BY HALIMA ADEN WE Day took place on November 12th, in Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul. The event was founded by Craig and Marc Kielburger. The brothers were vehement about helping other people, so they started a program that would enable youth to empower others. Every young person has the opportunity to be apart of We Day by doing one local action and one global action. Our first local action was We Scare Hunger where students went trick-or-treating for non-perishable food items to give to the local food shelf. Our second local action will be We Are Silent; it's on April 16th and we go silent for 24 hours to stand up for those whose voices are not heard. Our global action includes selling Rafikis to empower women in Kenya.The word “Rafiki” means friendship in Swahili. Apollo students can empower Kenyan Mamas by purchasing a bracelet for $10. There are five rafikis to choose from and each one symbolizes a different type of empowerment. For example, if you are passionate about education, you could purchase the bracelet that symbolizes educational empowerment. We Day is the only place where celebrated social activists, pop cultural icons, and world leaders come together to inspire young people to make a difference. Magic Johnson said, “We all have to play together as a team to make the world better.” That quote made me realize that, although no one can do everything, everyone can do something to empower someone. It was great to see so many people from different backgrounds coming together to change the world..
Speakers included Martin Sheen, Lt Colonel Eileen, Kweku Mandela, Clemantine Wamariya, Jr Martinez, Munro Chambers, Magic Johnson, Ana Golja, Ashley Rose Murphy, and Spencer West. Performances were made by Colbie Caillat, The Band Perry and Illuminate. My favorite part of We Day was when Jr Martinez, a war veteran who got burned, spoke about self love. I loved his speech because even though he had scars, he learned to love them, and he taught others how to accept theirs as well. It was nice to see how someone could turn their imperfections into inspiration. Another awesome highlight was when Clemantine Wamariya took the stage. She talked about her experience moving from country to country in Africa. Her story was very heart wrenching but equally inspiring. It was amazing to hear about a kind stranger who had helped her transition into the woman she is today. That inspired me because we are ALL capable of being that kind stranger
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February 2018
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