Inspiring Purpose Commonwealth 2019 by Creative Cause

COMMONWEALTH EDITION

Global Citizens in the Making

“The project really let my inner voice come out. It synergised my thoughts and gave me the chance to execute my plan in the practical world. Surveys like this are necessary to reveal the soul within us.” Shamil Nazir, AGS Hanzik “A spark of confidence and determination rekindled in me by taking part in this project. I came to know that I have a broader vision of the world by writing in the answers.” Manjeet Sharma, GGHS Surinsar

W W W. I N S P I R I N G P U R P O S E . O R G . U K

The aim of the Inspiring Purpose programme is to give young people the opportunity to think about their values and character strengths whilst also reflecting on who or what inspires them and their aspirations and goals for the future. Our mission: help young people set goals, demonstrate future-mindedness and develop a sense of purpose.

COMMONWEALTH EDITION

Over 10,000 young people from around the Commonwealth have participated in the programme this academic year. Teacher and pupil testimony reveals a transformational effect on those who take part. This magazine is a showcase of the Character, Inspirations and Goals of young people.

4 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

SUPP RTERS Inspiring Purpose is an independent education programme of the educational charity Character Scotland which was established in 2009 to promote the development of character in young people and intentional character education in schools. We acknowledge the generous support, encouragement and partnership from the following organisations without which the programme would not be possible. The Templeton World Charity Foundation aims to provide scientific breakthroughs and practical tools relating to the search for meaning, purpose, and truth. Through sharing these spiritual discoveries, it seeks to impact individual lives across the world. The Foundation’s current themes and goals relate to accelerating consciousness research, big questions in classrooms, diverse intelligences, global innovations for character development and the power of information. Its core values involve seeking a global perspective, making spiritual progress possible, promoting breakthrough discoveries, thinking like a start-up, embracing differences and creating positive impact for people. See www.templetonworldcharity.org D.C. Thomson & Co. Ltd is a private company based in Dundee. The company has significant interests in UK newspaper and magazine publishing. Amongst other publications it owns The Courier and Advertiser, The Aberdeen Press and Journal and The Sunday Post. It owns The Beano, The Dandy and Woman’s magazines My Weekly and The People’s Friend, Puzzler Media Ltd (one of the world’s largest publishers of Puzzle Magazines, Crosswords and Sudoku) and Parragon Publishing Ltd which publishes and sells some 90 million books each year worldwide. The company has interests in commercial television, online businesses, and is a major shareholder in Mothercare. DC Thomson supports the programme through the Northwood Trust. www.dcthomson.co.uk

The Garfield Weston Foundation was established in 1958 by Willard Garfield Weston, a Canadian businessman who arrived in the UK with his family in 1932. He was the creator of Associated British Foods and the Foundation was endowed with the donation of family-owned company shares. As a result, the Foundation is today the ultimate controller of the company. The trustees today are all lineal descendants of the founder and they remain committed to continuing the ethos that has made the Foundation one of the largest and most respected charitable institutions in the country. It gives them as much pleasure to help a small local community as a major national organisation and they are prepared to consider applications covering a wide range of charitable activity. www.garfieldweston.org

The Jubilee Centre for Character and Virtues is a unique and leading Centre for the examination of how character and virtues impact on individuals and society. It offers world class research on the importance of developing good character and virtues and the benefits they bring to individuals and society. A key conviction underlying the existence of the Centre is that the virtues that make up good character can be learnt and taught. The Jubilee Centre believe these have largely been neglected in schools and in the professions. It is also a key conviction that the more people exhibit good character and virtues, the healthier our society. As such, the Centre undertakes development projects seeking to promote the practical applications of its research evidence. www.jubileecentre.ac.uk

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CONTENTS 8 11 12 14 16 17 17 18 18 18 18 19 19 20 21 21 22 22 23 23 24 24 24 25 25 26 26 27 26 27 28 28 28 29 31 35 37 37

AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC SCHOOL CARETAKERS INITIATIVE ROUNDWOOD PARK SCHOOL AKSHAR SCHOOL AGS ANANTNAG SCHOOL AGS BANDIPORA SCHOOL AGS BONIYAR SCHOOL AGS BUTKUT SCHOOL AGS DRASS AGS FARONA SCHOOL AGS HAJIN SCHOOL AGS HAJINAR AGS HANZIK SCHOOL AGS HARKA BAHADUR AGS KARU SCHOOL AGS KRUSAN SCHOOL AGS MAZBUG SCHOOL AGS MURGUND SCHOOL AGS TEETWAL AGS TREHGAM SCHOOL GGHSS BISHNAH GGMS KANDOLI NAGROTA GHS BATHINDI GHS DIGIANA GHS KALUCHAK GHS KHARNA CHHARGAL GHS OLD SATWARI GHS SAROTE GHS DHANNI JAMMU GHS DOMAIL GHSS BISHNAH BOYS SCHOOL GHS DANSAL GHS JOTRIK GHS JANDRAH GHSS MANDAL GGHS SURINSAR GHSS JAGTI, JAMMU GLHS BAIN BAJALTA

38 38 38 39 39 39 40 41 41 41 42 42 43 44 44 45 46 47 47 47 48 48 49 49 49 50 50 50 51 52 52 53 53 54 55 55 56 60

GMS DANSAL GMMS SATWAR GMS J KOTLI GMS DHOON GMS DANYAL, JAMMU GMS JGATI, JAMMU GMS SIMBAL LEHAR, JAMMU SATYA BHARTI ADARSH SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL AKOI SAHIB SCHOOL SATYA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, BALIAL SATYA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, BALLIYEWAL SATYA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, BEHLOLPUR SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, BHAMABADI SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, FATEPUR SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, GOSAL SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, HARRAMPURA SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, JHANERI SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, KAHERU SATYA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, KAMALPUR SATYA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, KHANPUR SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, KHURANI SARTYA BHARTI SCHOOL, LADDI SATYA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MOHIE SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, MEEMSA M & M PUBLIC SCHOOL SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, PANWAN SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, PHAGGUWALA SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, PURANA TAMEL RAUNI SECONDARY SCHOOL SATYA PRIMARY SCHOOL, SAFIPUT KALAN UMS DUMARTHA GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOL NIGERIA WEST AFRICAN PEOPLE’S INSTITUTE GSS BIG QUA TOWN CALABAR GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOL ATU GOVERNMENT TECHNICAL COLLEGE CALABAR ST. DOMINIC’S HIGH SCHOOL, BELFAST BOROUGHMUIR HIGH SCHOOL

Designed & Published by CREATIVE CAUSE www.creativecause.co.uk Printed in the UK by THE MAGAZINE COMPANY The Inspiring Purpose Values Poster Awards is a programme of Character Education Scotland Ltd registered charity number SCO40962. The views expressed in this magazine are those of the contributors and not necessarily the views of Character Education Scotland or its trustees. Character Education Scotland, Career Studio, Granary Business Centre, Coal Road, Cupar Fife KY15 5YQ Email: admin@inspiringpurpose.org.uk Tel: 01334 844900 © 2019 Character Education Scotland Ltd. All rights reserved.

6 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

WELCOME David Lorimer Founder, Character Scotland

Maureen Okon Omori GSS Big Qua Town Calabar “It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” Libby Crawford Boroughmuir High School “Whether you come from a council estate or a country estate, your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude.” Welcome to our 2019 Commonwealth magazine where you will find this year’s inspiring content from finalists and prize winners in Commonwealth countries, especially from India, where we received several hundred prize entries. Students from India were inspired by a wide variety of people, including more directly Swami Vivekananda, Mother Teresa (‘because all she gave was pure love. She is the mother of all who need tenderness, care and love.’), Mahatma Gandhi, the Flying Sikh, Kalpana Shawla, the Indian cricket captain Virat Kohli and, quite frequently, the Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who, as you will see, began his life helping his father sell tea outside a railway station. Then, as also featured last year, the 11th President of India, Dr AJP Abdul Kalam was a very popular choice both for his qualities as a scientist and as an inspiring human being. Here is Ishanvi Gautam from AGS Hanzik School: The life of Dr AJP Abdul Kalam has greatly inspired me. He was an aeroscientist and former President of India. When I read his autobiography, Wings of Fire, it completely changed my perspective about life. His life history and thoughts have been my teacher ever since, guiding me spontaneously. It was his teachings that taught me to dream; dream of my vision and goal. I learned that we cannot change our future unless we change our undesirable habits. He believed that life and time are the world’s best teachers. Life teaches us to make good use of time, and time teaches us the value of life. Looking beyond India, we find Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison. Suman from GHS Digiana quotes Jobs as saying: “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know of avoiding the trap or thinking

you have something to lose. You are already marked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” Ranjeet from GGHS Surinsar tells the story of Edison’s mother transforming the note excluding him from school into the well-known ‘Your boy is a genius. The school is not the right place for him and there are no efficient teachers to train him. So please train him yourself.’ In fact, the wording was very different, but Edison discovered this only after her death, writing in his diary: ‘Thomas Alva Edison was a mentally retarded child whose mother turned him into the genius of the century.’ A positive word of encouragement can help change anyone’s destiny. Then Shipra Chopra from GHSS Mandal reminds us that ‘a role model does not have to be a famous personality. It can be anyone who makes us believe in ourselves.’ Sometimes, inspirational figures are local rather than international celebrities: Munazir Ali from AGS Murgund School is ‘inspired by a cobbler who came into our town every day from Bihar. He is lame and very poor and has a daughter who studies in Class 7. His dream is for his daughter to become a doctor so he works here and there mending shoes and sends the money for his daughter’s education. This inspires me to work hard towards my own goals.’ Likewise, Nikita from GHS Kaluchak is ‘inspired by my neighbour Mr Raj Singh, who managed to succeed in the KAS exam. We hail from a village where we have to face a number of hardships in achieving our goals. There is no electricity, no road connectivity, no job opportunities and a number of other challenges.’ Rajnish Banmotra from GHSS Mandal makes a good point about the distinction between fame and celebrity when he writes: ‘Bhagat Singh inspires me as a great and courageous freedom fighter, who was powerful, dedicated and determined. The question asked here to the younger generation is who inspires them and why. So they reply that a Bollywood actor inspires them because they are popular, fashionable, good-looking and bodybuilders. I would rather become like Bhagat Singh who was a real and great hero in his life fighting for the freedom of India.’ And in an age that that prizes material success, it was interesting to read Anshika Singh from Satya Bhati School, Gurgawan relating a story

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involving Vivekananda and his teacher: ‘Once, Swami Vivekananda asked his teacher Ramakrishna Paramhansa – Does failure hurt more than moving in the right direction? He beautifully answered that success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure decided by you. In every terms, experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lesson afterwards.’ I’m sure we all recognise this insight. In terms of a vision for a better world, students continue to emphasise and advocate equality, respect, gender equity, peace and a healthy environment. Here is Zubair Mohammed from the Australian International Islamic College, quoting Muhammad Ali: “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing”. Just like Ali, I would like to stand for religious and racial freedom, for humility, generosity and deepabiding physical and mental courage. Ali succeeded because he never believed in the term “impossible”. Despite all the obstacles, he fought his way bravely and engraved his name into history. Arian Sharma from GMS Dhoon believes in the importance of spiritual principles: ‘When most people just want to live peaceful lives and do good, how is it that our world has become what it is today? One thing I have come to understand in applying spiritual principles in my life is that whatever is within is reflected without.’ While Manzoor Hussain from GHS Domail encourages us to ‘give up our pride and stand hand-in-hand with each other as one soul, one mind, one life.’ Archana Devi from GHS Old Satwari is more reflective in terms of our aspirations: ‘I want to become an intellectual person. There are three types of people: people who talk about other people, people who talk about experiences, and people who talk about ideas. I want to be one of the third group. I want to gather as much knowledge as I can through my education so that I can discuss and invent ideas on my own.’ She continues, ‘I envision a world where everyone practices empathy, kindness and love, where all beings understand the meaning of the word ‘human’. For a better world we need leaders who inspire others to take positive actions.’ We continue to receive encouraging feedback from participants, such as Manjeet Kaur from Satya

Elementary School, Behlolpur: By taking part in this project, I feel more confident that I can change the narrow thinking of society and attain a better world in which girls have the freedom to do as they want – to be a doctor, teacher, pilot, IPS officer etc. Sadiya Ismail Australian International Islamic College I learned about accepting my skills and failures at the same time and that I should work on being more persistent. For example, in section 1, most of the attributes I put I need to work on are generally all about being more committed, persistent and resilient with what I do – DON’T GIVE UP SO EASILY! Faith Moss Roundwood Park School I learned that not all actions have to take place in the distant future and that you can make small changes in your life to benefit the greater good. Emily Rogan St. Dominic’s High School, Belfast I learnt more about myself, my characteristics and my personality. I also learnt that in life, when I am older, I want to make a great difference and help other people to also make a difference. I want to be very kind and caring and I want to achieve so many things in my life that I never knew about. This feedback demonstrates the impact of the programme in terms of self-awareness and selfknowledge, inspiration and aspirations for the future with these young people feeling more empowered to make a difference. I would like to take this opportunity of thanking the Templeton World Charity Foundation for supporting this programme over the last two years with generous funding. I’d also like to thank our administrator Jason Penman and the designer of this magazine, Liam Howard, as well as Karen Moore for her help in transcribing some winning posters. I hope that you find the content as inspiring as I have.

