Nik Was Here

Earlier today, the Nobel Committee announced that Pakistan’s Malala Yousafzai and India’s Kailash Satyarthi would both be sharing the honor of the Nobel Peace Prize. The news would prove an uplifting start to my morning. Mostly, because it gave me a reason to read up on both individuals.

I knew, in a cliff notes sense, the story of Malala. The teen activist, who was shot in the head by the Taliban while going to school in 2012, the same girl who has been fighting for children’s right to education in Pakistan and abroad ever since.

I didn’t know anything about Mr. Satyarthi, and in reading up on him, I was wowed by another inspirational story. One of a man who has been leading India’s fight against child slavery for decades. And whose nonprofit Bachpan Bachao Andolan (Save Childhood Movement), has rescued more than 80,000 Indian children from various forms of exploitation, like child labor and human trafficking.

In times of sensationalism, and negativity for the sake of selling the news. Where contrarian viewpoints and hidden agendas seem to linger like rain clouds over every piece. Stories like these are especially refreshing, and damn important.

Now, I’m not usually a sentimental sap, but when your morning starts off with two tales of remarkable people, embodying the beauty of the human spirit, and they just so happen to be doing it in the face of such ignorant brutality… well, that will make anyone a little mushy. Even a jaded white dude from Murica.

If you get a chance, read their story. It’s one of courage, hope, and of a better future.

Here’s the link to Malala’s charity: http://www.malala.org/

And here’s a link to Kailash’s nonprofit: http://www.bba.org.in/