Youth Stories

• RSPCA Rewards Young Snappers
  by Martha Hammond
  Positive Youth News 4
   

• Youth Noise
  by Nicole Vosper
  Positive Youth News 4
   

• Growth and Promise
  Living Lightly Issue 38
  Keeping Learning Local in Ladakh

RSPCA Rewards Young Snappers
by Martha Hammond
Positive Youth News 4

Twenty-eight stunning shots of amazing and varied animals have been chosen for the shortlists of the *RSPCA Young Photographer Awards 2006. Taken by photographers aged from 9 to 18 years, the chosen entries include shots of a peacock, a puffin and a snail. “I am constantly amazed by the superb quality of pictures this competition attracts,” said the wildlife photographer, television presenter and Young Photographer of the Year Awards judge, Chris Packham. “They are stunning and would grace any exhibition. These young people have an eye for the original which enables them to see something familiar in a new, very different way.”

Contact: *RSPCA – the Royal Society for the
Prevention of Cruelty to Animals
Website: www.rspca.org.uk
Photo: © Bobbie Horseman Young Photographer Awards 2006

Youth Noise
by Nicole Vosper
Positive Youth News 4

Youth Noise is a global network for young people aged between 16-22 where they can share and convert ideas into action to improve the world around them.

Hosted online, www.youthnoise.com has over 113,000 registered users in more than 170 countries around the world and it features 100 per cent youth-generated user content. Organised into 15 ‘channels’ it offers a platform for articles, images and discussions on issues such as War, Peace, Terrorism, Life, Art, Environment and the Media.
Originally set up by Save the Children in 2001, Youth Noise has been independent since 2004 and it has effectively become a politically neutral media outlet devoid of agendas.

“A lot of young people practice arm-chair activism. They believe in a better world but aren’t given an outlet to make a difference,” said Youth Noise’s Ginger Thomson. With over 3 million hits per month, the site’s popularity and influence is comparable to corporate youth sites. “Youth Noise encourages young people from around the globe to share events, culture and ideas with each other directly,” continued Ginger.
It is this direct and social contact that has made the site a success. Young people can cross boundaries, exchange ideas and gain inspiration from their peers to get active for a world in their making.

Contact: Ginger Thomson,
Chief Executive Officer, 1255 Post Street,
Suite 1120, San Francisco, CA 94109
Tel: +1 (415) 346 4433
Website: www.youthnoise.com

Growth and Promise
Living Lightly Issue 38
Keeping Learning Local in Ladakh

Denise Moll, Secretary of the The Gandhi Foundation, recently visited the mountain region of Ladakh. In this article she describes the work of Shabir Bandy, a man whose love for his local culture and traditions prompted him to set up an independent school, a place where inter-religious learning could be kept within the local community

High in the magnificent Himalayan mountains, 11,000 feet above sea level, lies a little school in Leh, the capital of Ladakh. The pupils and teachers at The Sacred New Era school are Muslim, Buddhist and Hindu. This is their story of struggle and hardship, growth and promise.

Ladakh, which is in the north Indian region of Jammu and Kashmir, has a rich heritage. Its people originally came from such places as Tibet, Mongolia and China. For countless generations these hardy mountain dwellers were entirely self-sufficient, cultivating their valley lands within the short five-month summer season before the long, cold winter set in. They grew and stored their own food, built their own houses, made their own clothes and lived a simple life. The contentment this produced can be seen today, particularly in the faces of their elders.

When roads were built and traffic grew, food and goods were imported. Life began to alter for these traditional village people. Huge numbers of new buildings sprang up in the town of Leh and tourism increased year by year. Grown children began to move away to earn their livings. The money culture hit, bringing benefits but also change to their ancient ways.

Shabir Banday is a Ladakhi who wants to preserve the best parts of his people’s heritage while also bringing more education opportunities into the area. Shabir, a bright pupil, had to be educated outside Ladakh from the age of 12, first in other parts of India and then the UK where he gained a Masters Degree in Business Studies. In 2003 he was awarded a Master of Science in Public Health while attending the London School of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene. ‘One day,’ Shabir says, ‘the Ladakhi people will be educated right from nursery to University within Ladakh!’ This is an ambitious goal.

After a long search, Shabir found the right job in Glasgow, working on community health projects a subject close to his heart, while also being actively involved in creating awareness about the importance of preventative health in Ladakh.

Shabir founded the Sacred New Era school in 2001, supported by family and friends. He wanted it to be run differently to Government and other private schools. Prior to it opening, Asmat Jan, a young Ladakhi woman, was trained for a year in *Montessori education and so, with courage and the will to risk something new, the first five little three year old pupils were enrolled by their parents and the school was launched. As the years passed more parents came to trust in its success and more children enrolled.

I met them that year and resolved to help from the UK where I could. Shabir goes to see the school when he has holidays and last summer, I was able to join him on a visit. It was delightful to see three out of the five original children still attending and now in Class III, aged nine. Asmat Jan, who has been running the school for five years, now wants to move on, so a new teacher has been employed. At present, there are 90 Buddhist, 37 Muslim and two Hindu pupils, and of eight teachers, four are Buddhist, three Muslim and one Hindu.

All the pupils wear uniform at the request of the parents, who are encouraged to become involved with their children’s education. Books are introduced earlier than perhaps is the norm for Montessori education, and they are taught to read and write in Ladakhi, Urdu, Hindi and English.

The money we have raised so far has been put towards a deposit for a school bus essential as some live a fair distance away Montessori material, desks, chalkboards, Unitex flooring for classrooms, a computer and soon, we hope to be able to buy a generator to counteract the frequent power cuts. We have also set up a part sponsorship scheme which is currently helping eleven of the parents and we have supporters in Europe who donate regularly. Shabir prefers the children not to be sponsored individually but some of the parents need help to meet the fees.

Every other Saturday the pupils are taken on an Exposure Trip, designed to broaden their overall education and teach them about their town and country, traditions and environment. They have visited the airport, post office, the local gompa (monastery), a flower and vegetable farm, an island with tree plantations and a museum which explains the conflict between India and Pakistan.

As the school keeps growing, more classrooms are needed and two were being completed while we were there, ready for the older children to use. Buildings in this area are made with local mud bricks and stone.

The Government are now setting aside a large area of desert land for education purposes. This is where Ladakh’s very first University may be built, as well as new schools and other community buildings. Shabir has put a deposit on a piece of this land so that one day a permanent school with better facilities can be built in the centre of the country’s education facilities.

With trust, faith and hope, Shabir aims to make both current and future generations of Ladakhis aware of the value of preserving their traditions and heritage as they move into the more modern world. Help in the form of donations, sponsorship, expertise, interest and prayer are all welcomed and needed.

Email: denise.newleaf@phonecoop.coop
Email: banday@yahoo.com
* The Montessori method of education is a model which serves the needs of children at all levels of mental and physical ability. They learn in a natural, mixed-age group, much like the society they will live in as adults. Contact: www.montessori.edu

This is one of many stories available from Positive News newspaper. For more stories like this please visit: www.positivenews.org.uk

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