Aborted and Abandoned: A Photo Essay

Chaeli Mycroft: Fighting For Acceptance, Spreading Hope

Think about what you love to do. Now imagine that you couldn’t move your arms and legs, mentally handicapped and unable to leave a wheelchair. Can you still do those things now? Or would the disabilities stop you? Michaela “Chaeli” Mycroft was born with cerebral palsy, making her wheelchair bound for life. Instead of letting life get to her, she decided to go out and make a difference. Chaeli was nine when she first started raising money for her own motorized wheelchair and carried on her fundraising with aspirations to help others like her . Now 17, and the winner of the 2011 children's peace prize, Chaeli has achieved in a couple of years which some spend a lifetime doing. Being handicapped her whole life, living in a wheelchair and diagnosed with cerebral palsy , Chaeli understands the challenges that the disabled have to face. She decided to make a change and help other children with disabilities by opening up opportunities, fighting for acceptance and spreading hope.

Growing up disabled, Chaeli understood that even the slightest bit of assistance could open up possibilities for a person. Chaeli is working to raise money to provide equipment and physical therapy for disabled children living in South Africa. Chaeli’s motorized wheelchair changed her life. She could do more and felt independent. She wanted others to feel the same way: “At the age of 9, Chaeli and her friends and sister started a project to raise money for an motorized wheelchair for Chaeli. In just seven weeks they raised more than enough money, so Chaeli decided to help more disabled children.” 1  By getting others involved she has been able to broaden her campaign to help a large amount of children: “This project has become the Chaeli Campaign, a professional organization that annually helps more than 3000 children with disabilities in South Africa with equipment, physical therapy and which defends the rights and acceptance of disabled children. Chaeli inspires other children to start projects and for that she has developed an ambassadors program.” 1  These children would not get the assistance Chaeli is proving them otherwise as their families can’t afford it. Chaeli's assistance has helped and is helping open opportunities for thousands of disabled children in South Africa.

Throughout her campaign, Chaeli ultimately wants to spread hope to the thousands of disabled children she supports. All her efforts are to help disabled children feel empowered and successful. She wants them to go after their dreams and remain hopeful. Chaeli once said in a speech “Hope is what keeps us going” 5 Her experiences have proven this to her. It’s what keeps us striving for the lives we deserve. I have hope for myself, but I also have hope for all other children with disabilities.” 5 Chaeli knows that her efforts will help. She knows her commitment has helped bring newfound hope to the thousands of disabled children she has helped, and the thousands more to come.

Chaeli wants all children like her to feel needed and accepted within their families and society. Chaeli was lucky in the sense that her friends and family always tried as hard as possible to include her in everything they did. Because of this, Chaeli is the inspirational, fun loving person she is today. She wants disabled children all over to have the same upbringing. ‘“They have raised me to accept my disability. If they stopped believing then I would’ve too and then I would have lost it. My friends are equally as important to me. They treat me like an able person. They even changed games that they usually played so that I could play with them and it’s fun when we are all in it together. In a way my friends treating me like a normal person led to other people treating me normally. They helped a lot” 7  She also wants the disabled to be accepted within society, not treated as outcasts. Within the communities she helps, she tries to promote acceptance and involvement. “I hope that my actions as an ability activist will leave the world more accepting and more accommodating for all people and not just people with disabilities, because we are all different and we all have the need to be accepted regardless of having a disability or not.”6  Chaeli’s determination has helped promote and engage acceptance for the thousands of disabled children in South Africa.

Chaeli’s campaign started small but has grown into an organization of hope, acceptance and opportunity. Chaeli’s work has helped thousands of Disabled children in South Africa find their place in the world. People like Chaeli are the people who change our world. They are impetuses of change for the rest of society.

Chaeli’s campaign “Hope in Motion” helps thousands of disabled children living South Africa get the support they need. The donations have helped set up schools for the disabled and purchase aids and equipment. With the physical support, the campaign has brought hope and the willpower they never had before. Chaeli has helped thousands of children like herself realize their own dreams and given them the hope and ability to follow their hearts. She is an inspiration for us all.           

