes they even laughed at her. Clara wanted more people to understand Michelle, not only Jorge and her.
When Michelle came back after her first day at the special school, she seemed to be happy and relaxed. She even seemed proud as she carried her own folders and workbooks up the garden path. But suddenly, she tripped and fell down, dropping all her new schoolwork. Their neighbour, Agatha, laughed in a cruel way, saying to the other children in the neighbourhood, ‘She’s so dumb!’
Clara was very upset. She thought to herself: ‘Why does she act like that with my sister? Why can’t people understand Michelle?’
In school, she had learned about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of The Child. Clara knew that children with different abilities have the same rights as other children. It just seemed unfair that this was not happening for her sister. Clara could not sleep that night. She tossed and turned in her bed, worrying and trying to think of a solution. She thought and thought about it, and finally fell asleep.
Chapter 3
The next morning, Clara saw Jorge experimenting with one of his crazy coding projects. He was working on a strange looking headset. She asked him, ‘What is that? And what are you doing?’ Jorge answered, ‘It is a mind-connection app. It translates the electro-magnetic waves of the brain.’ She laughed. ‘What a crazy idea!’
Her brother persuaded her to place it on her head. Suddenly, a strange robot-voice said, ‘I want pizza.’ That was exactly the same thing that Clara had been thinking. She was thrilled. ‘It worked! And if the app worked with me…’ she thought, ‘… it would work with Michelle!’
This was the solution! With a mind-connection app, all people would be able to hear what Michelle thought and felt. They would be able to understand her. Clara hugged Jorge and ran out of the room, leaving him looking a bit anxious.
When Michelle came back from school that day, Clara ran down the stairs to give the headset to her. She put the app on Michelle’s head and suddenly a sweet voice said, ‘Hi Clara!’ Clara was very excited and started asking Michelle all the things she had always wanted to ask her. The sisters talked about their vacations together, about their birthday parties, and most of all, they talked about their feelings.
Clara learned many special things about Michelle. She learned that her favourite colour was purple and her favourite food was pasta. She learned that when Michelle flapped her arms, it was because she was excited, and when she screeched her teeth, it meant that she was tired and, when she hummed, she was trying to say that she was hungry. It was all so interesting!
Suddenly, Clara had an idea. She could share the app with Michelle in front of the other kids! She could even organise a party to make new friends for Michelle. They would be able to hear her, and would immediately see that she was a very gentle and kind person.
It would be great! Clara decided to invite all the neighbourhood children and all their friends from school. They could finally understand Michelle! It was an excellent idea! That night Michelle and Clara dreamed happy dreams.
Chapter 4
The next day, Clara woke up at 7am to prepare everything. She was terribly excited. Today was the party! It was Saturday, which was Michelle’s favourite day, because on Saturdays the sisters always went to the park together. But Clara told herself that they could always go to the park some other day. Michelle would be happy at the party.
Clara decorated the house, and prepared the music and the food. The decorations were purple, Michelle’s favourite colour. All their friends started coming in. Even Agatha, the neighbourhood bully, came. Just then, loud music started to play.
Michelle was the last one to arrive. She was wearing the mind-connection app headset. Clara was delighted to see her. But in that moment, a strange voice from the headset said: ‘I need to escape from here. There’s too much noise and so many people. I want to go to the park like we always do. There is too much noise! Please get me out!’ Michelle started to shout ‘Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!’ in a high, panicked voice.
Everybody was staring at her and some children were even laughing at her. Finally, Michelle opened the door and ran away so fast that her headset fell off. Clara and Jorge ran after her, but Michelle ran too fast and they could not find her. Luckily, the children’s parents also searched. They found Michelle hiding in her special tree and took her carefully around to the back entrance to the house and into her room.
Clara looked down and saw the headset, lying broken on the garden path. She looked back and all the sisters’ friends were still dancing happily inside the house. Then she ran to tell Jorge so that he could fix the headset. When she got to Jorge’s laboratory, in their garage, he explained that the headset could not be repaired. A delicate wire which made it work had burned out. It was awful!
Clara went to her bedroom and stared at her fish bowl. She threw herself dramatically on the bed and started to cry. The mind-connection app was the solution, but it had failed. She felt like it was all her fault. She felt she had failed Michelle. Suddenly, someone opened the door. It was Michelle.
Clara hugged her sister and for a long time the two of them were hugging and crying. When Clara stopped crying, she thought for a moment. Michelle had come to console her. Michelle understood her. She felt it was all her fault, but realised, it was Michelle who came to give her the best loving hugs. Michelle was there when Clara needed to be comforted.
Michelle then started to flap her arms and Clara told her: ‘Yes, I know you are happy. I am happy too!’ Clara realised that she already knew Michelle and that Michelle knew her too. They didn’t need a mind-connection app to understand each other, because they already knew each other!
It would not be easy, but they were sisters and they could stand up for each other and make things okay together. They would need to explain to the principal, to their parents, and to all the other adults. But that could be done.
They would use the Convention on the Rights of the Child to help convince people. Anything could be done, when people were open and ready to understand each other.
Chapter 5
The alarm clock started to ring and everyone at the house woke up. The children were very excited because it was the first day of school again.
It was an even more special day because Michelle was starting at Clara’s school. The school had agreed to integrate children with different abilities and Michelle was one of the first ones to join.
The sisters’ dreams were beginning to come true. Michelle and Clara could go to the same school. Michelle still couldn’t communicate as well as the other kids, but she could learn. The other children could learn too that each person has their own worth, and their own special gifts to bring. And together, the children could build a better future.
Welcome to Samoa!
> The author of this story is Lupeoaunu’u Va’ai, or Lupe. She lives in Samoa. Lupe loves studying anything to do with the environment and experimenting with technical gadgets to see how they work. She works to support the environment in her school and her country, and she considers herself to be her family’s environmental and technical expert!
One of Lupe’s biggest idols is Brianna Fruean, a young environmentalist in Samoa who recently received a Commonwealth Award from the Queen for her environmental work. Perhaps Lupe’s eco-warrior work will one day gain such recognition!
Lupe enjoys reading, playing the piano, playing sports, and Samoan and hip hop dancing.
Chapter 1
The dust was annoying, causing people to have sore eyes as well as non-stop coughing. Sitting silently in the corner of her house, Katalina thought about the beautiful stories her grandma used to tell her, of a lush, green place with colourful flowers all around. She tried to imagine the natural beauty of her land growing up, not the dry, dusty and ugly place she was now living in. Her grandma used to describe their home as if it was paradise; she talked of birds and animals in a beautiful and untouched place.
Katalina tried to imagine that same place now in her mind. It was hard. She was continuously struggling with the realities of a place that was so different from her grandma’s stories – a place which was all dried up with dust all around, litter everywhere and with air so polluted one could hardly see beyond the once beautiful gardens of Vailima. Every day, as Katalina walked to school, she would see her neighbours throwing rubbish down the hills of the Alaoa Valley, families burning their rubbish in their back yards and big companies cutting down forests of trees. She felt hopeless. As a kid, she could not, in any way, tell them to stop.
