Re-membering the world around us

In 2014, I was lucky enough to attend a heritage day assembly at Rondebosch East Primary School in Cape Town.  I originally went to this school because the Agents of Change Project was donating a tree.  While I was there, the principal gave a speech where he spoke about the need to re-member the past alongside the need to look after the world we live in, in order to create a better world for those who come after us.

This connection between past, present and future, alongside the recognition of our heritage, shared humanity and the world around us, was very motivating for me.  It helped me to see the importance of working towards social and environmental justice for the children present in that assembly, so that their voices and their humanity would one day be given free expression, within a world which would safe, and offer them dignity and compassion.

Since then, REPS has given their learners the opportunity to explore their own agency, as Agents of Change interested in working towards a more sustainable world.  Some of the insights the children have shared have been very insightful.

As one child explained:

It's not just the professionals that make a difference.  Your voice does too.  If you going to change, change for the better...your voice counts. #World Peace.  ( Aleker)

The opportunity to listen to, and share with, these children has been a privilege, and it has taught me the power of opening up to all voices, no matter how young.

Listening to children always brings home the importance of freedom, dignity and respect.  Exploring the wonder of the world alongside them, the landscapes of conversation, meaning and emerging awareness, helps me to see how valuable each child is, the uniqueness within each one, and the inhumanity which emerged when human beings were placed on a hierarchy.