Pick up t he Pencil
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Writ t en and Illust rat ed by t he st udent s of t he Hong Kong Int ernat ional School Art and Room t o Read Clubs
Cover art : Yuka Ohmori Malala Yousafzai: Marilyn Ma (Illust rat or), Rysa Tahilramani (Writ er) Nikole Hannah-Jones: Gaia Liu (Illust rat or), Yui Kurosawa (Writ er) Michelle Obama: Yuka Ohmori (Illust rat or), Caroline Gong (Writ er) Muzoon Almellehan: Ally Yiu (Illust rat or), Jocelyn Wong (Writ er) Michelle Bachelet : Nicole Au (Illust rat or), Elena Wang (Writ er) Amina Yusuf: Yuka Ohmori (Illust rat or), Shreya Venkat esh (Writ er) Shiza Shahid: Casey Simon (Illust rat or), Michelle Ahn (Writ er) Neelam Ibrar Chat t an: Charlot t le I p (Illust rat or), Shreya Venkat esh (Writ er) Emma Wat son: Kat e Wong (Illust rat or & Writ er) Fat u: Arianne Khoo (Illust rat or), Charlot t e I p (Writ er) Thank you t o Our facult y advisor, Ms. Moreno, for providing us wit h support and encouragement along t he way. To HKI Sfor funding t his book - we couldn?t have done it wit hout you! To t he Room t o Read Leaders: Rysa Tahilramani, Shreya Venkat esh and Caroline Gong. To our edit ors: Gayat hri Durairaj, Heeru Bhojwani, Gizelle Rodrigues To t he HKISHSArt Club and Room t o Read members and leaders for helping us illust rat e and writ e t his book. © 2021, Shreya Venkat esh and Rysa Tahilramani Published by Hong Kong Int ernat ional School (HKIS) Print ed by Allwyn Print ers, Mumbai, India
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Dedicat ed t o all children worldwide who are working hard t o receive an educat ion.
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Malala Yousafzai was born in Mingora, Pakist an in 1997. Malala?s first few years were blissful. She at t ended school just like anyone else, Unt il t he Taliban came. Armed wit h weapons, cruel laws, and harsh punishment s, t he Talibans wreaked havoc. Amidst t ons of ot her bans and rules, t he ext remist s said t hat girls could no longer at t end school. Soon, t housands of dreams vanished. Dreams and hopes of becoming doct ors, lawyers, princesses, all went down t he drain. Malala could have st ayed home and given up. But , she didn?t . She publicly spoke out against t he Taliban and fought for girls' educat ion. That made her a t arget of t he Taliban at t ack. 3
In Oct ober 2012, Malala was ret urning home by school bus, just like t he ot her girls, when a masked man carrying a fright ening gun, asked, ?which one is Malala?? He shot her. Malala persevered aft er t he shoot ing. she est ablished t he 'Malala Fund'. She support ed educat ion advocat es, invest ed $7.8 million in advocacy programs, and support ed 57 ot her Educat ion Champions in 8 count ries. Malala has inspired millions of girls worldwide, and t aught t hem t o fight for what is right , t o t ake courage in t he face of injust ice. She campaigns for just ice. 4
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Art wor k
has become a voice for t he minorit y, t he African American communit y. She is an invest igat ive journalist , a mom, and a writ er for t he New York Times. She is an inspirat ion t o t he African American communit y.
by Gaia Liu
Nicole Hannah Jones
From writ ing about desegregat ion of American schools and policing, t o leading t he New York Times? major mult imedia init iat ive, 'The 1619 Project '. She has brought about a number of changes in educat ional reforms for t he fut ure of America. She says, ?I see my work as forcing us t o confront our hypocrisy, forcing us t o confront t he t rut h t hat we would rat her ignore.? The magazine, Root 100 says it best "Hannah-Jones is t he writ ing, t rut h-t elling, fire-st art ing prot ot ype."
