The Book of Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times(30)

“Yes, it truly is that,” Jane commented. “But I didn’t agree with the young people who told me there was nothing they could do about it. I told them we have a window of time when, if people of all ages—young and old—get together, we can at least start healing some of the hurt we have inflicted and slow down climate change.

“If everyone,” she continued, “starts to think about the consequences of what we do, for example, what we buy—and I am including young people thinking about what they ask their parents to buy for them—if we all start to ask whether its production harmed the environment, or hurt animals, or is cheap because of child slave labor or unfair wages—and, if so, we refuse to buy it—well, billions of these kinds of ethical choices will move us toward the kind of world we need.”

This hopeful philosophy of “everyone can make a difference” led Jane, in 1991, to begin her youth program, Roots & Shoots.

“Can you tell me about how Roots & Shoots started?” I asked Jane.

“Twelve Tanzanian high school students from eight schools came to my home in Dar es Salaam. Some of them were worried about things like the destruction of coral reefs by illegal dynamiting, and poaching in the national parks—why wasn’t the government clamping down on these? Others were concerned about the plight of street children, and others about the ill treatment of stray dogs and animals in the market. We discussed all this and I suggested they might do something to improve things.

“So they went back to their schools, gathered together others who were also concerned, we had another meeting, and Roots & Shoots was born. Its main message: every single individual matters, has a role to play, and makes an impact on the planet—every single day. And we have a choice as to what sort of impact we will make.”

“It’s not just about the environment, is it?”

“No. Understanding that everything is interrelated, we decided that each group would choose three projects to help make the world a better place—for people, for animals, and for the environment—starting in their local community. They would discuss what could be done, prepare themselves for the work ahead, then roll up their sleeves and take action.”

“How did people respond to these students taking action?”

“The first Roots & Shoots group was mocked for cleaning up a beach without being paid—you only worked for nothing for your parents, because you had to!” Jane said, chuckling. “But soon an explosion of activity gave rise to a new phenomenon in Tanzania: volunteerism.

“It was a grassroots program, and gradually more schools became involved. Many groups chose to plant trees in their barren schoolyards; and within a few years—trees grow fast in the tropics—all those schools had shady areas where students could relax or work surrounded by trees and birds.”

Roots & Shoots has since become a global movement, with hundreds of thousands of members, from kindergarten through university, active in sixty-eight countries—and growing.

“What gives me hope,” Jane continued, “is that everywhere I go, young people filled with energy want to show me what they’ve done and what they’re doing to make the world a better place. Once they understand the problems and when we empower them to take action, they almost always want to help. And their energy and enthusiasm and creativity are endless.”

“The public perception is that many young people, especially privileged ones in developed countries, are materialistic or self-centered,” I suggested.

Jane agreed that it was true in some cases, but certainly not always. “We have lots of Roots & Shoots programs in private schools; and children who come from privileged backgrounds are often deeply engaged and truly want to help. They just need a few stories to reach their hearts and wake them up to the satisfying feeling they get from doing something to help.”

“That’s certainly true for my own children,” I said. “Over the years I’ve seen how their growing awareness of the world’s problems has galvanized them to adopt causes that matter to them. I wonder what it’s like for children who are themselves struggling. I know you’ve also worked with young people living in extreme poverty and in refugee camps.”

“Yes, I have found children living in underprivileged communities are very motivated to help others. I am always very moved when I see the excitement in the eyes of these children when I tell them they can make a difference. That the world needs them. Above all, that they matter.”

Jane paused and seemed lost in her thoughts. I waited for her to speak.

“I was just thinking about the first time when I knew for sure that the program was going to work,” she said. “I knew it was doing really well in Tanzania and in an international school and a private school in America. But what about a low-income public school in the Bronx—any chance that we could help empower youth to make a difference there?”

Jane was introduced to a teacher, Renée Gunther, who arranged for Jane to come and speak at what she was told was the second poorest elementary school in the state of New York. “Almost all the children had older siblings or fathers who were in gangs,” Jane said, “and both drug addiction and alcoholism were rife. In a run-down auditorium I talked to the children about the chimps and about Roots & Shoots. To my delight, many of them seemed really interested and there were a lot of questions, especially about the slide I had shown of a chimpanzee dressed up for the circus. When I explained how the training of chimps for circuses is very cruel, and how they have all been taken from their mothers, it was clear that these kids felt empathy with them.”