u003cpu003eu003ca href=u0022https://pcaaz.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/pexels-sidnei-maia-3578684-scaled.jpgu0022u003eBy Claire Louge, Executive Directoru003c/au003eu003ca href=u0022https://pcaaz.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Sweeping-Gift-of-Change.jpgu0022u003eu003cimg class=u0022size-medium wp-image-10390 alignleftu0022 src=u0022https://pcaaz.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Sweeping-Gift-of-Change.jpgu0022 alt=u0022u0022 width=u0022300u0022 height=u0022200u0022 /u003eu003c/au003eu003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eA year ago, I had the opportunity to visit my sister, who lives in Tanzania. During my visit, we went to Gombe National Park, where the famous Dr. Jane Goodall had conducted her research on chimpanzees.u003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eAt the park, we met a man named David, who leads a project with an organization founded by Jane Goodall called u003ca href=u0022http://www.rootsandshoots.orgu0022u003eRoots and Shootsu003c/au003e. Roots and Shoots empowers youth across the globe to make positive change in their communities, especially in the area of environmental conservation.u003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eDavid works in Burundi, which up to 2005, endured a tragic civil war involving the use of child soldiers. David’s project involves bringing people together – people who had been from u003cemu003eopposite sides in the waru003c/emu003e - to plant thousands of trees. They do this to rebuild the land decimated by the fighting, and to prevent erosion from destroying villages in the future. They areu003cstrongu003e reconciling history by working towards a shared goal.u003c/strongu003eu003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eAmazing, right? But that’s not where it ends.u003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eDavid told me that a few months before, they had experienced a big challenge. To transport and plant seedling trees, they used plastic bags. Plastic bags were foundational to the project because they were easy, efficient, and widely available.u003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eBut in June 2019, Tanzania u003cemu003ebanned plastic bagsu003c/emu003e. Overnight, a major component of David’s project operation was eliminated. With their go-to option taken out of the picture, David and his team had to come up with another abundantly available, cheap way to plant seedlings. So they looked around them. And they saw bananas.u003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eBananas are u003cemu003eeverywhere u003c/emu003ein Tanzania, and banana leaves are large and sturdy. Using folded banana leaves, David and his team created a new kind of seedling planter- one that was better for the environment, and used an existing, renewable resource.u003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eThere are so many metaphors in this story. First, u003cstrongu003eworking together on something that benefits everyone can bring u003cemu003eeven the most divided people u003c/emu003etogetheru003c/strongu003e. Let’s apply this to preventing child abuse. Even though 2020 has been a year of aggressive political divide, preventing child abuse has no party. It’s about all of us, and it takes all of us.u003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eSecond, sometimes big, u003cstrongu003eunexpected change allows us to create something betteru003c/strongu003e. A plastic bag ban created a better alternative for everyone. What has 2020 caused us to toss, and what better alternative can we create? If this year has taught us anything, it is that sudden, prolonged change is hard, but human beings can adapt if we work together. We can look around and see what we have, and we can create solutions that we might never have tried if we hadn’t been called to change.u003c/pu003ernu003cpu003eI’ll say it again: I believe in us. Let’s make some metaphorical banana planters and heal our divides by preventing child abuse, together.u003c/pu003e