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Michelle Obama is an at t orney, t he first African American woman t o become First Lady of t he Unit ed St at es and an aut hor. During her t enure in t he Whit e House, she encouraged girls' educat ion t hrough her speeches at t he UN General Assembly. Addit ionally, she has creat ed a sect ion wit hin t he Obama Foundat ion called 'Girls Opport unit y Alliance'. Her advocacy ext ends beyond girls educat ion. She works hard t o promot e educat ion, equalit y for African Americans t hrough speeches at t he Black Hist ory Mont h panels. She has founded t he 'Reach Higher Init iat ive' t o highlight t he import ance of post -secondary educat ion. 7
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Muzoon Almellehan Malala of Syria, UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, wit hZest for t he educat ion of children, who areOpenly forced int o marriages, Or forced t o drop out of school. Not able t o experience t he possibilit ies of t he fut ure.
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And she leads t he fight , Loyal and resolut e t o her original int ent . Making sure she is doing what ?s right , Enriching t he lives of t hose whoseLives are lost t o war, Lost t o t he need for st abilit y. Ever so easily, t heir fut ure is no more. Helping t hem, assist ing t hem, support ing t hem is her pride. And who is she? Not just anyone - she?s
Muzoon Almellehan. 10
Michelle Bachelet is t he former President of Chile and an ardent act ivist for educat ion. When Michelle was a child, she spent many years moving around wit h her family, at t ending different schools all around t he world. During t he 1937 milit ary coup in Chile, her fat her was arrest ed. Michelle and her mot her had t o leave Chile. Four years lat er, she ret urned t o finish her educat ion and decided t o ent er polit ics and event ually became t he President of Chile. Aft er t his, she realised t hat st udent s were st ruggling at school.
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The bus passes were expensive and t he qualit y of educat ion was poor. In 2015, Michelle init iat ed educat ion reforms. Her first reform was for t he government t o sanct ion and direct ly fund st udent s and not schools. She changed t he Universit ies admissions policies t o be inclusive, allowing more st udent s t o join college. The second part of t he reform was making educat ion more accessible t o t he underprivileged by creat ing quot as. She t ransformed Chile?s educat ion syst em and became an admirable woman for all t o emulat e. 12
Amina Yusuf
Art wor kb yY uka Ohm ori
is a 20 year old educat ional act ivist and hails from Kaduna St at e, Nigeria. Amina?s st ory began when she got t he lucky chance t o at t end t he 'Cent re for Girls Educat ion' (CGE). The CGEis an organizat ion t hat helps girls in Nigeria complet e t heir educat ion by creat ing a safe and dependable learning environment . Thanks t o CGE, she was t he first person in her family t o go t o school and complet e secondary educat ion. But , somet hing didn?t feel right . All around her, women were pulled out of school and married off early due t o povert y. Some ext remist polit ical part ies believed t hat women didn?t need educat ion. She wished she could give more opport unit ies t o t he ot her 13 young children in Nigeria.
She st art ed her journey by educat ing all her family members and became a t ut or at t he CGE. she become an advocat e for t he 'Malala Fund'. Helping t o campaign alongside Malala at t he Unit ed Nat ions General Assembly. Her vision is t o change t he government laws t o include 12 years of mandat ory school and improve t he educat ion qualit y in 14 Nigeria.
Shiza Shahid
Art wo rk
by
Cas ey
Sim on
is a 30-year-old Pakist ani social ent repreneur, social act ivist , invest or,and educat or. She is also t he co-founder of t he 'Malala Fund'. an organizat ion t hat was fueled by t he youngest Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousafzai. Toget her, t hey invest ed in providing educat ion t o girls in developing count ries, and regions where most girls aren?t able t o have a secondary educat ion. Shiza spent her early t een years as a volunt eer and advocat ed for women uplift ment in prisons. When asked about where Shiza's mot ivat ion comes from, she st at ed, ?We only get a cert ain period of t ime in life. I am mot ivat ed by quest ions - How can I use t he t ime I have? How do I feel in my body and mind? How do I love? 15 What do I creat e?"
She focuses on t hese quest ions t o design her next goal when working on improving educat ion, gaining empowerment and ?embracing womankind and t he women in [her] life.? Shiza cont inues her passion t oday by persist ing and creat ing access t o high qualit y educat ion for all children around t he world. 16
Neelam I brar Chat t an is a Pakist ani educat ion act ivist from t he Swat Valley. Just like Malala, she lived t hrough t he st ruggle of gaining an educat ion against t he pressure of t he Taliban.