8 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

WINNERS

& FINALISTS AUSTRALIA ZOZNA AKTER

AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC SCHOOL “Happiness is the only thing worth fighting for in life.” Lilly Singh is my inspirational figure because she taught me how to get out of dejection and find ecstasy. She taught me that if you’re not ecstatic or you’re not relishing what you’re doing, then you won’t go further in life. Lilly Singh is a YouTube celebrity and is famous for her channel “Superwoman”. She turned her life from depression to success by her energetic mix of comedy videos featuring Punjabi parents (Nanjeet and Paramjeet). She wanted to make videos to make her and others happy. She does so many things in a day which would be hard for most of us. People ask her how she does it and it is because she loves what she does and she is passionate about it. Lilly Singh was ranked No.1 in the entertainment category of Forbes magazine’s top influencers list in 2017. Later that year she was appointed UNICEF’s Global Ambassador. She has been backed up by Michelle Obama for her # GIRLLOVE, to stop “girl on girl hate”. She taught me to wake up every morning with a positive mind and a smile on my face, to just be patient and love what you do. HAPPINESS = SUCCESS!!! Her qualities: • Affectionate • Creative • Helping society • Independent • Challenging problems

• • • • • •

Passionate Motivating herself and others Being supportive Encouraging others to be happy Getting things done Loving the things she does

ZUBAIR MOHAMMED

AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC COLLEGE “Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing”. Muhammad Ali Muhammad Ali was so much more than a sportsman, never mind a boxer: he was a lightning rod for the civil rights struggle in the United States; a poet; a preacher and one of the 20th century’s best known most popular figures. He is the most influential figure I could possibly think of. His endearing relationship with children transparently shows his love, tenderness and affection towards them. He would never hesitate to entertain them, donating the entire proceeds of his public training sessions to the children. He was appointed as a UN Ambassador to the World to draw attention to the needs of children and the need for tolerance and peace. Through his courageous efforts, both inside and outside the ring, his unwavering passion for fighting for equality, Ali’s status as a hero will forever be cemented in history. There is no doubt that he is truly “the greatest” there ever was. Just like Ali, I would like to stand for religious and racial freedom, for humility, generosity and deep-abiding physical and mental courage. Ali succeeded because he never believed in the term “impossible”. Despite all the obstacles, he fought his way bravely and engraved his name into history. My vision for a better world would be the elimination of wars and genocides around the

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MUHAMMAD ALI world, elimination of the suffering of newborns, infants, youths and elders. Why should they be killed under bloodcurdling violence? They simply are not the ones at fault. For the world to be better, we should all grasp the fact that we are all humans; one big family and leaves of the same tree. Our skin colour, religion, cultural heritage or background shouldn’t alter the fact that we are all a creation of God and that no one is more dominant or subservient than another. I’ve learnt, and achieved, the acknowledgement of myself along with others as we are all constantly trying to better ourselves for the benefit of others and ourselves too. I’ve learnt that helping others to overcome and solve their problems doesn’t cost anything, but rather forges a stronger relationship and, who knows, maybe one day you’ll need their help.

UMME KULSUM

AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC COLLEGE “No matter what you have gone through in your youth, it is about who you choose to be in life. You can define your own destiny. You can be stronger than every difficult past and overcome it.” Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie is an American actress, humanitarian and a UN Goodwill Ambassador. She is the recipient of many awards such as the Academy Award and three times Golden Globe winner. She has been named Hollywood’s highest paid actress multiple times. She has six children, three of whom she adopted. Angelina Jolie faced the camera at the early age of five when she first appeared in her father’s film called Looking to Cut Out. Later on in her life she starred in films such as Wanted, Malificent and Mr & Mrs Smith.

10 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

Angelina Jolie devotes her time and attention to humanitarian efforts. She travelled to war-torn countries such as Afghanistan and Cambodia and worked with refugees and others in need of help. She also speaks out for women’s rights and equality. She embraces people of all cultures, ethnicity and religion. As someone who was once in unfortunate circumstances, it is heart warming and inspiring for me to see someone as successful as Angelina Jolie caring for us. I strongly believe that she has achieved success in her life because she is happy and also makes or strives to make others happy and safe. “Nothing would mean anything if I didn’t live a life of use to others”. Angelina Jolie

My life’s ambition is to become an outstanding doctor and offer my services in countries and areas where basic healthcare is not provided, such as the camp I grew up in. There are many lives that can be saved easily. I believe that if I am able to do this, there will be a rise amongst those children to continue my legacy and show the world what they are capable of. My vision for a better world is one where the powerful embrace and assist the weak; people in power use their power for justice rather than spread corruption. I want to live in a world where an innocent child’s death is everyone’s problem, not just the parents’. I want a world where innocent children are not witnesses to their own parents’ deaths. A world where children go to bed with food in their stomach and school to look forward to in the morning.

NELSON MANDELA

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SADIYA ISMAIL

AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC COLLEGE “I wanna hear your voice, I wanna hear your conviction. No matter where you’re from, skin colour, gender identity, just speak yourself. Find your name, find your voice by speaking yourself.” Namjoon, BTS BTS are an amazing band from Korea, which consists of 7 members; Kim Namjoon, Kim Seokjin, Min Yoongi, Jung Hoseok, Park Jimin, Kim Taehyung and Jeon Jeongguk. They are all very diverse and different people put into this ONE group – BTS! BTS are musicians who not only produce albums but albums FOR A PURPOSE! Their sole purpose is to deliver important messages to people – to: FIND YOURSELF – who are you? And to: FACE YOURSELF with what you are and the challenges in your life – and, lastly, to: LOVE YOURSELF – for WHO YOU ARE! BTS inspire me because they’ve inspired SO MANY PEOPLE!! They’ve taught millions around the globe to be HAPPY with who they are and to love what they do. Not only do they tell others this, but they’ve shown us the fact that they’ve gone through these things themselves – therefore everyone can relate to it! I want to become a BIG INSPIRATION to the WHOLE WORLD (like BTS) and MAKE A CHANGE! I learned about accepting my skills and failures at the same time and that I should work on being more persistent. For example, in section 1, most of the attributes I put I need to work on are generally all about being more committed, persistent and resilient with what I do – DON’T GIVE UP SO EASILY!

children. Cain a farmer and Abel a shepherd. Both decided to offer their products to God. Cain offered some of his farm products and Abel offered the best of his lamb. God was pleased with Abel’s offering and was not happy with that of Cain. He became furious and scowled in anger, then the Lord said to him why are you angry, if you had done the right thing you would be smiling, but because you have done evil, sin is crawling at your door. In his anger Cain killed the brother Abel. And the Lord approached him that his brother’s blood is crying in the field. LESSON; 1] it’s not good to be jealous. 2] Avoid anger - it kills. 3] Have selfcontrol, 4] love and respect others.

EGBE ACHUP HILLMANN CARETAKERS INITIATIVE

My inspirational figure is Nelson Mandela. I found him inspiring because he teaches everyone who looks up to him always to be serious in life, never give up on what is right and always portray peace, love and justice. All these make him a great model for youths or young citizens to follow and also thanks to his great character, values and ideas such as: his search for justice peace and liberty. I will always look up to him because he humbled himself and showed respect to everyone he knew and he was very hard-working like in the situation which he continued his studies even in prison and obtained his PhD at the age of 74. This shows how enthusiastic and determined he was to achieve his goals in life. Also today thanks to him he restored peace in his country South Africa and brought an end to the apartheid war. He remains a great model and is always remembered through his works.

VADLIMIA BLANDINE L

My inspirational figure’s values • Determination • Hard-working • Creative • Respectful • Humble • Tolerant

Cain and Abel. Cain and Abel were Abraham’s

One of my greatest achievements in life is to help in a prison for minors as a janitor. My work

CAMEROON CARETAKERS INITIATIVE

12 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

did not end at helping them as janitor but I also spoke to the prisoners and helped them have a better view of life although many did not accept me, but a few listened to me and thanks to my advice they are on the path becoming better citizens.

NUUH EMACULATE CARETAKERS INITIATIVE

The person that inspires me is the prime minister of Cameroon Dion Ngute. The thing that inspires me in him is that he is friendly, kind, gentle and also welcoming. What makes me love him is that even though not everything is right he is trying his best to make our country safe and stop the war that is in the southwest and northwest region of Cameroon. That is what makes him my role-model. He does not hate anybody and he is gentle. I learned in this project that it is good to take part in some of the society’s project, to be loving, caring; helpful to those in need of our help and generous towards people.

ENGLAND LEILANI ARROW

ROUNDWOOD PARK SCHOOL “I wake up every day and think: ‘what am I to other people?’” My inspirational figure is Halsey, the American singer-songwriter who has struggled with a number of disorders as well as experiencing a miscarriage and homelessness. Despite all this, she is as brave, open and as resilient as possible. She says: “You’re ripped at every edge, but you are a masterpiece.” This really resonated with me and all her songs are about love, sadness and friendships, and accepting yourself for you are. This shows me that no one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes but we can keep learning and improving ourselves. Halsey is one of the most

successful people I know because she has truly found herself and what she stands for, and is very confident and bold. She also follows through what she believes in, which is really important. One of the proudest moments of my life was when I qualified for the Cayley maths Olympiad. I was home schooled until the age of seven and was pretty much bottom of my class in everything, including maths. However, through very, very hard work, focus, perseverance and a lot of tears, I slowly managed to learn not only basic maths skills, but also problem-solving skills, logic and a lot of resilience. Many times I nearly gave up, but that’s the one thing I have never done. I was 100% hoping but 0% expecting to qualify. This showed in practice that hard work, perseverance, resilience, determination and focus pay off.

EVE DURKLEY

ROUNDWOOD PARK SCHOOL “We will not quit or operate in fear. We won’t let this divide us, we won’t let hatred win.” Ariana said this speaking of the Manchester attack. It inspires me to think positively and keep going even through the worst experiences. On May 22 2017, Salaman Abedi detonated a bomb in the foyer of the Manchester Arena, shattering a night of happiness, light and music, killing 22 innocent people and traumatising be 21,000 others who were there. However, on June 4, Ariana Grande-Butera returned to the arena to host a benefit concert to honour the victims and bring the world back together, showing that fear can never divide us. She has released five studio albums and her aura of positivity and strength earned her the Billboard woman of the year 2018. She shows strength and willingness to make other people happy, and through a close bond with her fans makes people realise that they are never alone. She really inspired me when she spoke about mental health – she does not shy away from talking about her experience, which is important because it shows that many people go through

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these things. She inspires me to keep going and in my aspiration to inspire others and to fight for what I believe in until it becomes reality.

FAITH MOSS

ROUNDWOOD PARK SCHOOL “Success is not about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” This quote shows that even though we live in a culture where money is valued, it isn’t the most important thing and you can still be successful without it. I’m inspired by Michelle Obama, was the first African-American first lady though she was not from a wealthy background and embraced her race. She demonstrated her charity right from the start, helping in soup kitchens and schools. However, she is best known for serving as a

JOSEPH DION NGUTE

role model for women, working as an advocate for poverty awareness, healthy eating, physical activity and education. I think she is very principled and hard-working, but also openminded in terms of changing society so as to improve the world. I’d like to make a difference despite the struggles I have. She has achieved her success through motivation and not allowing her past to overshadow her. Everyone wants to save the world in a way, but I just want to save a few people by working as a paediatric or educational psychologist. I’d also like to create a charity that helps blind people read and have my own psychology practice. I learned that not all actions have to take place in the distant future and that you can make small changes in your life to benefit the greater good.

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INDIA VEDANT PASARI AKSHAR SCHOOL

He is very selfless and does everything for his group and not for himself. He doesn’t talk too much about his accident, but when he does, he gets very emotional.

My vision for a better world is an end to violence. Soldiers in the army, navy and air force die every day to protect their respective nations. The damage is caused by nations fighting. Mothers lose their sons, children lose their fathers on both sides. Moreover, exorbitant sums of money are spent on maintaining the military. Without wars, soldiers would be safe and the money could be spent on infrastructure and removing poverty. This would lead to a better world.

I relate to him on a lot of things. He is the type of person who is extraverted with other people but when it comes to close people he becomes very introverted and shy. He doesn’t want to hold people or his group back and that, to me, was very sad. He even told his company and group that he should leave. I, personally, learned a lot from him and I think he is a very inspirational person. With how much I love his music, I love his voice as well. He puts up a facade and praises himself but, in reality, he has very low self-esteem. He got a lot of hate in his early years for being an idol, in fact, he still receives hate. Many idols and people in general don’t make it through all this and give up. However, he made it. He made it through his depression and fought and still fights every day. He inspires me because in spite of his health condition he is cheerful and kind. I want to overcome my health condition and be just as bright, cheerful and kind to everybody. He spreads important messages like fastening your seatbelt, non-smoking etc. which I also support from the bottom of my heart. I strive to be like him one day.

ANUJA KAUL

SAMKIT K. SHAH

“I never want to hold anyone back and always do my best to be kind and accepting to everybody.”

“You are stronger than you know, you will survive, you will thrive. Creating your new life will not be as difficult as you think, you are on your way to a happier future.” Aija Mayrock

“When life knocks you down, you have a chance to get up and do it again. So get up and do it again.” Yuvraj Singh One of the people who inspires me is Yuvraj Singh, a cricketer who has achieved a lot both on and off the field. He made a comeback after defeating cancer. He is a pure inspiration to me. His commendable dedication and never give up attitude inspire me. He has taught me that there is more to life than a career.

AKSHAR SCHOOL

The person who inspires me most is a South Korean singer, rapper, idol and entertainer, Kim Heechul. He went through a lot in his childhood and youth. In South Korea, being an idol isn’t easy. He is part of a group called Super Junior. They debuted in November 2005. I grew up with their music. He inspires me because in 2011 he was involved in a huge car accident and almost lost the use of his left leg and voice. Being an idol, his legs and voice are most important to him. He can’t dance any more, yet, he has been and still is a very major part of the group. He has become an entertainer to promote his group.

AKSHAR SCHOOL

Aija Mayrock inspires me a lot. She is a 21-yearold writer and activist, author of The Survival Guide to Bullying, which she wrote after dealing with eight years of relentless bullying. She travels and speaks, performing a word rap. This not only shares her bullying experience, but also acts as a tool to stand up against discrimination, injustice etc. She inspires me because she did not give up when she was being bullied aged 14, but channeled all her power and anger

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AIJA MAYROCK into a positive energy that broke through the walls she had made around herself. She spoke up while most people in her situation would have kept quiet, remaining sad and lonely. She is a speaker on women’s empowerment, and says that the legal position of men and women should be equal as we are all humans and strongly depend on each other. My vision for a better world is where a person is not judged for being who he or she is. We are inclined to judge people even if we don’t know their story, and the fear of being judged may lead to people to lying.

PRISHAA SINHA AKSHAR SCHOOL

“You can’t base your life to other people’s expectations.” “Just because a man lacks the use of his eyes doesn’t mean he lacks vision.” Stevie Wonder Stevie Wonder greatly inspires me, and has taught me that if you have the willingness to achieve something, you can do so whatever the circumstances. The proudest moment in my life was two years ago when I had to take quite a few months off school for medical reasons. One day I was packing my bag for school, maybe a couple of months after I went back, when my mother came in and hugged me tightly, saying “I’m so proud of you”. Those six words made me feel I had come first in the world. She said she was proud of me for how beautifully I had collected my life back together after facing so many hardships.

