We asked ONE members for submissions to The Big Read book — a collection of stories from people around the world supporting education for everyone. Although only one member story will be published in the book, the runner-up submissions, including the one below from Courtney Anne Lenoir of Locust Valley, NY, were so good that we wanted to share them with you.

You can show your support for The Big Read and help ensure a pathway out of poverty for children around the world. Endorse the book by adding your signature here.

Thanks for reading!

-Emily Stivers

Singular Story, Shared Destiny

By Courtney Anne Lenoir
Locust Valley, NY

During Barack Obama’s acceptance speech last November, he stated these powerful words, “Our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared.” How does this apply to education as a human right for all children?

We all have unique gifts and life experiences that add to the fabric of who we are becoming as adults. In order to strive for peace, we need to look at each other with humanity, understanding our differences but searching for what unites us as citizens of the world.

I am writing today because of my singular story. On September 11th, almost eight years ago, at the age of nine, my idyllic childhood came to a crashing halt. The events that day had a devastating effect on my family with the loss of my father, but they also affected the nation by forcing us out of the comfort zone we had been living in.

In the aftermath, teens were exposed to the realities of war, inequality and hate. We saw it in Iraq. We see it in Darfur, India, Kenya, Haiti, Palestine and many other developing nations on the globe. These places in great turmoil are regions with enormous inequality. When basic human rights are neglected, individuals become desperate in their thoughts and actions. It is a known fact that education increases the standard of living and ultimately, it is the best tool to stop the vicious cycle of poverty.

Howard Thurman said, “Don’t ask yourself what the world needs. Ask yourself what makes you come alive, and then go and do that, because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” In the last few years, I have come alive with the passion to reach out to my peers, to share my story and to work together to inspire change.

I think personal tragedy can bring out the best and the worst in people. I have seen both. Instead of being bitter, I have used my situation as a catalyst to find my profound purpose in life at a rather early age. I owe this to the memory of my father.

By starting the organization Generation Y Not, which works with the strategy formulated by ONE, I have created a forum for young people to gather and mobilize their communities in this revolution to end poverty.

The world we are living in today is so much more interconnected than our parents’ world. Advances in media and technology enable us to share information, images, and thoughts instantly no matter where we may be physically located. Each of us has a responsibility in our shared destiny. Our generation has a voice and when we are called upon to share that voice, we need to understand what we are talking about. We cannot simply sit back and nod to every opinion our parents may have, we also cannot always disagree. We need to acquire information so we can make independent, informed opinions. Because of our connectedness, our idealism, and the amount of information we have at our fingertips, this generation could be the first to see the end of extreme poverty.

Although each of the Millennium Development Goals is crucial to the improvement of humanity, I am a champion for Universal Primary Education. I sponsor three children in the slums of Nairobi, Kenya, so that they have the funds needed for mandatory uniforms, books and school supplies. Without my support, these small details would be enormous financial obstacles that would stand in the way of their education. I have raised money to build new classrooms for the schools so that the students do not have to sit and try and learn with muddy floors and nothing but a leaking tin roof overhead.

I have never felt more proud to be an American than when I had the opportunity to attend Action Week for the Global Campaign for Education. Alongside peers from ONE, CARE, and Mercy Corps, passionate teens like me went door to door on the Hill speaking to members of Congress about the importance of The Education for All Act. I was able to share my stories with influential men and women from both sides of the aisle and was amazed at the fact that they listened to me, a young teenager.

I told them how important my education has been and how fortunate I am to be living in a country that values both boys and girls. Experts feel that the education of girls could have the most positive impact on developing nations. When girls are educated, their future brightens. The amount of income they make increases greatly. They have healthier children and less malnutrition. Educated women are less likely to become HIV positive, and they gain a sense of self worth. As an African proverb states, “Educate a boy and you educate and individual. Educate a girl and you educate a community.”

Universal education may also increase the security of our nation. If quality, moderate schooling is offered to children, then desperate families will choose this over the other options which may involve the doctrine of hate and fervor of religion. Education for all could save us or other nations from another September 11th.

I may only be a student but when the play is over, when the sports season ends, when the driver’s license is attained, when the exams are done, and when I have been admitted to college, I will have made a significant contribution to the future of humanity. Do not for a minute think that just because I am a minor that I cannot make a major difference in our world. It is the positive and sometimes crazy idealism of youth that approaches today’s obstacles with hope. “Our stories are singular, but our destiny is shared.” We will not put up with a future filled with war, poverty and hate, when we know that in order to live happily ever after, all you need is peace, equality and love.