Dont Just Help, Empower | Zainab Ilyasu | TEDxStart Rite Schools Abuja

foreign [Music] would you consider yourself a person that helps or empowers people I asked this question because most people don't know the difference between helping and empowering empowering means giving the person the grounds to stand on their own now with helping you're providing a solution that may not be a long-term one a couple of weeks ago when I was coming back from school a boy who

looked around seven years old approached the car was in he started making hand gestures trying to get my dad to buy something from him he was begging my dad in his simple Act of generosity then put a one thousand naira from his pocket roll down the window and give it to the boy my dad's Act was a good one wasn't it but I wasn't convinced how

could that one thousand naira solve all the problems this boy might be facing the one thousand naira will probably only last him a day and the boy will be back on the same streets making those same hand gestures and maybe even after a whole day of working he wouldn't get any help all thou goes for nothing well I didn't just stop her thinking I also did

some research on why these so-called child laborers are on the streets instead of being in school somewhere trust me I found my answers so I found out people put them out who picked them from their parents all in the name of helping this simple finding helped open my mind to other aspects of child labor as I'd always thought child labor is just higher in the mid

or making a child do difficult jobs the act of choosing to help over Empower affects people in both developed and developing countries according to the international labor organization ILO there are approximately 160 million child laborers worldwide with them being between the ages of 5 and 17. so let's go back to my dad's act it's easy to see that they help you provided was just time based

and it wouldn't solve any of the major issues this boy might be facing therefore what can we do to make sure that that child and the other children on the streets on the other side of the situation being the one inside the car with a happy life well it's simple let's embrace the habits of empowering over helping there's a saying that goes don't give them the

fish teach them how to fish and maybe even one day on that pond that is empowerment when I was still a baby crying in my courts my mom's friend came to her crying and begging she was desperate for my mom to take her daughter in as help on a low pay my mom agreed but didn't take her in that help but as her own daughter the

girl in her simple gratitude took care of me and my family provided her with an exposure and education today she's a successful young woman and a graduate imagine if all families did this imagine the millions of opportunities these children would have well let's stop imagining let's make it a reality out of all the child laborers worldwide a good number of them are girls and most of

these poor families send their sons to school and leave their daughters at home why isn't it the other way around in fact why aren't they both going to school over thousands of years of stereotype has been built to make these girls think that they're only useful for certain things these same girls are abused and subjected to making them only want to prepare for one thing marriage

the saying goes marry rich Let's Empower these goals in fact let's Empower these children as individuals we can make a difference we can choose to support companies that do not use child labor we can support companies that promote ethical ethical sourcing practices of empowerment I myself would love to create an end you to empower these less fortunate children and make people understand that we need to

stop making time-based Solutions thank you [Applause] thank you foreign