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A SCHOOL FOR IQBAL

March 1999 Update

 

School News

First, ALL IS WELL at the “SCHOOL FOR IQBAL” in Kasur, Pakistan.

THANK YOU TO ALL WHO HELPED ESTABLISH THIS TINY MIRACLE OF HOPE which gives hope, love and literacy to former child bonded laborers or to children at risk of becoming bonded. The enrollment is up slightly from 278 to 282 boys AND girls, ages 4 to 12. Thanks to a generous donation by Marguerite Murphy, a private citizen of the USA, a nurse has been hired at the “School for Iqbal.” Children attending Iqbal’s school get vaccines, physicals and attention from the nurse...all made possible by Marguerite Murphy!
 

More "Micro-Loans" Money

Humanitarian and author, Mr. Danny Siegel of the USA, has stepped forward and spread the word about “A School for Iqbal”. One result is that Jewish youth in New Jersey have joined the “School for Iqbal” campaign. The result of their joining is new funds which will go to additional micro-credit loans for poor moms who live near Iqbal’s school! These mini-loans allow those moms to buy back the child they sold into bonded labor AND the moms also must start their own small business. Empowering poor mothers in this way breaks that family out of the cycle of poverty. Breaking the cycle of poverty just might break the chains of child labor. So far, over 30 families have repaid the loans made to them! That money now can be loaned to other poor women. A new cycle of empowerment might start! THANK YOU DANNY SIEGEL!

In fact, just last Friday, March 19, 1999, a busload of New Jersey high school students took time out of their trip to scout out colleges in New England to visit “School for Iqbal” campaign leaders here at the Broad Meadows Middle School in Massachusetts. We had a great time meeting these big-hearted young people from New Jersey.
 

New Computer Purchased

In January of 1999, Mr. George Bowman, Vice President of the State Street Corporation, stepped forward and made it possible for us to buy a new computer so we can reach more, teach more, faster. THANKS STATE STREET CORPORATION. Our old computer, named “Old Sue” by campaign leader Katie Sault, is five years old. We only have one computer ...well, now we have TWO...welcome “New Sue” !!!!!!!
 

Researching Child Labor in U.S.

Student leader Migdalia Tracy, grade 9, has been relentlessly investigating and researching child labor in American fields. Diane Mull of AFOP (Association of Farmworkers Opportunity Programs) has been immensely helpful and supportive. We are thinking of hooking up with AFOP to look for children in our fields, here in America. We’re afraid it won’t be hard to find. By the way, who picked the food you ate today?
 

New Book about Iqbal Published

A book chronicling Iqbal Masih’s life came out in October. Susan Kuklin is the author. It won the Bank Street College Best Non-Fiction Book of the Year Award! The book is called : Iqbal Masih and the Crusaders Against Child Labor. We were so proud to see a chapter in the book about “A School for Iqbal.” Congratulations, Susan Kuklin ! Details are on this site.
 
 

News !!!!!! July 1998 to March 1999 !!!!!!! News

Well, 1998 ended in a very busy way. We took the campaign to Washington,DC, to Harvard University, to a U.S. Congress subcommittee, and to the Fleet Center in Boston.

Broad Meadows Students in a Global March

Martin Luther King, Jr. asked Americans to march for justice, especially for the poor. In June 1998, following that example, we marched on foot and online... to call for an end the exploitation of poor working children, especially in Pakistan where we established “A School for Iqbal Masih.” Broad Meadows students Amanda Loos, Stacey Smith, Greia Amarra and Meaghan Donoghue are proud to have marched in Washington, DC and INSIDE THE U.N. building in GENEVA, SWITZERLAND as core marchers of THE GLOBAL MARCH AGAINST CHILD LABOR.

They marched with youth from all over the world in The Global March, created by India’s Kailash Satiyarthi. The goal of the marching is to publically pressure the International Labor Organization to write new, tougher, international child labor laws. Those new “standards” were written in Geneva in 1998. Now, each country is studying these standards which call for an immediate end to the most extreme forms of child labor (child slavery, bonded labor, prostituion, dangerous work, etc.) and pays special attention to girls who are more invisible victims of child labor. Girls are often scattered across a country as domestic servants. Girls are less visible, but suffer as much as boys. Girls are often raped, too.

Our partner in the Global March is the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Center for Human Rights. Details are in the media area of this site. You can get additional info on our “Online March Against Child Labor: the VIRTUAL MARCH” if you click on http://www.globalmarch-us.org
 

Testifying in U.S. Congess - Meetings in D.C.

In July of 1998, we were invited to Washington, DC, to testify at a Congressional Roundtable on Youth Activism. Congressman William Delahunt (D-MA) invited us. We also met with those in Washington who are working on ending child labor including:

Lecturing at Harvard University

In September of 1998, we were invited to lecture at the Harvard Graduate School of Education in their monthly Askwith lecture series. We presented the “School for Iqbal” campaign at Harvard! It was awesome! In previous months, the Askwith Lecture speakers were Mel Gibson, Rob Reiner and Studs Terkel!