Sources Used:
1: "2011 Chaeli Mycroft." 2011. 17 Oct. 2012 <http://childrenspeaceprize.org/childrens-peace-price/2011-chaeli-mycroft/>
2: "SA Career Focus: Chaeli Mycroft." 2011. 17 Oct. 2012 <http://www.sacareerfocus.co.za/displayArticle.php?id=215>
3: "SA Career Focus: Chaeli Mycroft." 2011. 17 Oct. 2012 <http://www.sacareerfocus.co.za/displayArticle.php?id=215>
5: "2011 Chaeli Mycroft." 2011. 17 Oct. 2012 <http://childrenspeaceprize.org/childrens-peace-price/2011-chaeli-mycroft/>
6:"2011 Chaeli Mycroft." 2011. 17 Oct. 2012 <http://childrenspeaceprize.org/childrens-peace-price/2011-chaeli-mycroft/>
7: 2011 Chaeli Mycroft." 2011. 17 Oct. 2012 <http://childrenspeaceprize.org/childrens-peace-price/2011-chaeli-mycroft/>
8: "Chaeli Mycroft: HOPE IN MOTION - capechameleon.co.za." 2012. 17 Oct. 2012 <http://www.capechameleon.co.za/printed-version/issue-12/spotlight3/>

Harrison Bergeron - Vonnegut's Message

        In Vonnegut's short story, Harrison Bergeron, Vonnegut tries to get his readers to appreciate and value what makes them different. Vonnegut twists our perception of "equality is the way to a utopia" and tries to make us see that in a different light. Whilst being equal has its advantages, everyone would be the same. People wouldn't have their own weaknesses or strengths, nobody would have their own individual talents. The dystopia Vonnegut has created clearly demonstrates his perception on the topic of individuality and the keeping of one's character. In the story, the ballerinas are ridded of their physical talent by the government adorning them with handicaps. "He tried to think a little about the ballerinas. They weren’t really very good-no better than anybody else would have been, anyway.They were burdened with sash-weights and bags of birdshot, and their faces were masked, so that no one, seeing a free and graceful gesture or a pretty face, would feel like something the cat drug in." (Page 131) The ballerina's here are being oppressed from showing off their own talents. The equality is oppressing them and their identity. Harrison Bergeron's abilities, appearance and knowledge had attempted to be taken away from him by the government. "The rest of Harrison’s appearance was Halloween and hardware. Nobody had ever born heavier handicaps. He had outgrown hindrances faster than the men could think them up. Instead of a little ear radio for a mental handicap, he wore a tremendous pair of earphones, and spectacles with thick wavy lenses. The spectacles were intended to make him not only half blind, but to give him whanging headaches besides. Scrap metal was hung all over him. Ordinarily, there was a certain symmetry, a military neatness to the handicaps issued to strong people, but Harrison looked like a walking junkyard. In the race of life, Harrison carried three hundred pounds. And to offset his good looks, the men required that he Wear at all times a red rubber ball for a nose, keep his eyebrows shaved off, and cover his even white teeth with black caps at snaggle-tooth random." (Page 134) Harrison is not allowed to keep his looks, mind and strength for fear that he may be better than everyone else, which would upset the equality. All that makes Harrison, Harrison, has been taken away from him by the government. George's intelligence had also been ripped away from him. George wore a mental ear handicap that played a loud, excruciating sound in his head every twenty seconds. This was to mess with and interrupt his train of thought. The government wants everyone to be as smart as each other, not have some be smarter than the others. "Every twenty seconds or so, the transmitter would send out some sharp noise to keep people like George from taking
unfair advantage of their brains." (Page 130) Hazel isn't required to wear one as she is of average intelligence, the same level they are dragging everyone else down to. Hazel isn't the brightest person yet the government seems to see this as being ideal. Vonnegut's dystopia is a place of equality and oppression. There is no such thing as a utopia as all things have repercussions. In Vonnegut's dystopia, complete equality is put in place at the expense of individuality and uniqueness. Vonnegut shows his readers that equality is an acceptable way of life to an extent. People should learn to cherish their differences  The degree of equality in the Vonnegut's dystopia is out of hand, making it a dystopia. 

