In his book, “Making Change: Tips from an Underage Overachiever”, Bilaal is now empowering his peers so they can make change, too.
To date, Bilaal has raised over $5 million for various causes and is the youngest Ambassador ever for UNICEF, worldwide. He has been granted many awards for his tireless efforts for over a decade.
Bilaal’s ultimate goal is to inspire one million kids in the next three years to maximize their true potential and get involved in creating a better world, to have fun and to MAKE CHANGE NOW.
On June 1, I’m participating with people around the world in a fun initiative I started four years ago called the Barefoot Challenge, where I live life without shoes. We will go to school, hang out with friends, play sports – and do everything else we usually do – completely barefoot.
International Children’s Day takes place on the first of June each year, and in previous years, people from dozens of countries – especially students – kicked off their shoes and participated. I am asking everyone to do the same on June 1st to better understand the struggles faced by children throughout the world. This year, the Challenge is going to be bigger and better than ever before with hundreds of people already signed up to participate!
The great American writer Arthur Golden once said that adversity is like a strong wind – it tears away from us the things that cannot be torn, so that we see ourselves as we really are. What I believe he meant by this is that a person’s character shouldn’t be measured when things and circumstances in life are going well, but when they aren’t.
This pre-Holiday newsletter’s theme of “pushing through adversity” has certainly been in the news lately. Throughout the world, people are tightening their belts as the “economic downturn” continues worldwide to threaten jobs and economic stability. As tough as it is economically for people in North America and Europe, we must recognize that the children of marginalized countries are facing even more magnified dire circumstances.
It’s relatively easier to help others when times are good, but one’s true humanistic character shows when we help those in need when times are difficult.
I want to thank each and every one of you who kicked off your shoes and made 2010 Barefoot Challenge a HUGE success. Thousands of people worldwide got involved and helped raise awareness about the very important issue of child poverty. It’s people like you who make the world a better place!
Bilaal Rajan, 13, has people of all ages kicking off their shoes and going barefoot AGAIN in support of his latest campaign.
June 1st is International Children’s Day, and Bilaal is participating in an annual event he launched last year called the Barefoot Challenge, where he lives life without shoes to raise awareness about child poverty in the developing world.
“I’ve visited countries in Africa and met with hundreds of children who walk miles every day barefoot to fetch water, work on their farm lands, or go to school,” says Bilaal. “It made me think of what life would be like to live without something we take for granted.”
The Toronto-based UNICEF Youth Ambassador, best-selling author, fundraiser, and social and environmental activist and is already a serious force to be reckoned with. His best-selling book, Making Change: Tips from an Underage Overachiever (160 pages, Orca Book Publishers), is an operating manual for making a difference, no matter what your age.
Last year, the idea gained momentum across Canada and with people in countries as far away as Australia, Afghanistan, England, Switzerland, Thailand, Kenya, Malawi and Tanzania. “In 2010, the Barefoot Challenge is going to be bigger than ever before,” adds Rajan. His school, Lakefield College School, is also taking part in the Challenge.
Since 2001, Rajan has been instrumental in raising millions of dollars for various causes. Five years ago, he was chosen as an official Youth Ambassador for UNICEF Canada. Bilaal is asking Barefoot Challenge participants to have friends, family and neighbours sponsor them and donate the proceeds to UNICEF Canada or any other worthwhile children’s charity or cause.
“This initiative is a call to action,” he says. “And when people ask me why I don’t have shoes, I’ll remind them that millions of children throughout the world don’t either.”
This week, the biggest celebration of volunteers and volunteerism is taking place throughout Canada. From April 18 – 24, National Volunteer Week will recognize the 12.5 million volunteers nationwide by saying “thank you.”
I have often said that volunteerism is the lifeblood of any caring, decent society. It is the difference between social despair on one hand and universal hope on the other. Volunteers don’t only give their time, they give their talents, creativity and care back to the community. As that famous saying goes, “There’s nothing stronger than the heart of a volunteer.”
Volunteer Canada, the organization largely responsible for promoting the week-long celebration, is utilizing social media to get the message out, and there’s even a National Volunteer Week Facebook page and Twitter feed that you can join.
Also taking place this week is the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day. In 1970, 20 million people participated in small events throughout the country. Today, it is a Day celebrated by an estimated one billion people in almost every nation on the planet.
Earth Day teaches people that our planet is more fragile than we think, and we need to create new ways of thinking and doing things to ensure that clean air and water won’t be a luxury some day. As the ancient Native American proverb says, “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors, we borrow it from our children.”
Racism is perhaps the most shameful and destructive aspect of human history.
This week, the world will celebrate the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, observed annually in late March. Exactly fifty years ago this week in 1960, police opened fire and killed 69 people in Sharpeville, South Africa who were demonstrating peacefully against racial apartheid. The United Nations proclaimed the day in 1966 and called on the international community to strengthen its efforts to eliminate all forms of racial discrimination.