16 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

MUNIBA MAZARI TABEENA SHOWKET

RABIA MUSHTAQ

A young boy called Ishtaq has become over fashion-loving these days. He pays more attention to his clothes and hairstyle than his studies. While sitting in the school canteen, he discusses nothing but beautiful girls and his favourite film stars. When he left the school he started wandering the streets and became a drug addict. This story teaches me not to follow westernisation, as it is a nuisance to the young generation, who should be concerned with simple living and high thinking.

After independence there were many villages like Gehlaur in India that were cut off from towns, and faced a number of problems. There was no road to the nearby town and therefore no way of getting to the hospital. During the 1960s, a man called Bashrath Manjhi lived in this village with his family and they could only reach the hospital by climbing over or round the mountain. Sadly, his wife died while giving birth, which made him determined to create a road. He started with only a hammer and chisel, and people laughed at him. However, at the end of 22 years he had created a path 360 feet long, 25 feet deep and 30 feet wide. He died in 2007, but four years later the government finally created a proper road. This has made me want to be a hard-working, dedicated and confident person.

AGS ANANTNAG SCHOOL

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IRAM IMTIYAZ AGS ANANTNAG SCHOOL

One day a professor entered the room and announced that he was going to give a surprise test. He put the paper face down, and when students turned it over, there was only a black dot in the middle of the page. They were very surprised, but the professor told them to write about what they saw. When he read out the results, everyone had written about the black dot in the middle. He then explained the significance of this: in life we also tend to focus on the negative black dot, which is in fact very small in relation to the rest of our lives. Life is a gift and a blessing for us to enjoy and appreciate. We need to focus on the positive in order to live a healthy and happy life. In 2007, Muniba Mazari had a car accident which left her paralysed. After two years’ rehabilitation in hospital, she was still confined to a wheelchair and her husband had divorced her. Only gradually was she able to overcome her painful feelings and regard her injury as a challenge as she expresses her feelings through her art. She is known as the Iron Lady of Pakistan, who has been featured in the BBC top 100 women. Her story inspires me because I now understand that I can achieve my goals even without family support. I realise that our success depends on our mindset and ‘with myself I am never alone.’ My vision for a better world is to move from the egoic self to the spiritual self. The raising of consciousness throughout the world is my hope for humanity. We need to strive towards a virtuous life that includes truth, beauty and goodness.

ALEESA KHAN

AGS ANANTNAG SCHOOL My favourite story comes from my own experience and it gave me the greatest lesson of my life. During a physics lesson, I noticed a small insect moving across my notebook and I started to observe it keenly as it moved forward with the help of its minute legs. I found myself drawing a red line around the creature and the

bell went for lunch, so I put the notebook in my desk. When I got back, I was astonished to find that the insect was still inside the red circle trying to work out how to cross the boundary, which it thought was a limit, even though it was not actually there. I then realised that I also have negative red boundary lines in my life, which represent my comfort zone, but in reality these lines and limits do not exist. It is just our thinking which makes us consider ourselves limited, when in a real sense we are limitless like the ocean. This attitude is reflected in the life and achievements of my inspirational figure Malala Yousafzai.

IRAM MUSHTAQ AGS BANDIPORA SCHOOL

My maths teacher inspired me to work harder at school, and to have a game plan when my grades were low. He told me that nothing is impossible, and encouraged me to work hard and all my subjects. This eventually led to my inspirational moment when I came top in my class and won a gold medal in an exam. I want to be caring, honest, loving, helpful, but strong, determined and confident in myself. I want to become a doctor, and my vision for the world is where all people are equal and respectful of each other, and we live in a clean environment.

ANEESA IQBAL AGS BONIYAR SCHOOL

“Sometimes you have to go through the worst days of your life. Only then can you achieve your goal”. Arunima Sinha My inspirational figure is Arunima Sinha, who was originally an international volleyball player but who was pushed from a moving train in 2011 and had her leg crushed below the knee. While she was still being treated in hospital, she resolved to climb Mount Everest, which took her 52 days. She has also climbed many other peaks and is an example of someone who never gave up. She is now dedicated to the welfare of others, and wants to open a free sports academy for the poor.

18 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

RAJA NAVEED

NUZAHAT FATIMA

My inspiration comes from Stephen Hawking, whose academic integrity I admire. He initially thought that his singularity research did not rule out intelligent design, but finally concluded that there was no further need for a God concept. Despite his debility, he still wanted to inspire the world with his cosmology, and I admire his courage and spirit. I want to become a person of great morals and thought, helping the needy and enlightening the world with the power of knowledge. It does not matter what I want to achieve in life, but rather how I achieve it. I want a happy and honourable life and to put all my efforts into a single goal to make it great. My vision is that everyone should work for humanity.

“I am not a damsel in distress who needs a Prince, but rather a sturdy horse.” Rani Lakshmi Bai

AGS BONIYAR SCHOOL

In this project I have observed myself very clearly. I know more about myself, and have learned how to be tolerant.

MILAT-UN NISSA AGS BUTKUT SCHOOL

“Every time you smile at a person it is an act of love and a gift.” Mother Teresa Mother Teresa inspires me most as she never gave up helping the needy and the poor. She dedicated her life in service to needy people and never expected anything in return. I was first introduced to her by my English teacher in January, when we had to do a project on “The Saint of the Gutters”. She is my inspiration because she served humanity. I learned from her that we should spread love wherever we go. She is an inspiration for all her acts of selfless dedication and compassion. My vision for a better world is sticking to actions not words. We have to stand hand-in-hand, one soul and one mind, to bring the world back to life, to live together in love and peace, caring for each other until life is through.

AGS DRASS

Rani Lakshmi Bai inspires me as a brave woman, but unfortunately she was born the wrong gender. She was the first woman to fight against the British for freedom. She told us that we should be independent and fight for our rights. She has changed my life, and I think all girls should be brave and independent. My vision for a better world is that we are the future generation so we should step forward and do something good for the world.

GHULAM HUSSEIN AGS FARONA SCHOOL

My inspirational figure is Virat Kohli, the current Indian cricket captain and best batsman in the world. He broke the record of Sechin Tendulkar to make the most runs in history. I really love cricket and Virat is my inspiration to change my behaviour and make good goals in life. My aim is to become a cricket coach and open a large school. I have the ability to be a brave and courageous person in our society.

MEHRUK SULTAN AGS HAJIN SCHOOL

Our teacher Mr Khursheed inspires me as he is a role model in our school. He not only teaches our subjects, but also the real meaning of education and how to attain our targets. He teaches us about right and wrong, also about adopting good qualities and how to become good citizens in our society. I want to make people aware of the importance of peace, of how the world is functioning like a volcano that could erupt and cause devastation any time.

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FAREEHA IRSHAD

hardly anything negative in my mind, who makes the best of what life offers, and who is never complacent about anything.

“The moment you start valuing yourself, the world will start valuing you.”

This project helped me modify my whole character.

Sandeep Mehashwani is a name among millions who struggled, failed and surged ahead in search of success, happiness and contentment. Just like any middle-class guy, he had his dreams but also blurred vision about his goal in life. All he had was an undying learning attitude to hold onto. Going through ups and downs taught him the true meaning of life. He consistently kept resigning from his comfort zone and sharing the secret of his success with the whole world. It is his urge for helping people and doing good in society that led him to launch the initiative of his free life changing seminar sessions. I want to be a person with

ISHANVI GAUTAM

AGS HAJINAR

DR APJ ABDUL KALAM

AGS HANZIK SCHOOL

“One good book is equal to a hundred friends, but one good friend is equal to a library.” AJP Abdul Kalam The life of Dr APJ Abdul Kalam has greatly inspired me. He was an aeroscientist and former President of India. When I read his autobiography, Wings of Fire, it completely changed my perspective about life. His life history and thoughts have been my teacher

20 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

ever since, guiding me spontaneously. It was his teachings that taught me to dream; dream of my vision and goal. I learned that we cannot change our future unless we change our undesirable habits. He believed that life and time are the world’s best teachers. Life teaches us to make good use of time, and time teaches us the value of life. I learned the importance of reading from his life story and that confidence and hard work of the best remedies against the disease of failure. I want to be a learner all my life, as I strongly believe that when you cease to learn you cease to live, to grow. Knowledge is endless. My vision for a better world is one that looks at peace as a culture of values - values that belong to all of us like respect for life, nonviolence, sharing with others, listening to understand, sustainability and solidarity. By taking part in this project, I am now more aware of my inner being, the real me. It has given me an opportunity to ponder on my vision and my aspirations. It has made me realise my areas of strength and my opportunities I need to work on to make myself a better person.

SURIYA MAQBUL AGS HANZIK SCHOOL

My favourite story is ‘The Butterfly Struggles’ where the butterfly is struggling to force its body through a tiny hole but at first this did not happen and she could not fly. She struggled again, and was at last able to fly very high. The butterfly teaches us that struggles in life develop our strengths. Without struggles we do not grow stronger, so it is important for us to tackle challenges on our own and not rely on help from others. “If you truly love nature, you find beauty everywhere.” My inspiration is nature because it offers joy and magic, it is the most precious gift and it is free. Nature’s beauty has been viewed by people centuries ago, and will be seen by people centuries from now. Nature tells us how lucky

we are to be alive. Nature’s beauty is always bursting out with colour and natural medicine to cure our pain. Nature speaks to me as long as I am quiet. Walk out at sunrise and listen to all the messages, breathe deeply. Look and be still. I sleep with the window open, I want to listen and feel the air. Nature is why you should love being alive. “To find the meaning of life, enjoy the journey, the beauty of nature, the light glint of the dew drop, the warmth of the morning sun, the songs of the wind, the smile of flowers. These are all there to make your journey worthwhile and make your life meaningful.” In nature nothing is perfect and everything is perfect. Trees can be contorted, bent in weird ways, but they are still beautiful.

SOFI MEHREN NAZIR AGS HANZIK SCHOOL

Harry Potter has a great storyline, but it can also teach us nine life lessons: 1. Talk about things 2. Friendships are important 3. It’s okay to turn to your parents for help 4. It’s important to believe in yourself 5. Community is important 6. Never give up 7. Face your fears 8. You are strong

MANZOOR ALI AGS HARKA BAHADUR

Mother Teresa made up her mind as a young nun to become a missionary in India and travelled to Kolkata to serve the poorest of the poor with a smile on her face. She had no material possessions of her own, and dedicated her life in submission to God. Yet she ruled over hearts and minds and received the highest honours from a grateful world. Mother Teresa inspires me to help poor and sick people myself.

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MOTHER TERESA TASHI GYALTSAN

NARGIS MUHAMMAD

I am inspired by the engineer Sonam Wangchuk, who comes from the same part of India as I do â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Ladakh, which is cut off from the rest of India for nearly 6 months over the winter. It is a harsh terrain, and facilities are few. Despite growing up in such difficult circumstances, Wangchuk worked hard to educate himself, and did not leave Ladakh for better opportunities. He is now known for his innovative approach in designing and constructing solar mud buildings in cold regions. These save energy, and his Ice Stupa project addresses the water crisis in the region.

My inspiration is my father - given that from childhood we make mistakes, face difficulties, opposition and failure, our parents play a vital role as models for us. I have learned that you may achieve great heights in your life, but must stay grounded otherwise you may turn into an egotistical and arrogant person, and this always finishes badly. An inspirational moment with my father was when he helped a pregnant woman who was dying. I want to become an independent, peaceful and hard-working person like my teacher and to achieve my goal of becoming a doctor through hard work. My vision for a better world is to be happy no matter what the situation is.

AGS KARU SCHOOL

AGS KRUSAN SCHOOL

22 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

SEHRISH AMIN

AZHAR-U-DIN KASANA

“Someone is sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”

“You just can’t be the person who doesn’t give up.”

AGS MAZBUG SCHOOL

AGS MURGUND SCHOOL

MUNAZIR ALI

The person who inspires me most is Bear Grylls. After leaving school, he briefly considered joining the Indian Army and then trekked in the Himalayan mountains of Sikkim and West Bengal. He joined the SAS where he served for three years. In 1996 he had a serious parachuting accident in Zambia where his canopy ripped at 16,000 feet and he landed on his parachute pack, partially crushing three vertebrae. According to his surgeon, he came within a whisker of being paralysed for life, and first it was questionable whether he would ever walk again. As a result of pure determination and hard work, he achieved his childhood dream of climbing Mount Everest in May 1998 just 10 months after breaking three vertebrae. At 23, he was among the youngest to have achieved this feat. He now has his own discovery TV channel called Man versus Wild. Before giving my vision for a better world, I want to say that we should first change ourselves. A corrupt system will be destroyed when everyone becomes honest.

“Hard work beats talent when talent does not work hard.”

This project made me realise that I need to look at myself to make improvements if I want to succeed in life.

In the history of our country I am inspired by Gandhi – the way he tried to unite different sections of our society is highly praiseworthy. His personality is so admirable that a common man can follow his way of life very easily. The environment where he started his political career was against his goal but he used various methods to achieve it, including nonviolence. He appealed to the conscience of the oppressor to consider the injustice they had done. Mahatma Gandhi is now globally accepted as one of the greatest leaders and the doctrine of equality has been implemented and popularised practically by him. I want to be a social worker to help eradicate social evils. This project provided me with a platform where I tried to take some initial steps towards my goal.

AGS MURGUND SCHOOL

I’m inspired by a cobbler who came into our town every day from Bihar. He is lame and very poor and has a daughter who studies in Class 7. His dream is for his daughter to become a doctor so he works here and there mending shoes and sends the money for his daughter’s education. This inspires me to work hard towards my own goals.

TABASUM SHAFI AGS MURGUND SCHOOL

My name is Shahid and I want to become a fighter and footballer but I’m not sure if I’m good enough. Then I met a man called Madbool Ahmad who is a motorbike mechanic but has polio. If you have the talent, ability and interest and you never give up, then you can succeed through hard work. I am a person with the blessing of Allah who is very physically fit, and there is nothing to stop me becoming a footballer if I try. I just have to trust and believe in myself.

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IFSAH SHAKEEL

AAFIYA MASOOD

“Happy are those who take life day by day and are thankful for the little things.”