A Person's Identity is Worth Fighting For

Long hair with princess curls & natural highlights,

Eyes like a kaleidoscope, Never seem to be the same colour.

Nails, a little short with silver glow in the dark nail polish, chipping away.

Small owl ring on my left pinky finger. Blue Cardigan, warm and fuzzy from my favourite store. White polo shirt & blue shorts, my school uniform.

Baby pink shoes, that aren’t pink anymore. Hole in my left shoe, which I stitched up last night.

Tall compared to my friends,

Thats Me.

From “ffish” and “psgetti”.

I am High-5 and Barney, and Dipsy, La-la, Tinky Winky and Po.

I’m Hannah Montana hair flips and “Nobody’s Perfect”

From the princess curls in my hair, the hair-tie ever on my wrist.

I’m all tutus and tights, arabesques and pirouettes.

from “point your toes” and “thats not good enough” and “fix up your hair”

from hobo bunny and scruffy the dog, who live by my bed.

from Gus Gus, Toffee and Patches, sadly, their dead.

I am from road rage and traffic jams.

From koalas and kangees.

living in eternal summers and never ending rain.

I am pig noses in the back and billy-carts out the front.

“thats Crodashnikle!”  duck cappuccino I named in the park.

“sew straight ” and  “Pay attention to detail dear”.

“learn from your mistakes”

Im all these memories,

stacked up,

laid out,

and cross-stitched into my personality.

Is a Person's Identity Worth Fighting For? Why or Why Not?

A persons identity is worth fighting for. You have the right to be who you are and who you want to be. You can be yourself and nobody has the right to change you. People should accept you for who you are. People are unique and we should embrace it, not cower behind what is seen as right and acceptable. Some elements that pressure a persons identity are peer pressure, social attitudes and tradition.

Understandings

A good leader considers the will of the people.

           I think that all good leaders are considerate of others. Leaders cannot be selfish or act on what is best for themselves. A leader that makes fair choices is more likely to succeed. In the middle ages, many leaders, such as King William the Conquerer, were disliked for their selfish decisions. He made choices that helped himself and his own people (the Normans) gain wealth. Most leaders in the middle ages were corrupt like this. In more modern times leaders have learnt to be more considerate and non-corrupt. Some of these leaders include Gandhi, Martin Luther King Jr and Nelson Mandela. All these leaders had one main thing in common, they were all considerate of the will of the people. They were not corrupt and were not selfish. These leaders were all successful as they had the support of the people behind them. Even though this way of rule is the most effective, there are still corrupt leaders in today's society. 
             If leaders of the middle ages were less corrupt, less selfish and considerate, they would of had much more success and power over their people. There would of been less rebellions and revolts over their rule. 

England in 1066

          In 1066, King Edward the Confessor died, leaving three men, who all had a different claim to the throne, to feud. Even though each man had a decent explanation of why they should be king, I thought that Harold Godwinson had the best claim to the throne. Before King Edward died, he had announced that Harold Godwinson would be his successor. Harold was a strong leader, an English noble, the Earl of Wessex and leader of the army. His experience woud help in his ruling. King Edward had also married Harold Godwinson's sister. If King Edward chose him to be king, he must be a viable choice. When King Edward had died, a council of nobles, known as the "Witan" agreed that Harold should be king.
          The other two men battling for the throne were Harald Hardrada and Duke William of Normandy. Harald Hadrada was a ancestor of Englands former King, King Cnut. Hadrada thought that this meant he had a right to the throne. Duke William claimed that King Edward had once promised that he would have the throne when he died. He also claimed that Harold Godwinson had been once captured by his men and taken an oath that he would support Duke William in becoming king. This decision may of been a hoax, but there was no way to prove it.
           Each of the men had a valid case, some, better than others. Since there was no way to really decide who deserved to be king, the contenders had no other choice but to fight for the throne.

