Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai

Who is she?

Malala Yousafzai is a Pakistani activist who stood up for girl’s education when the Taliban had taken over her nation and her village, Swat Valley. Malala was born in the 12th July 1997 in Mingora, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. She is now aged 17 years old. She is named after an Afghan heroine, Malalai of Maiwand who is described as a folk hero because she organised Pashtun Fighters against the British troops. Malala has 2 brothers; Atal and Khusal Yousafzai. Her parents are Toorpekai and Ziauddin Yousafzai. Her father was an owner of a few schools, including Malala’s previous school, Khusal Girls High School until the Taliban came to power. Malala’s religion comes from a family who believe in Sunni Islam. She was taught by her father, the laws mentioned in the Qu’ran and examples of it.

What was Malala’s cause?

Malala was motivated to become a doctor but unfortunately this did not come as planned because the Taliban had wanted all girls in Pakistan to stop their education. She was mad that she had to stop going to school but that didn’t mean she had to stop her education forever. At the age of 11, Malala wrote under a pseudonym named Gul Makai on a BBC blog describing how hard life is under the Taliban and how she missed going to school. In May 2009, Malala and her family were forced to flee from their village because it was much too dangerous. On the 9th October 2012, when Malala was on her way back home from school by bus, a group of Taliban men surround the bus shouting “Where is Malala? Speak up or I will shoot you all.” Malala was shot with one bullet in her head which travelled through her neck and down to her shoulder. Two of her friends were shot too; Kainat Riaz and Shazia Ramzan.

Would the world be better or worse if Malala hadn’t lived? How and why?

After Malala was shot, she was airlifted to Peshawar, where they successfully removed the bullet. On 15 October 2012, Malala was airlifted again to Birmingham, United Kingdom, to a hospital called Queen Elizabeth Hospital. When Malala was still in coma, she came out of it, and was discharged from the hospital on the 3rd January 2013. Millions of people across the world couldn’t believe this miracle.

Awards that she won…

2011:

National Malala Peace Prize

2012:

Mother Teresa Awards

2013:

Sakharov Prize, United Nations Prize in the Field of Human Rights, Goodreads Choice Awards Best Memoir & Autobiography, Ambassador of Conscience Award, Simone De Beauvoir Award, The US Glamour Award for Woman of the Year.

2014:

Nobel Peace Prize

2015:

Shorty Awards for Teen Hero

In what ways does Malala inspire you and do you aspire to be like her? Why or why not?

Malala inspires me as a teen role model because of her actions she did for girls’ education. I would like to aspire to be like her because she is also described as a humanitarian and in the future I want to become a humanitarian standing up for the rights of children who are suffering.

Malala’s Quote…

“I said to myself, Malala, you must be brave. You must not be afraid of anyone. You are only trying to get an education. You are not committing a crime.”

By: Raheal Mengistu

All about me

All about me

Raheal

Short, 11 years old, girl, soccer lover

Sister of Helen, Wondim, Mekbeb, Moses, Ferede, and Samrawit

Who loves to read, cook, play on her iPod, and chat with her friends online

Who feels excited when she wants to do something so badly, and also feels for people when they are sad or hurt

Who needs an alarm to wake her up to go to school on time, and her family to help her with her school work,

Who gives time for practices, school notices to mum and dad, and homework during the weekend,

Who fears spiders, high heights, scary places, and vampires,

Who would want to go to Ethiopia, and stay there for a year while doing her job,

Resident of Mt Albert, Auckland, in Richardson Road,

Mengistu

Peace Poem

Peace Poem

Peace sounds like silence where no one distracts you.

Peace feels like happiness shared with other people around you.

Peace looks like teamwork when people cooperative with each other.

What is Peace?

Peace is a sign of forgiveness and the opposite of arguments, war and other negative emotions.

What is the colour of Peace?

The colour of Peace is white and other bright colours.

By: Raheal Mengistu

Haiku Poem

 Haiku Poem

       There was a man who loved to cry,

         But before he cried, he ate his pie.

              He met a famous rapper,

             And acted like a snapper,

  So he changed his mind to be that guy.

    By: Raheal Mengistu

Plight of the Sea Turtle

Plight of the Sea Turtle

        By: Raheal

Sea turtles have swum in the oceans for over millions of years, longer than when the dinosaurs lived. A long time ago, they were easy to spot in the surfaces of the ocean. But now, there are a lot of sea turtles who have been dropped down. Today, each of the 7 species of the sea turtle is either threatened or endangered. The situation is so serious that many children in the Pacific want to see a live one!

Sea turtles are very important to the Pacific people. The laws controlled a lot of sea turtles so that they could be hunted to be eaten. They were eaten by important people on special occasions. People used the sea turtle’s shell to make tools, spears, fish hooks, jewellery, and combs. These items were highly used for trading things. Sea turtles were also mentioned in Pacific legends. In the past, they were described as the gods in other legends.

There are 7 species of sea turtles: Kemp’s ridley, flatback, green, olive ridley, loggerhead, hawksbill, and leatherback. The leatherback sea turtle is the biggest of the 7 species. The adult can grow up to 2 meters and weighing 600 kgs. It is the only specie without a hard shell.

Each year, thousands of turtles die when they drown in fishing nets, getting tangled in plastic bags or choke in plastic rubbish. Turtle products are now banned and illegal to trade. Each year, thousands of sea turtles are killed for the black market.

The visit to the Mary Mackillop Centre

WALT: WRITE A RECOUNT

The visit at the Mary Mackillop Centre

It is CTK’s School 60th Jubilee. The school decided we could go to Mission Bay to visit the Josephite sisters who founded our school. It was a long way away from our school because the ride was time consuming. We arrived and started off with a mass with Fr. Peter leading it. After mass, we went exploring the house of the Josephite sisters.

Everyone was amazed when they took one step in the house. It was beautiful. There were a lot of belongings that belonged to Mary Mackillop a long time ago. There was also her chair she used to sit on to write.

After exploring the house of the Josephite sisters, the sisters gathered the children from the learning zone and Room 4 so that we had a good question and answer time with them. They started telling us stories about how it was like in C.T.K long time ago. They also replied with amazing answers from children who asked the sisters.

While the sisters were talking, they told us many astonishing facts we didn't know. While they were talking to us, I was thinking about the past in C.T.K. Memories flashed in my mind and took me back 60 years ago. I imagined I was there back in their time and the sisters were teaching the children about God. There were only 2 classrooms. Can’t you believe that C.T.K was opened 60 years ago with 2 classrooms only? I wasn’t even born that time.  

After the sisters talked to us, we sang to them “Mo Maria” and we went back to the field to sit with our classes. That was the best moment I will never forget.

By: Raheal Mengistu

Book Review 7

A Picture Of Freedom

Clotee Henley is a 12-year-old girl who is a slave living in Belmont Plantation, Virginia, USA. She has the most wonderful terrible secret. While doing her job of fanning her master’s son during his daily lessons with his mother or his tutor, Clotee has taught herself to read and write. She knows that if she shares her secret with anyone who she can’t trust, then she will face death or bad punishment. Suddenly, she knows that the master’s son’s tutor, Ely Harms, has a secret of his own as well. Clotee uses her secret to save herself and her friends.

This book is a non-fiction book about freedom, the disloyalty of spies and traitors, the love of life and family, and the pain of death and slavery. I recommend this book 11-17 years of age. I rate it 5 stars.

By: Raheal Mengistu