My father is the most inspirational person I have been lucky enough to know. He is wise and kind to everyone. He is spiritual and openminded, and has encouraged me to live my life for others. He has showed me what is important, what is real success, and that the important things in life are not things. He has taught me to be comfortable with who I am and to make good decisions, and always to be able to laugh at myself and trust my gut. I want to be the kind of person that my friends and family can count on – fearless, optimistic and trustworthy and making an impression on everyone I meet.

AGS TEETWAL

I am very much inspired by Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Tina Dabi, who topped India’s most prestigious civil service exam in 2015. She is the most dynamic and dedicated officer I have seen, and I like the way she dresses. She is a very down to earth personality and she smiles while she speaks. She is a woman of qualities and also a social worker. All the young people, especially girls, are inspired by her, and her speech on TED is an eye-opener. I also want to become an IAS officer as it is only through the civil service that one can help the needy. I want to uplift society by providing new ideas in education.

MAHATMA GANDHI

AGS TREHGAM SCHOOL

24 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

STEVE JOBS KAJAL BHAGAT

PALAK

“Hard work never brings fatigue, it brings satisfaction.”

I am inspired by the life story of Sudha Chandran, an actress and classical dancer. She met with an accident early in life, but her strong determination and optimistic attitude helped her overcome the trauma and begin a new chapter. From this I have learned to be strongwilled and face every challenge with a positive attitude.

GGHSS BISHNAH

I am very much inspired by Narendra Modi, who started life helping his father at his tea stall and is now Prime Minister of India. He is my hero because he is a person with dignity, respect, innovative thinking and an open mind. He always impressed people with his work. He has handled many tense situations in a cool and calm manner. He is a man of his word and has kept his promises. I want to serve God by serving people. I don’t want to change people’s condition, but rather their mentality as changing mentality will lead to a change of condition. The strength to live our values honestly and consistently comes through our relationship with God. We may ask “where is God with all the sorrows of the world?” but we must first ask ourselves “where is God in my day-to-day life?”

GGMS KANDOLI NAGROTA

ALEENA

GHS BATHINDI Choosing a favourite story is like choosing a star from a galaxy. I am a teenager, an age of rush, excitement, change and hope. At this stage of my life I look for characters who connect with my feelings, and I identify with strong women. My current favourite character

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is Wonder Woman. She is independent and fearless, a brave soldier taking on her enemies like true warrior. She gives us hope, inspiration and courage to look for the wonder woman in ourselves. Related to this, we have been looking at Indian sportswomen and I have been inspired by PV Sindhu, the first Indian woman to win silver at the Olympics. She has come a long way and her journey has never been smooth. She never surrendered to distractions, and remained determined and resolute. She inspires me to work hard on my goals no matter what the odds stacked against me, and I intend to follow in her footsteps.

NANDINI GHS DIGIANA

Mother Teresa inspires me because all she gave was pure love. She is the mother of all who need tenderness, care and love. She did not avoid the challenges of working with the poorest of the poor. She never thought about how hard it would be or how many people she could not help. She was a great human being and gave people dignity. I pray to her every day to make me a better person. If only there were more people like her. I want to be an independent, self-disciplined and respectful person who always does the best for others. I was very glad to take part in this project, and learned a lot of new things. I got an opportunity for self-analysis and will definitely work on improving myself.

SUMAN

GHS DIGIANA “Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know of avoiding the trap or thinking you have something to lose. You are already marked. There is no reason not to follow your heart.” Steve Jobs I’m inspired by Steve Jobs, and these are the

five lessons I learned from him: 1. Persistence leads to success - if I stay in the game long enough and keep working at it, I will succeed 2. Don’t be afraid to be wrong - to be successful you have to do new things and not be afraid of failure 3. Going against the status quo - you have to be different and not “normal” like everyone else 4. Attention to detail - Jobs taught me the importance of being detail oriented: every detail counts 5. Just go out and do it and the dots will always connect - sometimes what we do doesn’t seem to make sense in the long term picture, but it does

NIKITA

GHS KALUCHAK I am inspired by my neighbour Mr Raj Singh, who managed to succeed in the KAS exam. We hail from a village where we have to face a number of hardships in achieving our goals. There is no electricity, no road connectivity, no job opportunities and a number of other challenges. In such circumstances, to educate oneself and crack a competitive exam is a huge achievement. That is why my neighbour motivates and inspires me to do much better. I want to become an IAS officer and I believe that a vision of a better world is impossible without cooperation and harmony.

RITIKA SHARMA GHS KHARNA CHHARGAL

Edward Gould was an animator known for creating the web cartoon “Eddsworld”. He began animating at 14, uploading short flash animations onto the Internet, which he continued with his friends and colleagues Matt Hargreaves and Thomas Ridgewell, gaining a considerable following. Unfortunately, Ed fell ill with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia and died in 2012 at the age of only 24. As an aspiring artist myself, Ed inspires me as he carried on

26 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

animating even when he was ill in hospital. I hope to make my own cartoons and animations in the future. A spark of determination and confidence rekindled in me as a result of taking part in this project. I came to realise that I had a broader vision of the world.

ARZOO SHARMA GHS KHARNA CHHARGAL

There was once a farmer who used to sell a pound of butter to a baker. One day the baker decided to weigh the butter to see if he was getting the right amount, which he wasn’t. Angry about this, he took the farmer to court. The judge asked the farmer if he was using any measure to weigh the butter. He replied that he didn’t have a proper measure, but he did have a scale. Then how do you weigh the butter, asked the judge. The farmer replied: “long before I sold butter to the baker, I was buying a pound loaf of bread from him. Every time I bought the bread, I put it on the scale and gave him the same amount of butter. If anyone is to be blamed, it is the baker.” The moral of the story is: “In life you get what you give, so don’t cheat others.”

I want to become an intellectual person. There are three types of people: people who talk about other people, people who talk about experiences, and people who talk about ideas. I want to be one of the third group. I want to gather as much knowledge as I can through my education so that I can discuss and invent ideas on my own. I envision a world where everyone practices empathy, kindness and love, where all beings understand the meaning of the word ‘human’. For a better world we need leaders who inspire others to take positive actions. This project has enabled me to discover the positive side of my personality which was concealed over many years. It gave me an insight on how to improve myself for the betterment of society and triggered a sense of responsibility.

MANISH DEVI GHS SAROTE

I am inspired by my friend Ashu who has many good qualities. She believes in simple living and high thinking. She is always ready to help me regardless of my condition. She is loved by everyone, and is the ideal student. She is very punctual and comes to school at the right time. She keeps her books and copies very clean, and always speaks the truth.

ARCHANA DEVI GHS OLD SATWARI

“The greatest people in the world turn a setback into a comeback.” I am inspired by Abraham Lincoln – let me share his life story with you. This was a man who failed in business at 22, was defeated in the legislative race at 23, failed again in business 24, lost his sweetheart at 26, had a nervous breakdown at 27, lost a congressional race at 34, a senatorial one at 45, failed in an attempt to become vice president at 47, lost another senatorial race at 49, and who was elected President of the United States at 52. This man was Abraham Lincoln. With this many failures, if Lincoln had quit no one would have blamed him, but then no one would have remembered him either.

VISHALI DEVI GHS DHANNI JAMMU

My favourite fictional character is Elizabeth Bennett. She is a bit stubborn at times, but it is obvious how her intelligence and charm have made her a character who has inspired many people over the generations. Kiran Bedi was the first woman to join the Indian police service as an officer. She inspires me because she mapped out a way for other women to follow her path. She is Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry and was earlier a tennis player who won many medals.

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I learned a lot from taking part in this project. It helped me make a line of action for achieving my goals.

MANZOOR HUSSAIN GHS DOMAIL

Atal Bihari Vajparee was one of the bravest and best Prime Ministers of India. He was very patriotic and did many things for his country. One of his inspiring quotes is that victory and defeat are both part of life and are to be viewed with equanimity. Even in opposition he welcomed many Government initiatives, and supported Indira Gandhiâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s nuclear test for the protection of the nation. He was a man of principle who always stood on the side of ethics and truth. He had the courage to speak the

ABRAHAM LINCOLN

truth no matter how bitter it was. That is why he was respected, even by his competitors. He was also a great poet. I am emotionally attached to my village, where there is both love and life. I want to do everything possible for the welfare of my village, which is why I will work hard to achieve my goal of becoming a teacher. My greatest hope is that the vision of youth comes true and that no one remains silent about what is unacceptable â&#x20AC;&#x201C; this is our role and responsibility. Let us give up our pride and stand hand-in-hand with each other as one soul, one mind, one life. I learned many beautiful and valuable things from this inspiring project which will definitely help us to create a better future.

28 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

AMIT BUNDAL

GHSS BISHNAH BOYS SCHOOL It is Mahatma Gandhi who inspires me as it was he who made possible for Indians to gain freedom from the British through ahimsa (nonviolence) and satyagraha (the force of truth). Indians call him Bapu-ji. Although he was assassinated in 1948, he will live in the Indian heart for ever. I want to be like him as he led to the way of truth, honesty and kindness and I want to do the same and help others.

SIMRAN DEVI GHS DANSAL

â&#x20AC;&#x153;A bad teacher tells us the truth, a good teacher tells us how to find it.â&#x20AC;? I am inspired most by my maths teacher,

Samjeer Sir. He is polite and always helps us with our study. He creates interest even in dull maths lessons, demonstrating with lots of examples. He is also a good sportsman and plays cricket and volleyball very well. He encourages every student to do the best in their life. My vision for a better world is where differences of power and wealth are addressed.

SUNIL VERMA GHS JOTRIK

My mother inspires me because she is the only one who is handling the situation in our family. She inspires me what one can do in difficult situations. She is not qualified but welleducated. My inspiring moment was when I was going back from school with a friend when we saw a car hit a woman and drive off. The woman was

PALAK MUCHHAL

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lying unconscious in the road until another driver came along and got out to help her, taking her to hospital himself. That person became my inspiration as he saved her life. My vision for a better world is not to change people’s conditions but their mentality, because then conditions will also ultimately change. And morality will give rise to humanity, which includes all good deeds.

BHARTI THAKUR GHS JANDRAH

As much as I’d like to make my mum my inspirational figure here considering all the hardships she has been through and facing them head on without losing herself, I’d like to go a step further and talk about her mum instead. A mother is the strongest being on this planet, especially when it comes to helping her children grow in the world while teaching them how to survive the adversities the world throws at them. My grandmother has done this to perfection. After losing her husband and losing every inch of her husband’s property to his selfish brothers, she stood there with children completely dependent upon her for survival. She went from being a landlord’s wife to working in the fields for a wage. From a person rich enough to drink milk from a silver cup, she went to working 18 hours a day with only three hours’ sleep for over a decade. From losing everything, she eventually built her own house in the village and 15 years later she stands as the epitome to women in the village going through a tough time in life. My vision for a better world is that all children deserve to live free from fear, violence and abuse. Yet girls all over the world are especially prone to threats like child marriage, genital mutilation and rape. Empowering women is an effective way to accelerate developmental progress. When girls get a good education, they tend to be healthier, marry later and have fewer healthier children of their own. I am totally committed to equal treatment and prospects for girls and boys. The project gave me ideas for creating a better future and broadened my mind.

DIKSHA JAMWAL GHS JANDRAH

My inspiration is Salman Khan, who is a great actor and a good human being. He is the founder of the Being Human Foundation charity providing education and health care services for underprivileged children in India since 2007. It funds 500 children for their education, and has provided a training course for over 1,900 young people, nearly 1,200 of whom have found employment. It has also provided funding to help children with congenital heart and craniofacial conditions. It engaged with Drought relief and floods, providing blankets for victims. Salman also opened the Khan Academy to provide students online with educational tools and skills. In 2010, he pledged to offer his bone marrow for therapeutic purposes, and did not back out when the opportunity arose. I want to be a person like him. I want to become a fashion designer in the Indian rather than the Western style. My vision for a better world is that everyone should change their thinking about girls. Currently, everyone judges them by their dress sense, which they have no right to do. This has nothing to do with their character. By taking part in this project I have had a chance to explore myself and to clarify my ideas and vision. For instance, I did not know that I prefer helping other people to helping myself.

JANVI BALI GHS JANDRAH

“There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching out and lifting up.” My inspirational figure is Palak Muchhal, the Indian playback singer, who has earned a huge name with her musical and charity work. She has provided a lot of support to children suffering from heart disease, and started her charity – The Palak Muchhal Heart Foundation - at the age of seven during the Xangil War and spent a week singing in shops in her home city

30 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

BHAGAT SINGH Indore to raise funds for the families of deceased people and soldiers. In July 2003 she offered assistance to a two-year-old with a hole in the heart. Now she sings all over India and abroad with her younger brother to raise funds for poor children suffering from heart disease. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m really inspired by her helpful character, and want to be like her. My inspirational moment was when I helped a small boy who got hurt while walking along the road. I made sure that he got proper medical aid, and felt really happy. A better world is one that is free from the narrow-mindedness of old thoughts and where people keep themselves fit by healthy eating and proper exercise. The best exercise is yoga, which can also provide stress relief.

PRIYA JAMWA GHS JANDRAH

As you grow up you will start to set up some goals and dreams. In order to strengthen your skills, knowledge and courage, you will follow someone who inspires you as a role model. As you listen to his words, you will get a strong feeling that you can do anything in life. The most inspiring person in my life is Grandmaster Shifuji Shaurya Bharadwaj who is a commando trainer, action choreographer and motivational speaker. He founded Mission Prahar in 1999 to train and educate people in the areas of self-discipline, self-awareness and self defence. He has trained thousands of women in self defence. The best and most important thing about him is that he always criticises things that are wrong, not remaining silent when our Jawans are dying at the border while politicians carry on eating samosas. He reminds us of the true meaning of nationalism. My vision for a better world would be a better

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mindset of individual integrity, honesty, courage and positive attitude. While doing this project I felt that I met with myself and now have much clearer ideas.

SIMRAN KAJURIYA GHS JANDRAH

“A good teacher is one who does not blame you for your mistakes, but encourages you to do good deeds.” I am inspired by the thoughtful words and sayings of my earlier teacher Virender Kumar Sharma. He used to tell us to show our face in future only when we have worked out our destiny and fortune. We had a strong bond with him as a guardian, and every day he used to give us social messages after class. Everyone finds social studies boring, but he managed to make it fun and easy to remember. His last saying before leaving was that if you are determined, enthusiastic, disciplined and willing, then nothing can stop you from reaching your destiny.