We had a busload of student campaign leaders. What a noisy bus ride it was! Our Superintendent of Schools, Mr. Eugene Creedon came with us. The Vice-Chairperson of our School Committee, Ms. Linda Stice also was with us. Rick Roth, Amnesty International legend and co-creator of THIS WEBSITE, also was with us. EVERYONE spoke. We all took a piece of Harvard chalk as a soulvenir of the night we lectured at Harvard.
 

Trumpeter Award given to Campaign

In October of 1998, we were invited to return to Washington, DC, to receive an award from the National Consumers League. The award is given once a year to two people who are trumpeting a CALL FOR JUSTICE. The 1998 National Consumers’ League’s Trumpeter Award was presented to the “School for Iqbal” campaign and Myrlie Evers-Williams was the co-recipient. She is a leader in workers’ rights, a leader of the NAACP, a relentless fighter for civil rights and is Medgar Evers’widow. We are humbled to be standing next to Myrlie. She is a true American hero. We got her autograph at the ceremony. More news about the award here.
 

USAID Award given to Campaign

In November of 1998, we went back to Washington for a third time to receive the 1998 USAID Domestic Partnership Award. U.S. Senator Paul Sarbanes was the co-recipient. We got Senator Sarbanes’ autograph also at the ceremony. He is another American hero and we are amazed to be in his company. Thanks USAID!
 

Amanda Loos Speaks in NY

On December 10, 1998, Ms. Amanda Loos, now age 17 and co-founder of this campaign, was invited by the Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt Institute and Library to speak in New York City at the 50th Anniversary of the U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Eleanor Roosevelt was the driving force behind the creation of the Declaration of Human Rights. Present also was President Kennedy’s daughter Caroline Kennedy Schlossberg. Caroline is a powerful protector of children’s rights. Caroline introduced the story of Iqbal Masih at the ceremony. Amanda Loos then told everyone about “A School for Iqbal.”

The ceremony celebrating the 50th Anniversary of the Declaration was broadcast by satellite to the U.N., to the White House , and to 47 cities across America. U.N. Ambassador Nancy Rubin was moved by Iqbal’s story. Her letter has just been added to the "letters" section of this site.
 

Campaign wins Global Activism Award

On December 15, 1998 one of our student leaders, Ms. Elizabeth Bloomer, age 13, spoke before 11,000 teenagers and 1,000 chaperones at TEAM HARMONY V in the Fleet Center in Boston, Massachusetts. Elizabeth told the story of Iqbal and "A School for Iqbal." Team Harmony is a huge youth rally for respect and to eliminate racism. Congressman John Lewis (D-GA) was the keynote speaker. Boston Celtics Head Coach Rick Pitino presented "A School for Iqbal" with the Global Activism Award. We got his autograph, too! You can find more news about the event here.
 

Operation Day's Work Starts with Haiti

In January of 1999, we decided to launch the campaign that USAID invited us to join. You are all invited to join our totally new action campaign called Operation Day’s Work. Operation Day’s Work is just starting; it is an experiment being sponsored by USAID, the United States Agency for International Development. Operation Day’s Work gives young people like us an opportunity to help each year children in one poor, developing country. The country chosen each year will change.

This is the first year and the first country chosen is Haiti. Haiti is the poorest country in our hemisphere. 85% of all Haitians cannot read. Hurricane Georges flattened Haiti in 1998. Details are on this site in the MEDIA part (see the Quincy Sun articles and Patriot Ledger articles). Extra details at http://www.odwusa.org

What is Operation Day’s Work USA and how will it help Haiti and Haiti’s children?

If you join Operation Day’s Work, first you study one poor country like Haiti, and then you work ONE DAY in May in the community to raise funds to help the children in that country. We’ll give you sponsor sheets and people will pledge to pay you minimum wage or better for every hour’s work you do. You can make up your own community service project or get your parent’s work involved. We’ll send the money we raised, to Haiti, to an honest, respected group doing great work for children in Haiti.

We choose the group. We hope you choose to join Operation Day’s Work. Right now, eight schools make up Operation Day’s Work USA . Broad Meadows is one. The other schools are in North Dakota, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Vermont and Washington, DC. We plan together by email. Our Congressman, the Honorable William Delahunt, has visited Haiti many times. He has been a huge help to us and to Haiti. Operation Day’s Work is small now and all brand new, but the goal is to grow Operation Day’s Work into a community service project in every school in every state by 2003. Who knows? It might become a holiday, a holiday you helped to create.

In our "School for Iqbal" campaign, we are trying to end child labor one school at a time. In Operation Day’s Work, we are helping poor, working children, one country at a time!

 

Cable in the Classroom April '99 Website of the Month

Finally, Cable in the Classroom magazine has selected this "School for Iqbal" web site as their April 1999 WEB SITE OF THE MONTH. Cable in the Classroom is a magazine that goes to teachers and into classrooms across North America. Thanks, Cable in the Classroom for helping to spread the word about this campaign to end child labor, and welcome to all our new visitors!  

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