I've been thinking about how strange it seems in some ways that Marie, an almost-14-year-old girl who is dirt poor, uneducated, and comes from a family who really doesn't care (you'll learn more about her family in later chapters), would think she could become a saint ("Saint Marie"). But in other ways, it is an average dream. How many of you admire someone who came from nothing and has changed the world? Think of all the people you know of who did this.
Here's my list of people who inspire me with links to short videos about them. One woman though is so awesome in my opinion that I'm putting her video right here. Please watch it.
Jody Williams - Nobel Peace Prize 1997:
Leigh Anne Tuohy - Took in the young Michael Oher when she saw him walking down the street one day. Michael Oher is the man whose life story inspired the film The Blind Side. His mother had 6 kids, all with different men, he grew up in the projects, was homeless, met Leigh Anne Tuohy and her family, and his life was changed forever.
Mother Theresa - Nobel Peace Prize 1979. Born in 1910 in Albania. "Her father, who was involved in Albanian politics, died in 1919 when she was eight years old. After her father's death, her mother raised her as a Roman Catholic. According to a biography by Joan Graff Clucas, in her early years Agnes was fascinated by stories of the lives of missionaries and their service, and by age 12 was convinced that she should commit herself to a religious life. She left home at age 18 to join the Sisters of Loreto as a missionary. She never again saw her mother or sister." (Wikipedia).
Sandy Shepherd - An American woman who agreed to host seven boys who had been enslaved. The Zambian boy's choir that had visited her church was actually a group of enslaved children who were being exploited to enrich their choir "master." She offered them a place to stay for the night, and as a result became a reluctant voice against child slavery. She ended up helping the boys with their legal battles against deportation and further exploitation.
Kevin Bales - This man used to be the president of the organization Free The Slaves. There are 29 million people enslaved in the world today - more than any other time in history. In 2001 Free The Slaves discovered that cocoa (the raw product that chocolate is processed from) was being produced by child slaves. Since then, he and Free The Slaves have done amazing things to help end slavery in the chocolate fields. They aren't done, but they have done a lot.
I hope these stories amaze and inspire you.
Love Medicine
Detail of beadwork from an Ojibwe medicine pouch
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7 comments:
I really enjoyed reading these stories. I knew about a couple of them but the others made me happy. It is good to know that there are so many good people in the world who are willing to change their lives to benefit others.
I also enjoyed reading these stories... and I feel like anyone who receives the CNN Heroes of the Year Award is like these people.
I heard something about somebody like this, and so i had to look it up, and i found an article about this amazing woman. if you have the time you should read the article, as the things she did were incredible. she deserves more thanks than anyone could ever give.
the woman, Irena Sendler, along with her team rescued 2,500 jewish children and babies from Nazi gas chambers, and was later found out and tortured by Nazi soldiers.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-565969/Dead-98-Heroic-Irena-Sendler-helped-save-2-500-Jewish-children-Nazis.html
Over the years I've heard about teenagers who are doing incredible things. It took me a while to track this kid down, but his name is Zach Hunter and when he was 15 he founded the organization "Loose Change to Loosen Chains" (LC2LC). It is a global anti-slavery organization. He was interviewed on GMA two years ago (he's 17 now). You can watch the video HERE.
The story about Jody Williams was very inspiring and interesting. I did not know that no one was allowed to use land mines anymore. It is also very interesting how a brochure that said one word was able to catch her attention so well.
I had no idea that Mother Teresa never saw her family again. You can tell when someone really cares about helping others when they're able to say goodbye to loved ones forever.
Honestly, the people who inspire me the most that came from poor upbringings are people like Andrew Carnegie and John D. Rockefeller. Both of them came from relatively poor upbringings, but they found an industry and conquered in it, making so much wealth that some of it still exists today.
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