An Unlikely Hero Rescues Slaves in Nepal

When I discovered this  interview of the 15 year old abolitionist Zach Hunter by Robin Roberts on  Good Morning America, I was STAGGERED by Zach’s claim  that there are 27 million slaves in the world today.  In order to come to grips with this astounding  figure, I immersed myself in learning more by continuing to watch the extensive ABC video archive reports about modern slavery.  Although my research was spurred by a 17 year old student’s question in the American literature class I was teaching (see my previous post); this was something I needed to do for myself.  I was diving deep. Deeper than I could take my students. I was trying to assimilate the incomprehensible.  So, I watched the horrifying news reports of children being sold, abused, and exploited.

According to my rather conservative, prudish standards, most of the videos I watched were not suitable for use in school–even for 11th graders.  To deal with my student’s question, I finally decided to show my class the GMA interview with Zach Hunter; but I considered showing another video as well.  It tells the story of an 82 year old American woman who has found a fairly simple way to rescue child slaves in Nepal. In fact, she is eradicating slavery in entire villages.  Although time constraints prevented me from showing this news report to my class, I find that it continues to inspire me in my personal attempt to make a difference.

Please ignore the irritating commercial at the beginning, and watch the video on the following link. The report is only 3 minutes and 11 seconds, and it  is well worth your time. It will also help you understand why the picture of a goat heads this post.

http://cdnapi.kaltura.com/index.php/kwidget/wid/0_ag64o5yp/uiconf_id/6501241