TANYA JAMWAL GHS JANDRAH

So many inspiring people have come into my life but the only person who told me about the importance of life and happiness was my class teacher Sh VK Sharma. He motivated me when I lost my confidence and liked to quote Audrey Hepburn who said that nothing is impossible because impossible says I’m possible. I learned that if we really want to do something, no one can stop us and that we should never underestimate ourselves. No one is perfect, everyone makes mistakes, but we can learn from these by not repeating them. I want to stand on my own two feet and achieve my potential.

RAJNISH BANMOTRA GHSS MANDAL

Bhagat Singh inspires me is a great and courageous freedom fighter, who was powerful, dedicated and determined. The question asked here to the younger generation is who inspires them and why. So they reply that a Bollywood actor inspires them because they are popular, fashionable, good-looking and bodybuilders. I would rather become like Bhagat Singh who was a real and great hero in his life fighting for the freedom of India.

MONIKA BHAGAT & SHIVANI KUMARI GHSS MANDAL

We are inspired by the story of the thirsty crow who found some water in a jug, but the level was too low for him to drink it. Then he had the idea to put stones into the jug so that the level slowly rose so he was able to drink and fly again. This story inspires me never to give up but to work hard and keep trying until the work is complete.

NIKHIL CHOUDHARY & SHIVANI DEVI GHSS MANDAL

My teacher Amir from my previous school inspires me. He once gave me a test which I completed in five minutes and he told me to check it again. I said my answers were right but when he checked he found one or two mistakes. This made me realise that I should not be overconfident in life because such people never achieve success. I learned from my mistake.

AUSTRALIA AUSTRALIAN INTERNATIONAL ISLAMIC COLLEGE Umme Kulsum Zubair Mohammed

CAMEROON CAMEROON CARETAKERS INITIATIVE Egbe Achuo Hillman Nuuh Emaculate

ENGLAND ROUNDWOOD PARK SCHOOL Leilani Arrow

NIGERIA WEST AFRICAN PEOPLE’S INSTITUTE Kennedy Ini Udofia GOVERNMENT TECHNICAL COLLEGE Lawrence Oroc GOVERNMENT GIRLS’ SECONDARY SCHOOL Precious Odey Ogringa GSS ATU SCHOOL Esto Blessing Etim

NORTHERN IRELAND ST. DOMINIC’S HIGH SCHOOL, BELFAST Sarah Fox

SCOTLAND BOROUGHMUIR HIGH SCHOOL Libby Crawford

COMMONWEALTH ACHIEVEMENT AWARDS 2019 INDIA AKSHAR SCHOOL Samkit K. Shah

ARMY GOODWILL SCHOOLS AGS ANANTNAG Rabia Mushtaq Iram Imtiyaz Aleesa Khan AGS BANDIPORA SCHOOL Iram Mushtaq AGS BONIYAR SCHOOL Raja Naveed AGS BUTKUT SCHOOL Milat-un Nissa AGS DRASS Nuzahat Fatima AGS FARONA Ghulam Hussein AGS HAJIN SCHOOL Mehruk Sultan AGS HAJINAR Fareeha Irshad AGS HANZIK SCHOOL Ishanvi Gautam AGS HARKA BAHADUR Manzoor Ali

GGHSS BISHNAH Kajal Bhagat

GMS DANSAL Mansi Sharma

LADDI Sehajpreet Kaur

GGMS KANDOLI NAGROTA Palak

GMS SATWAR Ankita

GHS BATHINDI Aleena

GMS J KOTLI Nazia Begum

GHS DIGIANA Suman

GMS DHOON Arian Sharma

LUDHIANA EAST SCHOOLS Sahil Khan, Goral Manpreet Singh, Balliyewal Manjeet Kaur, Behlalpur Husanpreet Kaur, Fatehpur Gurpreet Kaur, Harnampura Arshdeep Kaur, Khanpur

GHS KALUCHAK Nikita

GMS DANYAL, JAMMU Azrat Bibi

GHS KHARNA CHHARGAL Ritika Sharma

GMS JAGTI, JAMMU Mohit Pandit

GHS OLD SATWARI Archana Devi GHS RAIPUR SATWARI Harish Digwa GHS SAROTE Manish Devi GHS DOMAIL Manzoor Hussain GHSS BISHNAH BOYS SCHOOL Amit Bundal GHS DANSAL Simran Devi GHS J KOTLI Sunil Verma

AGS KRUSAN SCHOOL Nargis Muhammad

GHS JANDRAH (BEST SCHOOL) Bharti Thakur Diksha Jamwal Janvi Bali Priya Jamwa

AGS MAZBUG SCHOOL Sehrish Amin

GHSS MANDAL Rimpy Devi

AGS MURGUND SCHOOL Azhar-u-din Kasana

GGHS SURINSAR Ranjeet

AGS TEETWAL Ifsah Shakeel

GHSS JAGTI, JAMMU Sanjan Raina

AGS TREHGAM Aafiya Masood

GLHS BAIN BAJALTA Asia Bibi

AGS KARU SCHOOL Tashi Gyaltsan

AKOI SAHIB Deepika Sharma AKSHAR SCHOOL Samkin Shah BAHKTARI Amanjot Kaur BALIAL Jasmine Kaur BHAMABADHI Simran

BHARTI FOUNDATION UTTAR PRADESH Anshika Singh DAYALGARH Ramandeep Kaur FATEHGARH CHANNA Rajinder Kaur JHANNERI Khushpreet Kaur KAMALPUR Sumanpreet Kaur KAHERU Gursimran Kaur KHURANI Sukhmanpreet Kaur

LUDHIANA WEST SCHOOLS Gurleen Kaur MEEMSA Parmeet Kaur M&M Ramandeep Kaur PANWAN Jasdeep Kaur PHAGGUWALA Harmanpreet Kaur RAUNI Sania SAFFIPUR Karansher Singh SATYA BHARTI SCHOOLS Probhiot Kaur Ramanjeet Kaur SEN SEC SCHOOL Shaganpreet Kaur UMS DHUMARTHA Bajalal Soren FATTUBILLHA Harpreet Amandeep Kaur Navneet Kaur SHERPUR KALAN Gurkamal Singh Somya Pandey Manpreet Kaur Mukan Pandey

34 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

SHIPRA CHOPRA

NAINA KUMARI

My parents inspire me to succeed. They are my role models and inspiration. They are my pillars of strength and always encourage me in every respect. My father is a businessman and my mother works at a child development centre. Although she is very busy, she never forgets to help me with my studies. My parents have made me disciplined, dedicated and sincere. A role model does not have to be a famous personality. It can be anyone who makes us believe in ourselves. Not just parents, but I also consider my teachers as role models as they guide me on the path of success.

We all know that ants are very hard-working organisms and that they spend all summer collecting material for the winter. One day I was sitting on the stairs at my house when I saw an ant lifting an insect which was more than its own weight. The ant held be insect very tightly and started moving up the wall but suddenly it fell down. However, it kept on trying again and again, even though it fell down many times. From that ant I understood one thing, that we should never give up until our aim is achieved. We should face our challenges in life, however tough. Hard work is the most successful key for solving any problem.

GHSS MANDAL

My vision for a better world is to protect and preserve nature, because nature is made by God. Life is not possible without nature, but people are so busy that they forget about protecting nature.

GHSS MANDAL

From this project I came to know a lot more about myself, including learning many new words.

NAINA MANGOTRA RIMPY DEVI GHSS MANDAL

The process of being mentally or emotionally stimulated to do something is called inspiration. We meet a number of people in our daily lives, and we learn a lot from some of them. Some people inspire us to do something better for ourselves and for our country. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m inspired by our honourable Prime Minister Sh Narendra Modi. He is a man of his word and wears simple clothes. His Swach Bharat mission encourages us to keep our surroundings clean and green. Almost all Indians admire him. He works up to 20 hours a day and is putting the Indian economy on a fast track. He has declared June 21 as International Yoga Day as it is the longest day of the year. He believes in teamwork, and interacts with people through his official app and social media. By sharing ideas and suggestions, the people of India get an opportunity to receive emails and messages directly from the PM. His hard work and dedication inspire me to work hard to become a successful, honest and useful member of society.

GHSS MANDAL

I am most inspired by my teacher Miss Pooja. When I was in ninth class I got bad marks on a unit test and lost my confidence. But she told me that success and failure are two sides of one coin and that we should face our failures and learn from them. Her words really inspired me to work hard, and when the second unit test came round, I was in first position. I learned many things about myself from taking part in this project. For the first time, I thought about myself and my character and qualities.

AMAN SHARMA GHSS MANDAL

Dr A JP Abdul Kalam Azad inspires me most as a teacher, a guide, a motivational speaker, a scientist and a great son of Mother India. His every quality is like a motivation as we can see from the following quotes:

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NARENDRA MODI • • • •

If you want to shine like the sun, first burn like the sun Don’t read success stories, you will only get the message. Read failure stories, you will get some ideas to get success You see, God helps only those who work hard. That principle is very clear One of the very important qualities of the student is to question. Let them ask questions

I can honestly say that every saying of Dr A JP Abdul Kalam inspires me, and he started from a poor family and grew into a great personality through his thoughts and ideals.

RANJEET

GGHS SURINSAR My favourite story is about the Buddha. One day he was sitting under a tree and a man started abusing him. After he had finished,

he waited for the Buddha’s reaction but to his surprise the wasn’t even the slightest change in the Buddha’s expression. The man got angrier and used more insulting words but there was still no reaction or response. At last the man got tired and asked the Buddha why he was not angry at him. The Buddha replied: “It’s because I have not accepted your words.” The man got confused and asked if the Buddha had not heard every word. Buddha smiled and replied: “I don’t need abuse, so why would I hear it?” He went on to explain that all the abuse remained with the man. The man did not understand and said that he had addressed the words to the Buddha, who then explained that if a person gives you coins and the other person does not accept them, then with whom do the coins remain? The man replied that the coins would remain with him. “You are right”, said the Buddha, “the same

36 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

happens with abuse, since I haven’t accepted a single word of abuse from you, it remains with you. So I have no reason to be angry with you.” The man understood his mistake and apologised. “Don’t respond to what people say in anger, inner calmness and peace are the way to live a contented life.” I am inspired by Thomas Alva Edison because of his innovative work for society. He enabled people to see in darkness. One day as a little boy he brought back a piece of paper from his teacher which said: ‘Your boy is a genius. The school is not the right place for him and there are no efficient teachers to train him. So please train him yourself.’ Edison went to school for only three months, but developed his interest in mathematics and physics. He became one of the greatest inventors of the century. After his mother had passed away, he was going through a cupboard and came across the letter that his

childhood teacher had written. It said: ‘School cannot allow your child to attend any more. He is mentally retarded. He is rusticated.’ On reading this, Edison became very emotional and wrote in his diary: ‘Thomas Alva Edison was a mentally retarded child whose mother turned him into the genius of the century.’ A positive word of encouragement can help change anyone’s destiny. I got to learn about the various issues facing mankind because of war and conflicts. I realised that the developed countries like America are not fulfilling their social responsibilities. They are just selling arms and ammunition to other countries, which will definitely push this world into war.

MARIE CURIE

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AFFIA AKHTER

CHANDRI DAR

Swami Vivekananda was a great inspiration who should always be remembered. He taught unconditional love reinforced by the importance of giving back and how to be a better person. So let us rise, let us grow from the inside out with Swamiji’s thoughts. He said, none can teach you, none can make you spiritual. There is no other teacher but your own soul.

“Be less curious about people and more curious about ideas.” Marie Curie

GGHS SURINSAR

SANJAN RAINA GHSS JAGTI, JAMMU

“A dream is not what you see in sleep, but rather what doesn’t let you sleep.” Dr APJ Abdul Kalam I am inspired by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, a great personality whose every word holds a story. Each sentence spoken by him was full of knowledge and experience, and he is a great inspiration to youth. One can learn simplicity from him, and his definition of rest was the satisfaction felt after achieving a goal. Here is a story about him. One day a scientist came to his boss and asked if he could leave early at 5:30 pm to take his children to an exhibition. As usual, the scientist was so involved in his work that the next time he looked at his watch was 8:30 pm. Suddenly he remembered the promise he had made to his children, and rushed to his house, but did not find them there. His wife asked him if he would like a coffee, but he wondered where the kids were. She said that his boss had come earlier to take them to an exhibition. You can guess who this boss was - none other than Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. While taking part in this project I learned to be more self- confident and bold, how to put my point across to other people and be a leader in a good way.

GHSS JAGTI, JAMMU

As a physics student, the person who inspires me is Marie Curie, who was the first to receive two Nobel prizes, one in chemistry and the other in physics. With her amazing achievements, she created a place for women in science. Although she was faced with discrimination because of this, she fought back against gender stereotypes. I am thankful to be part of this beautiful project, which has helped me know who I am and what I want to be, also to define my purpose in life and my vision for a better and more prosperous world.

ASIA BIBI

GLHS BAIN BAJALTA I want to become an army officer and my maternal uncle is one, and I get motivated every time I see him in uniform. He gave me a book with an article about a soldier called Abdul Hamid and when I read it I was deeply influenced by his personality, and my vision of becoming army officer became clearer. He was involved in a tank battle in September 1965 with Pakistani forces where he moved out to a flanking position, changing his direction repeatedly but he was killed by one of the tanks. His example inspired his comrades to beat back the enemy attack and he was posthumously awarded the highest military decoration, the Paremveer Chaker.

38 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

SWAMI VIVEKANANDA MANSI SHARMA

ANKITA

â&#x20AC;&#x153;The mediocre teacher tells, The good teacher explains, The superior teacher demonstrates, The ultimate teacher inspires.â&#x20AC;?

Modiji inspires me the most. He is dedicated and hard-working, doing good for India. He also does yoga. I want to be like him and do good for society.

GMS DANSAL

My inspiration is my Principal. He is the central figure in the school, and knows the value of time and discipline in his life. He is strict, but also sweet and treats us like his own children. He takes great interest in his work, and I regard him as a guru.

GMMS SATWAR

NAZIA BEGUM GMS J KOTLI

My parents are always there to support me. They give me the freedom to choose what to do with my life. They taught me everything as a child, and are the inspirational force behind all my good work. I am the kind of person who wants to restore faith in humanity and empower them to fulfil their highest potential.

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ARIAN SHARMA

MOHIT PANDIT

“I don’t carry the burden of the past or the madness of the future. I live in the present.”

