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Topic
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Include girls with disabilities
Carry on living and fighting
Polluted by vaping
Among today’s novelty-seeking youth, there is another rising fad – vaping. According to a 2017 National Institutes of Drug Abuse, more than one in four high school seniors reported vaping in the previous year. Searching online, you can also effortlessly find many cool-looking guys teaching how to blow out bizarre shapes of smoke rings to stunt your peers. Same as poppies, vaping looks charming and gorgeous, but addictive and toxic in essence. It is not an innocent healthier substitution to real cigarettes as it acclaims. Indeed, the nicotine it contains is no less lethal. What’s more, the most...
A letter about the ¨Migration Crisis¨ from a Honduran girl
There are ways to solve social/political problems. It's understandable that countries may not react positively to foreign people entering their territories, but it is also understandable that there are human ways to solve conflicts. Tear gas, hitting, discrimination, among many other things are some of the situations that migrants are dealing with. This is a TOTAL violation of their human rights. This is not about migrants from Honduras alone, it is about humanity and the way we are ending it ourselves. There are hundreds of people from Central American countries migrating who are suffering...
Overcoming obstacles by believing in yourself
On World Children’s Day, meet the children standing up for children’s rights
Insurgency and Everything In Between: My Yobe Experience
My one-year mandatory NYSC (National Youth Service Corps) service ended on the 3rd October, 2019. It was whole experience and although I hate that I eventually relocated, I am happy with the memories that filled my soul. Now that I am back to my regular location, I’ve had to deal with a ton of unending questions (you would think I went to Mars!) especially about the insurgency and northern culture. Well, this is no surprise as most people who were previously in my life (both far and near) haven’t been to the northeast before, because of the fear of insurgency. It’s funnier that most even...
Racial Discrimination: a deadly poison
Racism is not just an added stress to individuals of minority ethnic groups, but is a pathogen which generates depression. Racism usually occurs at workplace and schools and is mostly experienced by immigrants and refugees. The immigrants and refugees are often taken advantage as labour force, human trafficking and even cases of rape and child marriage. Their human rights must be protected, so they will have the right to life and liberty, freedom from slavery and torture, freedom of opinion and expression, the right to work and education to eradicate poverty, and end child marriage. Being...
A mother’s determination to ensure her child’s health
She holds a white basin firmly in her hands as she approaches the small garden with a determined look in her eye. Chilufya Musonda, a 30-year-old single mother with mounting bills to pay, stops briefly to re-adjust the chitenge wrap that firmly secures the baby girl on her back. Finally in the garden; Musonda gently pulls at a luminously succulent red tomato and places it in her basin. She repeats this action several times, loading her mid-sized basin with vegetables of various shapes, sizes and colours. When she’s done; she heads back home to begin to prepare their meals.
Racismo no Brasil (Racism in Brazil)
Negão, preta, escura e morana Are the words used to describe me To describe me To destinguish me from thee To further divide our unity This is your Brazilian country U—NI—TY a word that we once used to be Go ahead… Cut me You’ll see… go ahead …. I bleed The red, flowing, liquified blood Pouring, gushing, freefalling…. this is what we call living But somewhere along the line to you I’ve stopped existing And all you see is this little black girl This little black girl with no place or business in your world Shut up, shot down and shut out from the luxuries that you breathe Like a breath of fresh...
Beaten For Buying Books
It was around 10:30 in the night when this girl, around 14 or 15 years of age, came and stood next to me in a market place. She had a pen and a notebook in one hand and her little brother, in the other. She told me how she didn’t like to beg but her mother forced her to do it every day. She asked if I could get her something to eat which she could take home for all her siblings. She had tables and alphabets written in her notebook. She doesn’t go to school. There is someone who comes to a nearby Metro Station every day to teach her a few basics. She was upset because she couldn’t understand...
#womenempowerment: It's time that we stand up
As young women, it is important that we love and support each other to empower and enrich the minds of other young women as the future leaders. And it's not only about commending each other when we do good and amazing things; it's also about everyday ordinary women who wake up every morning, striving for a better future, where by they can live in peace and knowing that they won't be #MeToo. I think it's time that we as women stand up and take charge, make a difference and be heard in this male dominated world, and show that when women stand together they can move mountains.
Is your democracy in danger?
Democracy is the basic fundamental right of an individual. The strength of nations lies in democracy. Democracy allows the people to elect their representatives and form government. The general idea is that Democracy is of the people, for the people and by the people. We never thought of how our democracy could be in danger. There are various incidents that have taken place all around the globe, which are the prove that democracies can die if the people living in democracy do not identify the cause of its collapse and also not taking necessary actions to protect it. Whether it is America...
Sexual Harassment
Sexual harassment is one of the major problems in our generation. I look at myself every morning on my way out with different thoughts in my head. Will I be judged by what I wear? Can I walk down the streets without the opposite sex getting the wrong ideas? There is no age limit to rape or molested victims. Predators are everywhere stalking and watching your every move. Most victims are molested by family members or someone they trust. Victims are blamed and tortured by the memories. I was at an event few weeks ago and the rape topic came up. 40% suggested females should cover up more, attend...
How Do Negative Words Impact People?
Words can have a great impact on people. Whether spoken or via text, it can affect us in both good and bad ways. Words can affect us in a way that we may not realize sometimes and it can emotionally scar us too, even if we do not like admitting it. Believe it or not, even the toughest of people can be hurt by words. They may not show it to you, but it does a lot of hurt to them sometimes, even if they don’t care most times. When we tell something to someone and they react badly, we may think that our words are not a big deal, but they really are. We may think that we were joking or we did not...
I hate depression
Due to the increase in suicidal rate all over the world, I was inspired to write this. Please note, the following may be triggering. I am tired of life, I hate this life. I am scared that I will wake up one day and feel that I am alive and not alive. Depression is catching up with me. Anxiety is drawing me in. The demons are in control of my life. I am running away from the invisible demons chasing me, but I can't escape them. Depression made me like this. It took me until I hated the rising of the sun because I believed the world would see me for the deceitful person I am. I have lost hope in...
Why Body Positivity on Social Media is More Important Than You Think
For a long time, the socially accepted beauty standard looked like this: blond hair, blue eyes, pale skin, and legs with a noticeable gap in between them. Victoria Secret angels, runway models, and TV ads plastered this image of perfection to the American public for decades. With the rise of social media, it seems that these images are nonetheless inescapable. Lately, however, it seems that women are starting to push back on this type of marketing. While certainly not the only culprit, this type of unrealistic beauty standard that is largely still being advertised adds to feelings of self pity...
Mental Health
“The mental health is the priceless fuel that energizes the soul, which controls all the elements in the realm of existence and pilots the body systems. Life exists between two resting periods. The sleep resting period and the death. In each phase, the soul loses connection with many elements save for the mental health. The healthier the mental wellbeing, the safer is for the soul; and the lengthy a life becomes.” ~Bamalum Buji Mustapha
World Children’s Day: 9 young leaders making a difference for children worldwide
Every day, this group of 9 inspiring leaders advocate to include children in decision-making processes, to raise awareness about climate change, or to make sure people with disabilities are included in sports. On November 20th, they marked World Children’s Day and the 30th anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child by taking the stage of the United Nations headquarters in New York City, in front of international delegates and UNICEF Goodwill Ambassadors. Get to know them and share their stories on social media using the hashtag #WorldChildrensDay so other youth feel inspired to...