Generation Hope
Children are small people with big dreams. They are the learners of today who
grow up to be the leaders of tomorrow. I truly believe in the words that “Children
are one-third of our population and all of our future.” The significance of children
as the upcoming generation is monumental. As they are young, innocent and
new to this flawed world, they need to be supported and empowered.
Children live in their own land of hope, enchantment and make-believe. But one
day they will have to wake up and face the factual world full of inequality, poverty,
violence, climate change and uncertainty. They deserve better. They should not
have to deal with the consequences of the actions of other people for which they
are the least responsible. This is where the campaign Generation Hope by Save
the Children steps up. Generation Hope is a global campaign that “calls for
urgent action on the climate crisis and inequality to create a safe and happy
future for children.” I immensely support this movement since right now we are
moving towards a climate catastrophe, a global crisis and action is more
important than ever.
I believe that the environment is the floor that supports us, the walls that give us
shelter and the roof that keeps us safe. Yet it is getting exploited and degraded to
no end. Today as we look at a present and a future of heatwaves, droughts,
floods, wildfires, pandemics, plastic ridden oceans and also wars, everybody
needs to be united to overcome this. It's difficult to believe but our small acts and
efforts can make a difference. While it is true that we cannot change the
environment to how it was before in a matter of months or even years, we can
make it better than worse.
Adding to the adverse effects of climate change, the Covid-19 pandemic has
affected millions of people and children around the world. According to the
analysis jointly carried out by Save the Children and UNICEF, approximately 150
million additional children are living in poverty – without access to education,
health care, housing, nutrition, sanitation or water – due to the COVID-19
pandemic. I feel extremely privileged to have had the access to online classes
and virtual learning during the lockdown period but the situation was not the
same for all the children across the globe. I strongly believe that education
should not be a privilege but a basic right for everyone.
We all experienced a tough and challenging year decorated with all sorts of
humanitarian crises and consequences. With all the hardships we and many
children around the world have been through, hope is all that we have left. “Save
the Children” ignites this hope that has the potential of changing the fate of
millions of children globally. So, for now let us all hope for a better tomorrow, a
better future and a better generation.
-Ojashwi Thapa (Grade 8, Rajarshi Gurukul)
Thankyou