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e ot t harl yC kb wor Art
In t he beginning, t he workshops included conflict resolut ions, sport s, art and promot ing educat ion. She lat er focused on emphasizing more t han just t radit ional educat ion and jobs but , encouraging children t o keep an open mind and work hard t owards achieving t heir dreams. Her key focus is t o t each t hem about t he ill effect s of t errorism. Her main slogan is ?Respect t he pen, not t he gun?. She has won t he Paiman Trust Gold Award from t he European Union. This helped her reach out t o over 700 children. She cont inues t o work hard t o provide educat ion t o t he children of Swat Valley. 18
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At t he age of 23, she began a campaign, 'Peace for a new generat ion'. Following t he mission t o educat e children in Pakist an against ext remist values.
Emma Wat son Famed act ress Emma Wat son, Despit e ot hers t elling her t o t ake caut ion. St rides on t rying t o find a solut ion, Wit h environment al prot ect ion, Wit h women?s polit ical part icipat ion. Promot ing full t ime on social media, Wit h educat ional act ivism, Promot ing in Bangladesh and Zambia, Even when faced wit h hat e, She wit hst ood.
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Rose t o fame wit h Hermione Granger, Could have been set for life by nat ure. Underst anding her influence, Choosing t o ut ilize her power, For good. e Kat
ng Wo
Whet her t aking on as ambassador for 'CAMFED' Which helps overlooked girls in poor places have educat ional success, Pushing for 'HeforShe', Using a pre-exist ing plat form, Hoping she can t ransform, The lives of t hose who need social reform, Those whose problems are obscured. Throughout t he decade, She went on, Never st rayed, An influent ial voice all along.
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Fat u Kaba 23-year-old and fight ing for t he world already, Keeping her head high; eyes focused; voice st eady, A beacon of hope for t he underrepresent ed many. Fat u, Fat u - born and raised in Monrovia, Raised by a single mot her, she used her wit s and fire, Won accolades and achievement s wit h her passion and desire. To help women and children - t he most oppressed, She graduat ed from t he high school of Muslim Congress, Set out t o t he Yout h Desk t o make some progress. Wit h t hree ot hers, she t alked and searched for solut ions, Like healt h, educat ion and povert y reduct ion, All t he while fanning t he flames of t he revolut ion. Wit h 'KEY': key t o a bet t er fut ure for t he yout h, She st art ed social just ice plat form t hat pushes t hrough, Knowledge Empowers You: t hat ?s t he beaut iful t rut h. 21
A writ er herself, her words don?t st op at her voice, Advocat ing for women?s right s and t heir choices, Fight ing for t he fut ure generat ion amid all t he noise. Int elligent , dedicat ed, hardworking and what ?s more she helped so many find what t hey couldn?t see before. The inner st rengt h t hat nobody can ignore.
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Room t o Read is a nonprofit organizat ion dedicat ed t o helping children receive high qualit y educat ion. By working and collaborat ing wit h government s, local schools and communit ies, Room t o Read helps develop educat ional skills and lit eracy amongst primary and secondary school children wit h a st rong focus on support ing girls in secondary schools. Current ly, over 23million children worldwide have benefit ed from Room t o Read?s support , 14.3million children benefit from t he Lit eracy Program, 85,313girls are enrolled in t he Girls?Educat ion Program. Room t o Read has helped support educat ion in over 15 count ries. 23
?Room t o Read invest s in t he fut ure of nearly one million children each year. Help us reach more children more quickly. We envision a world in which all children can pursue a qualit y educat ion t hat enables t hem t o reach t heir full pot ent ial and cont ribut e t o t heir communit ies and t he world.?
I f you?d like t o learn more about Room t o Read or t ake act ion, please check out : roomt oread.org I nst agram: @roomt oread Linkedin: Room t o Read Facebook: @Roomt oRead Twit t er: @Roomt oRead *All book sale profit s go t o Room t o Read.
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An inspiring collect ion of st ories, poems and, port rait s creat ed by t he High School HKISArt and Room t o Read clubs dedicat ed t o 10 powerful women educat ional act ivist s around t he world. These women have put t heir heart s int o t heir work and we put our heart s int o sharing t heir journey. ?I alone cannot change t he world, but I can cast a st one across t he wat ers t o creat e many ripples.? Mot her Teresa