“Let positive, strong, helpful thoughts into your brain from very childhood. Lay yourselves open to these thoughts, and not to weakening or paralysing ones.” Swami Vivekananda

GMS DHOON

Narendra Modi is my true hero as he has inspired me to go my own way and take calculated risks. As a child he helped his father with his tea stall at Vajnagar Railway Station. He is a person with dignity, respect, innovative thinking and an open mind. He improves everyone with his work. He has handled many tense situations in a cool and calm manner. He is a man of his word and has kept his promises. He is a Prime Minister who cares for everyone – youth, middle-aged and old aged, which is why he inspires me a lot. When most people just want to live peaceful lives and do good, how is it that our world has become what it is today? One thing I have come to understand in applying spiritual principles in my life is that whatever is within is reflected without.

AZRAT BIBI

GMS DANYAL, JAMMU “I want to say that efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.” Rani Mukerji is one of the most popular and highly paid Indian actresses. On the occasion of Mother’s Day, she told us that she enjoyed mothering more than acting, and was returning to the big screen after four years. As she wanted to focus on motherhood, she chose not to work for a long time. She wanted to be with her daughter and see her grow. My vision for a better world, beginning with my country, is a democratic government that builds schools, colleges and hospitals for the welfare of the people, and also constructing more roads to connect villages with towns. I would like to see militancy eradicated, and I support equality and freedom of speech and expression for all.

GMS JGATI, JAMMU

I am very much inspired by Swami Vivekananda because he talked about the importance of hard work and not stopping before you reach your goal. He also inspired me to become independent: “Never fear what will become of you, depend on no one.” He also said that strength is life, weakness is death. The main reasons I’m inspired by his mantras are below. • •

•

“Stand up, be bold, be strong, take the whole responsibility on your shoulders.” Swamiji told us that we should follow the principles of Vasudev Kutumb Kan, meaning that all people are my brothers and sisters, which helps me in my class. I always do yoga, which helps me in my physical fitness and mental ability.

HARSH BHAT GMS JGATI, JAMMU

Virat Kohli is my inspiration because he is very dedicated to his work as a self-determined and hardworking sportsman, practising every day. I would also like to play cricket for my country. This is what I think we can learn from him: • • • • •

Dream big, achieve well Limitations are only as real as you make them See progress over perfection Crush your excuses Live outside your comfort zone

40 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

TAMANA RAINA

MUZAFFAR HUSSAIN

Dr APJ Abdul Kalam is a person who inspires me a lot. In searching for inspiration, I am looking for someone who can articulate what could be rather than what is and I am struck by Dr Kalam’s ability to do just this. People like him can expand a person’s moral imagination and capacity for what can be done. The best thing I learned from him is simplicity and never to stop working, as an empty mind is a house of evil.

“I want to say to the world, never buy gold, simply earn it.” Mary Kom

GMS JGATI, JAMMU

This project has helped me learn about my character and to define my visions and goals for a better world.

GMS SIMBAL LEHAR, JAMMU

Mary Kom is the bravest woman in the world as people used to think that boxing is for men and not for women. She broke through the glass ceiling of boxing and is one of the most popular female athletes in India. Her hard work and success is an inspiration to all of us. She said, “What you sow, you will reap, what I sow, I will reap, every medal I have won is the result of a difficult struggle.” I want to become a teacher as teaching is a noble profession that shapes the character and future of individuals. A good teacher can inspire hope and love, and to be remembered as one is a great honour.

MILKHA SINGH

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SHAGANPREET KAUR

PRABHJOT KAUR

“I like the religion that teaches liberty, equality and fraternity.”

“Not all of us can do great things, but we can do little things with great love.”

I am inspired by Dr. B.R. Ambedkar who prepared a draft constitution for India. He was independent India’s first law minister, the principal architect of the constitution and a founding father of the Republic of India. Bhimrao Ambedkar was fondly called Babasaheb by his followers because they considered him to be their father figure. As he always supported the rights of women, workers and campaigned against the social discrimination of untouchables (Dalit). He was also honoured by the Bharat Ratna Award in 1990. He was a great personality of Indian history and a true hero of our nation. Although helpful with dalits or untouchables, he never gave up when things got hard. Rather, he refused to accept social and racial discrimination. He worked on the education of poor people.

This saying of Mother Teresa inspired me a lot. Mother Teresa, a woman of inspiration to everyone, everywhere, had an impact on my life. She taught me not to distinguish people as better and worse. Her mission of aiding “the unwanted, the unloved, the uncared for,” inspires me to help the needy persons, orphans, children. I am dreaming of a charitable foundation to help old aged people. She devoted her life to others. She always found her happiness through others. The love, care and kindness of her character inspired me to help others. She gave away everything – medicine, food, prayers, always with a smiling face. It does not matter what we do, the only thing that matters is how much love we put in. If we all put in a little love towards others, a loving and peaceful world will be our home, for everyone.

ASHARMAR DIPIK

“Caring gives happiness to you and others.”

SATYA BHARTI ADARSH SENIOR SECONDARY SCHOOL

AKOI SAHIB SCHOOL

“Hard work, will power and dedication – for a person with these qualities, the sky is the limit.” In 1958 Milkha Singh won the 400m race at the Asian Games held at Tokyo, the capital of Japan. After that, Milkha Singh won the 400m race in the Commonwealth Games. In 1960 the Indian team were invited to Pakistan. In Pakistan, Milkha Singh won the 200m race. Milkha Singh is famously known by the name “Flying Sikh”, a name given to him by the Emperor of Japan. Milkha Singh’s father, Sh. Sampooran Singh was a very simple person. Milkha Singh had to cover the distance of 14 – 15 km on foot to go to school.

SATYA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, BALIAL

“A little lamp can do that which the sun cannot do.”

“Born with personality is an accident, but to do as a personality is achievement.” I have learnt so many things in this project. This project gave me the opportunity to think about my strengths and areas where I need to work and to share my ideas or my feelings. It has increased my awareness about society and my own vision towards the world. For example: I plan to visit orphanages and old people’s homes to make real/ true my vision for a happy and healthy society.

42 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

JASMINE KAUR

SATYA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, BALIAL “Spread love everywhere you go.” Mother Teresa inspired me because she was a great personality of the world. She devoted all her life to helping needy and poor people without any discrimination. Her service was selfless. She worked for the hungry, the naked, the homeless, the crippled, the blind; all these people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared for throughout society, people that become a burden on society. She changed their lives by supporting them. She was a great soul on this earth. I salute her work. “Peace begins with a smile.” “Service of humanity is a service of God.”

programmes like Ellen, Inside Edition, Fox and Friends and Oprah Winfrey. She inspires me because she is best known for becoming the first inspiring armless pilot. The amazing part is that she does all that work without a pair of arms. In elementary school she hated the fact that she could only play on the swings while the other kids swung away on the monkey bars. Alone with her thoughts, she would imagine herself as Superwoman and fly above the playground, taking people with her. She was very hard working and committed towards her goal. Her persistence and motivational behaviour encourage me a lot. By taking part in this project, I have learnt new innovative and creative ideas to express my views. I have a better plan to fulfil my vision. I have evaluated my qualities and found that I can change myself. It is not difficult. I can bring about change for the better in the world through my plan to educate and make people aware.

MANPREET SINGH

SATYA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, BALLIYEWAL “It’s wonderful to be a woman and to be a woman and to be a leader and to let people know that women can do great things.” This quote of Jessica Cox always gives me courage on my bad days. It gives me hope and confidence that I can bring a better change in my life, society and the world. • • • • • •

Inspiring Motivational Courageous Hardworking Committed Persistent

Jessica Cox, born 1983 in Arizona, is the world’s first armless pilot as well as the first armless black belt in the American Taekwondo Association. She was born without arms due to a rare birth defect. She didn’t lose her courage and ambition to succeed in life. Her aim was to become a pilot. Her achievement earned her a Guinness World Record Medal, invitations from six continents and she featured on TV

MANJEET KAUR

SATYA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, BEHLOLPUR “Don’t stop when you are tired, stop when you are done.” “Believe in yourself and all that you are. Know that there is something inside you that is greater than any obstacle.” Kiran Bedi • • • • •

Confident Committed Respectful Courageous Daring

Kiran Bedi is a retired Indian Police Service officer, social activist, former tennis player and politician who is the current Lieutenant Governor of Puducherry. She is the first woman to join the Indian Police Service. As a teenager, Bedi became the national junior tennis champion in 1966. Even though Indian society was not favourable towards women, she did not lose her hope. She

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struggled to be on a par with men – at times she even surpassed them in sports and education. She was top of her class in her Master’s in Political Science. Her dream was to uplift society and the status of women in society. To realise her dream, she joined the IPS in 1972. By doing so, she brought hope and light into the lives of girls and women also. Now she is not just a role model for women but for men too. I wish to attain betterment of the world with my efforts. We know education is a source of enlightenment for us to follow the right path. So I have started my efforts in giving education to those who couldn’t go to school. With the help of my friends and senior persons of my village, I arrange classes for those who never went to school.

JESSICA COX

By taking part in this project, I feel more confident that I can change the narrow thinking of society and attain a better world in which girls have the freedom to do as they want – to be a doctor, teacher, pilot, IPS officer etc. It also helps combat some bad evils like female foeticide, the dowry system etc. Because if they can create or serve society then they can also change society.

SIMRAN

SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, BHAMABADI My mother is not educated at all but she is very curious to learn. One day I taught my mother to write her signature. When she tried it and then she easily wrote her name. This moment inspires me a lot. From that day I daily teach my mother new things.

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My vision is that all people are equal in this world. There is no classism, no castism at any place. All people are equal on an economic basis. There is no rich or poor. There is a feeling of brotherhood among people. I will make people around me aware of the bad effects of classism, racism. I will help them in understanding the importance of hard work and encourage them to do hard work. I will try my best to inculcate a feeling of brotherhood among people in my locality, community etc.

SAHIL KHAN

SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, GOSAL “Courage is what it takes to stand up and speak. Courage is also what it takes to sit down and listen…..” This helps me because I want to become a great person. Every citizen would feel proud of that person. I will devote my whole life to this purpose. Mr Parminder Singh

HUSANPREET KAUR SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, FATEPUR

“The path from dreams to success does exist. May you have the vision to find it, the courage to get on to it and the perseverance to follow it.” I am inspired by Kalpana Chawla because I also want to fulfil my ambition. Kalpana was the first Indian-American astronaut to go into space. She flew on the space shuttle Columbia in 1997 to cross horizons and fly into space. Her life is an inspiration to women all over the globe. She was just an ordinary girl who, with her extraordinary courage and work became a source of encouragement to women all over the world to follow their dreams and work hard to succeed. Her second space mission started on 16th January 2003. On returning back to Earth, her space shuttle malfunctioned and disintegrated, causing the death of Kalpana, along with six other crew members. This tragic incident occurred on 1st February 2003. Though the first female astronaut from India died on that fateful day, she will always be remembered for her courage and hard work. All her qualities give me the inspiration to make my life better. I want to become like her. She will always motivate all girls that they can do any work with confidence. She is the ideal lady for me.

• • • • • •

Inspiring Courageous Helpful Honest Humble Confident

I am inspired by an army man who came to Satya Bharti school to arrange a yoga camp. He told us of the many difficult steps in army training, like getting up early in the morning, diet, physical and mental fitness, forgetting family relationships while on duty and concentrating only on duty and mission. He inspired me through his views and his glowing face. He made a good environment for our yoga class. He inspired me because of his courage, persistence, enthusiasm and commitment to his goal. He made an image of his personality in my mind and I see his face all the time. So I want to become like him because he is very humble, confident, helpful and honest in his duty and to our society and nation. By taking part in this project I feel more confident. There are many creative ideas now in my mind, Now I have the power to change the world. I have many ways to fulfil my vision – I can change the mind of my peers about the value of the armed forces.

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KALPANA CHAWLA ANSHIKA SINGH

SATYA BHATI SCHOOL, GURGAWAN “Anything that makes you weak physically, intellectually and spiritually, reject it as poison.” Life is full of inspirational things, persons and moments, but I am much inspired by Swami Vivekananda, the legendary personality. His sayings are full of inspiring words. His every word helps me to be a better person. I strongly like his teaching. There are many accidents and persons who come across to me. They give lifetime lessons to me. Sometimes nature also inspires in different ways. Many changes that take place in nature influence me and teach me lessons. Sometimes a kid’s innocent activity teaches me and gives me a lesson. Some adverse situations touch my soul and help me to form thinking and beliefs. Once, Swami Vivekananda asked his teacher

Ramakrishna Paramhansa – Does failure hurt more than moving in the right direction? He beautifully answered that success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure decided by you. In every sense, experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lesson afterwards. This answer touched my heart and after that I decided to work to satisfy myself and not to impress others. There are many stories of Swami Vivekananda to inspire me.

GURPREET KAUR

SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, HARRAMPURA “Your self-worth revolves around your ability to see your own light. So let it shine.” Dr Bhimrao Ambedkar is a hero of our nation. He was born into a poor Dalit cast family on the 14th April 1891. Bhimrao Ambedker, popularly known as Baba Saheb Ambedker, was an Indian jurist, economist, politician and social reformer

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MITHALI DORAI RAJ who inspired the Dalit Buddhist movement and campaigned against social discrimination towards the untouchables, while also supporting the rights of women and labour. He was independent India’s first law and justice minister, the architect of the constitution of India and a founding father of the republic of India. In India and elsewhere, Baba Saheb means “respected father”. In his career, he was an economist, professor and lawyer. His later professional life was marked by his political activities. In 1990, the Barat ratna, India’s highest civilian award, was posthumously conferred upon Ambedker. He died on the 6th December 1956 aged 65. By taking part in this project I feel more confident. There are many creative ideas in my mind. Now I have the power to change the world. I have many ways to fulfil my vision.

KHUSHPREET KAUR SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, JHANERI “Peace begins with a smile.” I am inspired by Mother Teresa. She was born on 26th August 1910. She was a very kind-hearted lady who devoted her life to serving the poor and destitute around the world. Little is known about her early life but at a young age she had the calling to be a nun and to serve through helping the poor. At the age of 18 she was given permission to join a group of nuns in Ireland. In 1979 Mother Teresa was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and became a symbol of selfless charitable work. She founded the Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation devoted to helping those in great need. Mother Teresa said herself, “Love cannot remain by itself. It has no meaning. Love has to be put into action and that action is service.” I want to become like Mother Teresa. I am very helpful to everyone.