Values and Choices

Think about a time you witnessed bullying/ostracism/peer pressure/exclusion/discrimination/violence. How did you respond? How do you wish you had responded? What stopped you from responding that way?

Exclusion is a common thing in most schools. There are severe cases of exclusion and minor cases. Sometimes exclusion is unintentional. A time I noticed exclusion was when a group of my friends and I all sat down at a table in the canteen. A girl had followed us and sat down next to us. We ignored her the whole time. We didn't try to include her in the conversation. We hadn't ment to ignore her or exclude her, it was just an accident. We had been so caught up in our own conversation we hadn't been bothered to make notice of her. I wish I had of talked to her or tried to include her in our conversation. I think I didn't do this as I was worried my friends may of criticized me later for ruining the conversation by including her.

An incident where I was bullied was in fourth grade. A group of three girls made their mission in life to bully me. They would constantly make comments about me, talk about me behind my back and tell lies and secrets. They would leave me out of everything and make sure everyone else left me alone. Luckily I had my own group of friends who didn't believe this but others we intimidated by the main leader of the group. They didn't want to go against her for their own want for popularity and acceptance. They ended up stopping and becoming my friends. What I didn't know was that they had an ulterior motive. A year later, they started again, way worse than the year before. They used our "friendship" as a way to bully me and so that I would not suspect them. I was the victim in this case and I responded by trying to do the same thing back. I eventually stopped retaliating  to them as I knew I was the bigger person.

1.Where have we seen examples of bullying/ostracism/exclusion occurring in texts studied so far this year- factual as well as fictional?

An example of exclusion in the Hunger Games is when Katniss feels excluded when Haymich announces that Peeta and her will no longer train together. She feels as if they are not telling her anything and excluding her from information. When Peeta declares his love for Katniss feels betrayed and excluded as they never warned her or told her about their plan.

The In-Group

Eve S: The In Group


1.What’s familiar about the incident Eve describes?2.What surprised you? 
The act of bullying is familiar to me as it occurs sometimes during school. It surprised me that after being bullied herself she laughed at another girl being bullied. If I had been in her position I would probably not of said anything and remained silent.

3. How does Eve’s story relate to bullying? Was she bullied? Did she bully? How would you explain her behavior?( perpetrator/bystander/victim?). make sure you justify( back up your answer.
Eve's story demonstrates the common act of several groups being formed within the school and the groups picking on one another. Eve was both bullied and had demonstrated acts of bully encouragement. She was a victim towards the start of her story. She had been picked on by her peers quite alot. Eventually they left her alone, yet she was still cautious around them. She then became a bystander and laughed along with a group of bullies teasing a girl. Eve may of done this as she may of been scared that if she stayed quiet or stood uo for her, she would be bullied again.

Psychologists Michael Thompson and Lawrence Cohen point to the powerful influence of peer groups in guiding our behavior: ‘We all know that groups can go terribly astray in terms of their moral reasoning. Everyone not in the group can be considered an outsider, a legitimate target…It affects every group because we are all prone to that feeling of us versus them and the idea that if you’re not with us you’re against us. Speaking out against a risky, immoral or illegal decision is hard to do because that makes you an outsider yourself’.

4.How did Eve’s need to belong affect the way she responded when another girl was being mocked? Why does her response still trouble her? How do you like to think you would have responded to the incident?
Eve let her want to feel included take over her own moral values. She had gone to school for a long time feeling mistreated and excluded. She feels bad about what she did as she knows how the girl must of felt from her own experience. She still regrets her actions and wishes she could of done something else. I would like to think that I would not react to what they were doing and remain neutral to the whole incident. After the incident, I would go up to the girl that was bullied and offer my support.

5. Eve concludes “Often being accepted by others is more satisfying than being accepted by oneself, even though the satisfaction does not last.’ What does she mean?

She means that people try so hard to impress others that they forget whats right. This impression may not last long but it gives the person who made the impression feel a part of a group and included. Being accepted by oneself is referring to you being a decent person and being proud of your choices. People tend to forget about what is moral when it comes to wanted to feel included and accepted.