How old do you need to be to make a change? Bilaal Rajan was four when he sold fruit door-to-door to raise funds for earthquake victims. Now he has moved onto relief efforts for Haiti. Meet the 13-year-old ambassador for Unicef Canada
“I don’t know if I consider myself mature for my age but I definitely consider myself an average 13-year-old.” For someone who has shot the breeze with the likes of Nelson Mandela, Roméo Dallaire and Desmond Tutu, Bilaal Rajan is not your typical teenybopper; he’s not even your run-of-the-mill human being.
This past Saturday, UNICEF delivered 250,000 litres of water to 60,000 people. On Sunday, an additional 82 trucks delivered water for 80,000 people. As you can imagine, partnership is vital to UNICEF’s drive to coordinate the international effort for Haiti.
As a UNICEF Child Representative and Ambassador, I have launched a fundraising challenge to all in Canada to raise funds for the Haitian relief efforts. I am asking each one of you to raise a minimum of $100. For all my youth friends, please get your schools involved now in helping the people and – especially the children – of Haiti.
To have a little fun, I will shave my head in honour of the individual, student, school or company that raises the greatest amount of funds in this challenge. That’s right. I’m going to shave my head, faux hawk and all! There are a thousand different ways to raise funds. So get together with friends and start brainstorming for those unique ideas that are sure to make you the leading fundraiser.
Also, you can go to my UNICEF fundraising website by clicking here and make a donation to the Haitian relief efforts right now. You can even start your own, your school’s or organization’s fundraising webpage here.
What an incredible day! I was both humbled and honoured to carry the Olympic Flame through the streets of Toronto this evening. It felt fantastic jogging out of the entrance of Sick Kids Hospital, holding the torch high to help raise awareness of child poverty in the developing world.
I want to thank all those who came out in great numbers to support me today. I was really touched by your attendance. You really made a difference in my life. Thank you again.
The Winter Olympics are just a few weeks away and Vancouver is preparing to organize a remarkable cultural and physical phenomenon that has become an international symbol for the betterment of humankind in winter sports.
Bilaal Rajan has been given a unique opportunity to participate in this upcoming Olympics. He will be carrying the Olympic Flame on December 17th through the streets of downtown Toronto. Bilaal’s Olympic torchbearer number is OTR049-254 and his segment of the relay will start at approximately 6:25 pm at the back of Sick Kids Hospital on Elizabeth Avenue (a block south of College Street, just east of University Avenue) and turn right along Elm Street, then turning right on University Avenue to the staff entrance of Sick Kids Hospital.
Please support and attend this celebration with him when he carries the torch.
Young Trailblazer Among Ontario’s Outstanding Citizens
November 16, 2009 – A 13-year-old is among 11 outstanding Ontarians to receive the province’s Medal for Good Citizenship for their commitment to the betterment of their communities.
Bilaal Rajan, the youngest ever recipient of the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship will be recognized for his work to help disadvantaged children around the world. Others to be honoured come from areas as diverse as education, health, environment, engineering and social innovation.
This year’s recipients will be honoured at a ceremony to be held today at Queen’s Park by The Honourable David C. Onley, Lieutenant Governor of Ontario.
Created in 1973, the Ontario Medal for Good Citizenship recognizes people who have made exceptional long-term contributions to their communities.
The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, Denmark (Cop15) this December is a great opportunity for Canada to show the rest of the world how serious we are about climate change and what we are prepared to do in order to reverse its devastating impact on our ecosystems.
There is a great deal of concern from scientists and other policy experts, however, that Canada is not pulling its weight to stop climate change. A recent study by German insurance company Allianz SE and the global conservation group WWF puts Canada at the bottom of the list for having one of the world’s largest per capita emissions and failing to implement any program to change this.
I am writing you this urgent message to help the people of South-East Asia who have suffered immensely from three natural disasters that have struck in the last week. Typhoon Ketsana has slammed into the Philippines, Vietnam and Cambodia. A massive earthquake struck Indonesia, while American Samoa, Samoa and Tonga were hit by a tsunami. These disasters have affected many thousands of people and caused death, widespread flooding and destruction.
As a UNICEF Ambassador, I am pleading with each and every one of you to donate what you can to the relief efforts currently underway. UNICEF (United Nations Children’s Fund) is delivering more hygiene kits, essential medicines, water purification tablets, portable toilets and family kits containing blankets and soap to aid in relief efforts. It is also helping governments and other humanitarian agencies to address gaps in the delivery of aid to those affected.
Since September 26, thousands have died and many more people are without homes, running water or food, and the death toll is rising. To make matters worse, there are more powerful tropical storms and flooding in the forecast, including Typhoon Parma, which has already hit the Philippines and is heading towards Vietnam.
This is our chance to make a difference. We can’t afford to wait. Your dollars will save people’s lives. And the great thing is that it’s so easy. Just go to www.unicef.ca, click on “Donate Now” and give your very special donation to the Asia-Pacific Disaster Fund. You’ll get a tax receipt as well, so it may only end up costing you very little.
In addition, send out the message to friends and family. The more people that know about the relief efforts, the more lives we can save. Thank you!
In his book, “Making Change: Tips from an Underage Overachiever”, Bilaal is now empowering his peers so they can make change, too.