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GURSIMRAN KAUR

AMSHDEEP KAUR

“Never give up hope. Be hopeful.”

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.”

SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, KAHERU

Milkha Singh inspires me. He belongs to a poor family but through his father’s efforts he went to school. He got up early and always walked. His guru was S. Gurdev Singh. He gave us challenges for practice. I did my best. I was inspired after to see the girls participate in sports. After that he worked hard and achieved his goals. Eventually he broke the Olympic record and got a gold medal. So we should always follow, like Milkha Singh’s personality – we should always focus on our goal and our aim. He never gave up his hope.

SUMANPREET KAUR

SATYA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, KAMALPUR “Dare to dream and achieve it with full dedication and enthusiasm. Do not quit!” Milkha Singh is one of India’s great personalities. He is also known as the Flying Sikh. The partition of India happened when he was still a teenager. He witnessed the killing of his parents. The last words of his father were “Bhaag, Milkha, bhaag,” meaning “Run, Milkha, run.” This was a last minute plea to Milkha to run away and save his life. Milkha Singh has made his motherland proud by winning several gold medals in international short distance events. He was invited by the president of Pakistan to take part in a race to be held in Pakistan, but he did not want to go because of his bitter memories of the partition. At last, Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru convinced him to go. Milkha Singh once again beat Abdul Khaliq in the race. The president of Pakistan was very much impressed. He remarked, “Milkha, you did not run, you actually flew.” He gave the title of Flying Sikh to him. Thus Milkha Singh became popular as the Flying Sikh. He was awarded the Padma Shri award in 1959 for his achievements in sport. After retirement from the army, he became a Director of Sports.

SATYA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, KHANPUR

Nelson Mandela, which inspires me to make people aware of the importance of education. “Don’t wait. The time will never be just right.” Napoleon Hill. This quote inspires me to achieve my vision for a better world and for hard work. Mithali Dorai Raj inspires me the most. She is an Indian cricketer, famous for being the “highest run-scorer in women’s international cricket.” That’s why she is called “Lady Sachin”. She was passionate about cricket and classical dance. It was a difficult decision for her to make since women’s cricket was an amateur game two decades ago. But she chose cricket. She was selected for the Indian team at the age of 17. She was a captain and skipper of the Indian women’s cricket team in tests and ODI. She starred as the number one cricketer in the ODI chart for women cricketers in the 2013 women’s world cup. Under her captaincy the Indian women’s cricket team made it to the finals of the 2017 women’s world cup. For her hard work she was awarded the “Prestigious Arjuna Award” in 2003 and the “Padma Shri” award of 2015 by the government of India. Her strength and continuous hard work inspire me that I can also do anything. I can change the thinking of my villages about girl child education. I can achieve my goals. Her commitment towards cricket inspires me to stand up for what I believe in and to have the confidence and courage to speak up for my rights. An educated and aware world is my vision for a better world. I want every person in this world to be educated, especially girls. Everyone must be equal. If people are aware about education and aware about everything then they know their rights and responsibilities which helps them to create a better world.

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Based on my vision for a better world, I am teaching illiterate people, elders, after my school. Next month I have holidays so I will take part in “Shaksarta Abhiyan”, run by my school to teach illiterate villagers. I make people aware of the importance of education and of government policies for true education.

lady. She was the first Indian woman to go into space. She got her master’s degrees from the University of Texas. She flew into space in 1996 and died in February 2003 because of some problems in their space shuttle.

SEHAJ PREET SUKHMANPREET KAUR SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, KHURANI

“If we want to fulfil our dream then we should focus on our goal.” I am inspired by Kalpana Chawla. Kalpana Chawla is my favourite personality because she is a great astronaut. She was an intelligent and brave girl. She was born on 1st July 1961 at Karnal. Chawla was a very hard working

SARTYA BHARTI SCHOOL, LADDI “A dream doesn’t become reality through magic, it takes sweat, determination and hard work.” P. T. Usha is a very famous lady in the world. She was very interested in games. She is also called Flying Angel. P. T. Usha is the first Indian lady to win a gold medal in the Olympic Games. At primary level she participated in athletic games. In 1978 she was 14 years old and took part in 100m race and finished in 13 seconds,

P. T. USHA

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and in the 200m race in 28 seconds. In 1980 in her first international meeting she won 4 gold medals for India. In 1985 she won 5 gold medals and 1 bronze medal at the Asian track and field championship at Takarta, Indonesia. At the Seoul Asian games, Usha won gold medals in the 200m, 400m hurdles and the 4x400m relay categories. She was awarded the Arjuna Award in 1983 and the Padma Shri in 1985.

GURLEEN KAUR

SATYA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL, MOHIE “All gets lost without knowledge.” The lady who changed the face of women’s rights in India – Savitribai Phule – was born in 1831 and died in 1897. She was an Indian social reformer, educationalist and poet from Maharashtra. She is regarded as the first female teacher of India. Along with her husband, Jyotirao Phule, she played an important role in improving women’s rights in India during British rule. Phule and her husband founded the first Indian run girl’s school in Pune at Bhidewada in 1848. The Light in Darkness – an exceptional lady. Poem: “Go, Get Education.” She worked to abolish discrimination and unfair treatment of people based on caste and gender. She fought against social evils like child marriage. Years ago, girls weren’t sent to school. All dreamt of a change, while someone became the change – Savitribai Phule. This project helped me to identify qualities to admire in others. There is clear identification of values, qualities and feelings. I will see more inspirational stories, these stories give me new ideas to make myself better. I will set goals for the future and take knowledge from every aspect of life. I will set more goals and inspirational projects to help me achieve my goal.

PARNEET

SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, MEEMSA “The path from dreams to success does exist. May you have the vision to find it.” Kalpana Chawla’s story inspired me a lot. She was born in Karnal, India. She obtained a degree in engineering from Punjab Engineering College before emigrating to the United States and becoming a naturalized citizen in 1980. She began working for NASA’s research centre in the same year, working on power lift computational fluid dynamics. I get inspiration from her life to work hard in life. I want to become a woman of great achievement.

RAMANDEEP KAUR M & M PUBLIC SCHOOL

“A few mistakes made by a person working productively cost far less than a person paralyzed by laziness or fear.” Sheik Mohammed bin Rashid Al Makhtoum, ruler of the Emirate of Dubai, is the person who inspires me a lot, who worked and is working very hard to make the UAE one of the best countries in the world. He holds the vision to make his country a number one in every aspect. Before this, Dubai was only known for sand dunes and hot temperatures. No one even like to go into that desert area but, with his far sightedness, now Dubai is emerging as the best country to travel to and all the highest and tallest buildings are in that country now. Everything becomes possible because he has a vision and mission to achieve the set target of being number one or the only one. With this he is not just making the economy of the country strong but also creating more job opportunities for both unemployed persons and the ablest individuals. He is responsible for Dubai’s growth into a “Global City”. By taking part in this project my personality attributes and vision have got clear. I never thought in such depth but now I am confident that

50 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

I can do good for others by just keeping a better vision which is not only for me but for the whole world or my surroundings at the minimum level. I have come to know about my strengths and weaknesses through this project.

JASDEEP KAUR

SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, PANWAN “If you’re walking down the right path and you’re willing to keep walking, eventually you’ll make progress.” This quote means if you keep trying you’ll earn great success. My inspiration is the 44th president of the United States, who is the first African-American to serve in the office, Barack Hussein Obama, known world wide as Barack Obama. He is my inspiration because when he was still young he went against a popular guy called Bobby Rush for president and got defeated because nobody knew who he was. However, Obama had the ambition and courage to go up again and stand for president in 2008 and then he was elected to his first term of presidency. He then won a second term. In 2012 Obama had set his mind on what he wanted to do and therefore he didn’t suffer from a lack of belief that he could accomplish whatever it was he decided to try. Obama then achieved all the great wonders as he always had a positive mind knowing that one day there would be a chance for him to accomplish whatever he wanted.

HARMANOREET KAUR

SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, PHAGGUWALA “Works of love are works of peace.” Mother Teresa inspires me most because she was very kind, loving and helpful for children. She did a lot of work for orphans. She devoted her life for the sick and poor. I also want to be like her and do something good for children when I grow up.

My vision for a better world is a world with peace and love. Where everyone has a right to enjoy their life and everyone has a feeling of helpfulness and friendship.

RAMANJEET KAUR

SATYA BHARTI SCHOOL, PURANA TAMEL “The art of a people is a true mirror to their minds.” “Facts are facts and will not disappear on account of your likes.” A bright light (Jawaharlal Nehru) was born in India on November 14th, 1889. The light, Jawaharlal Nehru, who later became the prime minister of India, was an inspiration among youth and children across the globe. I admire him for the way he loved his country with his mind and heart. He guided the nation’s destiny till the very last breath of his life. He made people realise that communalism promoted division and he wanted people to be above community, caste or religion. He asked them to put aside old ideas and old beliefs. The one thing which inspired me about him was that he was an optimist, living every moment of his life to the full, giving vent to his imagination and the way in which he did not allow his years in jail to overcome his senses and values of aesthetics. He shines across the world as a national builder, an inspirational leader and a writer. He was deeply concerned about the welfare of women and improvement of their social and economic status. He had great admiration for the women of India. This ideology influenced me greatly. He is a model for many, especially children. He talked to the children about nature and its wonders, India and the world. He helped them develop sensitivity to things around them. Secularism was a great goal which he set for India and this motivated me a lot. In my opinion, what he valued was India’s unity amidst its beautiful diversity. I am inspired by our Satya Bharti School which is providing us with free education and quality education for underprivileged children of our country. As a motivated student, I started teaching my parents and neighbours and as I’m doing this task I feel so proud when a person who used to

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show his thumb impression can do a signature. And it makes me proud of myself. I have learnt about helping and serving people in different ways without any discrimination based on caste, creed or sex. I motivated my class mates who were feeling shy. I built up their confidence. Through this project I made many changes in my life and in others lives.

SANIA

RAUNI SECONDARY SCHOOL “Sanitation is more important than independence.” “Everyone must be their own scavenger.” Mahatma Gandhi Ji was a great freedom fighter, also known as the father of the nation.

JAWAHARLAL NEHRU & MAHATMA GANDHI

He was a great believer in nonviolence and struggled to unite people regardless of caste and colour. He organised national movements such as Satyagraha, the Non-cooperation Movement and Quit India. He is known for his uniqueness, greatness and simple dress. I’m inspired by him because he focused on sanitation most. He told people to keep their homes and surroundings clean. Another reason is that he told people to use Indian things, not those made by foreigners. The difference I want to see in the world is for people to stop killing each other on the basis of religion, caste, gender etc. People should stop cutting trees and grow more. Children should leave their mobile phones and go outside to play, which could help them remain healthy and fit. People should take proper care of sanitation by not throwing wrappers, waste paper, empty packets and cans just anywhere. And in the villages, the drains should be closed not open.

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DR NNAMDI AZIKIWE Once when I was young I was playing with my friend in her house when a bird suddenly fell down. We saw that it was injured so we took it to our room, wiped off the blood, covered it with a cloth and gave it some water. We took care of it and it slowly recovered then flew off. I was proud that we had saved the life of this bird.

HARSHDEEP

RAUNI SECONDARY SCHOOL Sanitation is one of the major problems in today’s world. It is true that the government has started various steps regarding cleanliness, but they are not properly implemented. A little girl from Kashmir is leading the way in cleaning up Dal Lake. We will also start such movements as poverty can never be solved without solving water and sanitation. In the end, cleanliness and sanitation are the only keys to a green and better world.

KARANSHER SINGH

SATYA PRIMARY SCHOOL, SAFIPUT KALAN “Nothing is impossible in the world.” I am very much inspired by M. S. Dhoni. He is a famous cricket player. He is a great person. He is a good player and a good leader. I watch lots of his matches. Dhomi plays as a wicketkeeper and batsman. He is a nice person and a wonderful player. He is vice-captain of the Indian team. I am always his fan. He is a very talented player and I like him very much.

BAJULAL SOREN UMS DUMARTHA

APJ Abdul Kalam inspires me. He said that we can achieve anything with a grand aim, acquisition of knowledge, hard work and

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perseverance. He also remarked that the three people who can bring real change to society of the student, the teacher and the mother. Inspired by him, I wanted to make a wooden refrigerator powered by solar energy, which I have succeeded in doing. In the future, I want to develop a new kind of engine free of electricity that also creates no pollution in the environment.

NIGERIA BLESSING ETIM ESTO

GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOL NIGERIA “I stand to conquer. I didn’t give up, I persisted in order to gain freedom.” Before Nigeria as a country became a nation, there were some protagonists, great people who stood and fought in order to eliminate and restrict colonial domination. They were like a wounded lion against foreign rule. Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe was one of the heroes who stood firm, with love for his land (country), and struggled for the freedom of his people. As a result of this fight for independence there arose a second world war during which lives and property were destroyed. But my great hero didn’t care about his life (Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe), he persisted in order to gain freedom. He went as far as forming the first political party in Nigeria, the NNDP, as a weapon against foreign domination. This hero of mine I hold in high esteem, because if it weren’t for him, my nation of which I am a citizen, Nigeria, wouldn’t have been known.

PRECIOUS ODEY OGRINYA

GIRLS GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOL NIGERIA “I am an African not because I was born in Africa but because Africa was born in me.” I get inspired by a musician called FALZ. This is because he talks about societal issues concerning Nigeria and the world at large through his music. He is different from other

musicians because not all his music albums and tracks necessarily talk about wordly things, unlike other musicians who in all their tracks lay emphasis on women (girls), drugs and other meaningless issues which will not impact or add value to anybody’s life. In his track “Child of the World”, he talks about a societal issue which concerns everyone in the world at large which is rape and prostitution. Through that track, he creates awareness of how it can be stopped through enlightenment, advocacy and proper education. In another track, “This is Nigeria”, he talks about the problems Nigeria is facing, which are bribery, corruption, criminality and other related offences.

KENNEDY INI UDOFIA WEST AFRICAN PEOPLE’S INSTITUTE

“A leader doesn’t need an enchantment to lead but having a positive lifestyle.” My greatest inspiration comes from the biblical character Moses. Moses was born to the tribe of Levi, delivered by a divine power that saved him from the hands of the Egyptians. He spent his youth in the palace of the Pharaoh then, having fled, he worked as a shepherd until he was sent by God to free the Israelites from bondage. I am greatly inspired by his humility when he fled from the Egyptians to Midian and worked as a shepherd for Jethro the priest. Even when in the wilderness, Jethro, his father-in-law, advised him to select people who would assist him in his jurisdiction – he heeded his advice. Even the Bible described him as the meekest man on Earth. He was also a selfless leader who spent 40 days on the Mount where he received the commandments by which the Israelites should abide. When they told him that they had sinned, he fasted and prayed for them for 40 days. He served as an intermediary between the children of Israel and God. His patience, tolerance and endurance in

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leading the Israelites was phenomenal because the Bible described the Israelites as difficult people who even took up stones to hit him but he pleaded and endured them. Through his selflessness the Jewish tradition was formed, which the Jews hold in high esteem today.

GOUSTIME PRECIOUS EMMANUEL WEST AFRICAN PEOPLE’S INSTITUTE

“Success is in the mind, not by physical appearance.” Thomas Edison inspires me because he was a man of integrity who never lost hope no matter what the circumstances. Thomas Edison’s father was a political activist from Canada, while his mother was an accomplished school teacher and a major factor in his life. An early bout of scarlet fever as well as an ear infection left him with hearing difficulties in both ears as a child and nearly deaf as an adult. He lost his hearing due to a train incident in which his ears were injured. At the age of eleven he was being schooled at home by his mother. In his wide-open curriculum, Edison developed a process for selfeducation and learning independently. At the age of twelve he sold newspapers to passers-by, at the truck rail road where he published a small newspaper called the Drank Truck Newspaper. He never gave up – he made up to 3,000 attempts to invent the electric bulb. He never gave up and today he is a great person in the world. The inventions of Thomas Edison include the telegraph, the universal stock taker, the phonograph, the first commercially viable incandescent electric bulb, alkaline storage bottles and electric light.

MAUREEN OKON OMORI GSS BIG QUA TOWN CALABAR

“It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation.” The person that inspires me is Akinwande Oluwole Babatunde, Soyinka for short, Wole Soyinka. Wole Soyinka was fortunate and not like others; his father was a priest in an Anglican church and was also principal of a school, while his mother owned a store. Eventually Wole Soyinka grew up and was bright – he attended one of the Nigerian universities and then decided to further his studies abroad at the University of Leeds, England. Wole Soyinka was bright and hard working. What inspires me the most about him is his great knowledge for writing; he writes his books out of experience, out of the things he sees around him. He is a very good playwright; one of his quotes is, “Books and all forms of writing are terror to those who wish to suppress the truth”, and also, “Success is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts.” Anytime I look and read the quotes about success, I always believe that to succeed is not the end, but the strength, the boldness to continue to the end. Wole Soyinka is an example of a hard working, upright and knowledgeable playwright, that inspires me.

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AKINWANDE OLUWOLE BABATUNDE GOODNESS KUKEHNIM ADIE

LAWRENCE OROK EYOMA

My inspirational figure is Mary Slessor, a European missionary, who came to Africa with hopes of abolishing the killing of twins, the offering of human sacrifices to heathen gods, idol worship and slavery, as well as hoping to convert people to Christianity. Her efforts were met with resistance, antagonism, threats of death at the hands of cannibals, wild animals and attacks from tropical diseases. However, she conquered all these with love. I see Mary Slessor as a great woman, a hero, a role model to everyone, who saw the needs and value of every child born to a woman, each capable of bringing “great” change to the country. A woman filled with great love, determination, respect, generosity and attributes of character fitting to a woman of esteem.

“You can never know yourself until you think out of the love and exhibit something different. Everyone is unique.”

GOVERNMENT SECONDARY SCHOOL ATU

GOVERNMENT TECHNICAL COLLEGE CALABAR

I draw my inspiration from my parents but I think my dad is more involved. Being a distant father, he never fails to keep in touch with his family. So far he has been able to break records in his family. He is the first in his family to buy a car, build a house, work and receive an award after 35 years of meritorious service, marry a wife and educate two grown up daughters in university. He has also gone to places and advanced in experience and education. This makes him more unique and extremely different from his peers. I see myself like him in the future. His words of wisdom, inspiration and motivation are what keeps me pushing through, and that’s why I’ve sworn to make him proud.

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NORTHERN IRELAND SARAH FOX

ST. DOMINIC’S HIGH SCHOOL, BELFAST “It is our choices…..that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities. You sort of start thinking that anything’s possible if you’ve got enough nerve.” “Understanding is the first step to acceptance, and only with acceptance can there be recovery.” “I would like to be remembered as someone who did the best she could.” J.K. Rowling inspires me because she is very selfless and always puts others first. Before the Harry Potter series J.K. Rowling sought welfare benefits and described her status as being as “poor as it is possible to be in modern day Britain without being homeless”’ but even though she was in this emotional state she still carried on. She had the idea for Harry Potter on a delayed train from Manchester to King’s Cross in 1990. When J.K. Rowling had finished her first book she was rejected by 12 publishers but she was determined and finally found a publisher. When the Harry Potter series became popular J.K. Rowling used her fame in the best way possible; first of all, she was the first author in the world to reach a net worth of £1 billion and she was the first author/person to lose their billionaire status because of donating money to charity, which is so inspiring and shows J.K. Rowling didn’t change with fame and gave back to people in need. It also shows she remembered what it felt like when she was in their shoes. She also funded her own charity called Lumos to help orphaned children find a home. One of J.K. Rowling’s best qualities in my eyes is that she is resilient. This is shown when she was in need of support and needed help but would never give up and kept on going, which is one of the qualities I want to work on. I personally think she is one of the most inspiring female figures, she has done so much for other people and has made up a fantasy world for people to escape

to, allowing them to forget about their worries and believe in what they want. Her books have inspired me and many others to have a passion for writing and reading. She isn’t your typical female writer; her main character in the Harry Potter series is a male and even though she was a female writer she reached out to many people, old and young, and people of many different genders around the world. Her big success obviously came from the Harry Potter series but she was mainly successful because of her personality and her likeability towards people she worked with. I don’t think she would be as successful if it wasn’t for her strong work ethic and dedication to writing. One of things I am most proud of in my life is standing up for my friends and family or when I see someone being wrongfully treated. There have been many incidents when this has happened. When I was in primary school an act of bullying occurred and I stood up for my friend and stood up for what I believed was right. This is sometimes hard to do and it can be easier just to mind your own business but I wasn’t brought up to shy away from things, I was brought up to stand up for what I think is right. This is one of the proudest moments of my life because I was able to help my friends. My vision for a better world is to appreciate what we have and not take anything for granted. I want people to understand that they are lucky for what they have and to think of the people who have less than us. I want more people to realise that many are living in poverty. I think many don’t realise that climate change is happening and don’t realise how it will affect the world. I know it won’t vanish as soon as we realise what’s happening but we can’t just ignore the fact that it has happened because of us. The world would be a better place if everybody had a voice, everybody could think what they wanted to think and do what they wanted to do. Nobody could tell you what to do and everybody was free. There was equality and diversity in the world. I know none of these things will happen overnight and I know it will take time, but we have to start somewhere.

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SOPHIE MURRAY

ST. DOMINIC’S HIGH SCHOOL, BELFAST “If there were none who were discontented with what they have, the world would never reach anything better.” The person who inspires me most is Florence Nightingale (the Lady with the Lamp). Florence inspires me because she trained and managed nurses during the Crimean War. She organised the care of wounded soldiers and saved countless lives. She is an inspiration to many people including me. I find her an inspiration because I would like to get into the medical field when I’m older, specifically paediatrics. She also did amazing work in making hospitals clean and sanitary. I think she is an excellent role model for women everywhere.

J.K. ROWLING

Florence Nightingale was born in Florence, Italy, on the 12th May 1820. Florence was not permitted to train as a nurse because her parents thought it was not a suitable profession for a wealthy young woman. At long last, her father allowed her, and she went to Germany to train. By 1853 she was running a hospital in London. I think that she was so successful because of her perseverance and kindness. I find this very inspiring because most young women were not allowed to work or provide for their families, they were seen as the weaker gender but Florence managed to put all of that aside and become one of the world’s most widely known inspirational women. I wish to live up to Florence’s strength and determination to stand up for herself and to get to where she wants to be. I think these are excellent and useful traits to have when I’m older.

58 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

AIMEE LOUISE MCCORMACK ST. DOMINIC’S HIGH SCHOOL, BELFAST

“To anyone who has been told that they can’t do it, that they shouldn’t do it or that they aren’t good enough – ignore it, do it anyway and prove them wrong.” The person who inspires me is Chloe Lusiak. Chloe Lusiak is a dancer who has been dancing for the Abby Lee dance company since she was two years old. She inspires me by doing what she loves and makes other people look up to her and do what they love. She didn’t give up when she lost a competition. She was determined and didn’t let anything stop her dancing. Even when her peers beat her she was still happy for them. She has such as kind and strong personality and that is a really amazing thing to have. She has so many accomplishments and self pride. She won the “Teen choice awards” 2015 for dance

and was one of the stars on a reality TV show called”Dance Moms”. Chloe Lusiak spoke about how she was bullied for having a medical condition. She was diagnosed with silent sinus syndrome in 2014. This causes one eye to appear smaller that the other. She was called “ugly” due to her “lazy eye”. Even with all of the hate she was getting she still stayed strong. She is smart and wants to pursue her dream to be an author. Chloe stayed strong and went through two operations to fix her eye.

ANNE FRANK

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SARAH SKILLEN

to vote! But Nelson Mandela believed that everybody, no matter what, should be treated equally!

“How wonderful it is that nobody needs to wait a single second before starting to improve the world.” Anne Frank

Nelson Mandela inspires me and many people because he never gave up in what he believed in; he kept trying to prove his point and didn’t stop until he did. He was very motivated like me and did his best to achieve what he wanted. Nelson Mandela helped black people to get the rights they deserved and when I am older I want to help as many people as I can, especially older people. I will be very motivated to stand up for what I believe in and I will not give up without a fight. I think everybody should be treated equally and we should all care for each other as in the end we’re all the same with different personalities.

ST. DOMINIC’S HIGH SCHOOL, BELFAST

Anne Frank inspires me as she went into hiding at 13 and went through a lot dealing with being a Jew during Nazi rule. She had to leave her whole life behind and have no contact with anyone except for her family and anyone else who lived in the secret annex. Anne Frank was a cheerful girl who stuck movie star pictures above her bed. She had a hunger for knowledge, was optimistic and creative. She was also a sensitive young woman. Reading The Diary of Anne Frank was really inspirational and taught me that you should live your life with hope of happiness and to stay positive because you never know when it could be the end. Anne was truly an example of this and never let the thought of the Nazis capturing them put her down. The Diary gives you an insight into how it felt going into hiding, how the Jews were treated and how they were always scared of what might happen. I think she has success, since her father published the book in honour of her because it gives us a new viewpoint and insight.

EMILY ROGAN

ST. DOMINIC’S HIGH SCHOOL, BELFAST “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” A person who inspires me is Nelson Mandela. Nelson Mandela was South Africa’s first black president after spending 27 years in jail. He was put into jail for 27 years because he stood up for what he believed in. He is known as one of the world’s greatest leaders. When Nelson Mandela was a young man, white and black people in South Africa lived separate lives under a system called Apartheid. It was illegal for black people to use the same schools, hospitals and even beaches as white people. Black people were also denied basic rights and they were not allowed

An inspirational moment for me was when I completed three full nights of acting Dorothy in our school show, The Wizard of Oz. Every night there were approximately 300 people and at the end of every show I got a huge round of applause. To me, this was a great achievement as I had learnt a huge script and a lot of songs off by heart. I learnt more about myself, my characteristics and my personality. I also learnt that in life, when I am older, I want to make a great difference and help other people to also make a difference. I want to be very kind and caring and I want to achieve so many things in my life that I never knew about. I want to see so many landmarks and travel all over the world, exploring new things and learning about different types of cultures.

60 Global Citizens in the Making - Commonwealth Edition

SCOTLAND HANNAH MCKENZIE BOROUGHMUIR HIGH SCHOOL

“Young people, they care. They know that this is the world they’re going to grow up in, that they’re going to spend the rest of their lives in. But I think it’s more idealistic than that. They actually believe that humanity, the human species has no right to destroy and despoil regardless.” “I just wish the world was twice as big and half of it still unexplored.” Sir David Attenborough, 93, never set out to stop climate change, he was a BBC director and then became an explorer because of his interest in nature. It was only as the years passed that he noticed the animals and habitats becoming more threatened, and so he set out on the long journey to alert the people of the world that we need to do something before the irreversible happens. I admire him for his courage and determination, and despite being told often that he’s wrong he has always fought for a better future, even though he might not be there to see it.

NAGORE CUARTANGO BOROUGHMUIR HIGH SCHOOL

“I want you to panic…..and act as if the house was on fire…..because it is.” Greta Thunberg, born 3rd January 2003, is a Swedish schoolgirl who, at the age of 15, began protesting outside the Swedish parliament about the need for immediate action to combat climate change and has since become an outspoken climate activist. I think she is so inspiring because she got involved at such a young age, and had continued to protest even when told otherwise. She is also autistic, but this didn’t get in the way towards a better future. She continued to fight, causing a total of 105 countries to follow lead

on Friday 15th March. She was also nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

LIBBY CRAWFORD BOROUGHMUIR HIGH SCHOOL

“Whether you come from a council estate or a country estate, your success will be determined by your own confidence and fortitude.” Michelle Lavaughn Obama is an American lawyer, university administrator and writer who was first lady of the United States from 2009 to 2017. She is married to the 44th US president, Barack Obama, and was the first AfricanAmerican first lady. After having a tough childhood, being raised on the south-side of Chicago, Illinois, she graduated from Princeton University and Harvard Law School. She has been the leader of many influential campaigns such as “Let’s Move!” to challenge child obesity in the US, providing free school meals to children from lowincome families, launched the “Reach Higher” initiative, encouraging the younger generation to continue schooling past high school and campaigned for women’s rights and for girls to go to school. I chose to focus on Michelle Obama as despite being from a low-income family, she defied the odds and got an extremely good degree and has developed into a committed, hard working, open-minded woman who many young girls, including me, can look up to.

GRETA THUNBERG

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Global Citizens in the Making

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