LET'S CHOOSE OUR FUTURE

This is a message I received yesterday from a new friend I got during the campaign I've been  participating in for a couple a months. Why don't you join 1 GOAL, too? It's your future, as well. It's every child's future. SPEAK UP!

Dear Mioara,
Hello from South Africa! My name is Nthabiseng Tshabalala and I'm 12 years old, and go to Winnie Ngwekazi Primary School in Soweto, South Africa. It has been a huge honor to work on this issue with all of you. Education has changed my life, and I want every child around the world to have the same chance.
During the World Cup, I had the incredible chance to work with Shakira and 1GOAL. Together, we delivered Education Yellow cards from 1GOAL supporters to world leaders who were meeting here in South Africa.
I thought that meeting was big. But next week, all the leaders in the world are meeting at the United Nations to discuss how to deal with issues like education. So this week I’m travelling with the 1GOAL Campaign to New York City! At the summit, I will talk to world leaders, tell them my story, and ask them to make sure every child has a chance to get an education.
I also know they will listen much more closely if they are hearing from many people at once. So now I am asking you to join me. Imagine you could tell all the world leaders what you wanted them to do about education by 2015. What would you say? What kind of future do you want in 2015?
I know I'm very young to be speaking to Presidents and Prime Ministers but they are deciding the future. And it is children, like me, who will live in that future. So I think it is important for us to tell them what kind of future we want to live in.
New York City is farther away from home than I've ever been. I’ve always wanted to go to America, so I am very excited and but I’m also very nervous. But I know I should go. I know that these leaders are choosing which future I will grow up with.
It could be a future where every child gets to go to school. That way, if you're good at maths, you can become an engineer. Or if you are good at science, you can become a scientist. We wouldn't need to worry about going hungry, because everyone would have good jobs that they are good at doing. (I would like to be a writer. Can you tell?)
Or it could be a future where most kids still can't go to school. So even really smart people can't find a job, because they never learned anything. In many places like where I grew up, there would be no engineers to build new buildings and no scientists to help cure diseases. And people will go hungry because they cannot find work.
I am hoping that I can encourage the leaders in New York to choose the better future for me and children around the world.
And I am hoping you will write to me about the world you want in 2015. I want to add all of your voices to mine at the United Nations next week. Please write your answer to me right away:

www.join1goal.org/r/chooseourfuture

believe that this way, we don't have to just wait to see what the future brings. We can choose our own future.
Thank you for being part of 1GOAL. And thank you for fighting for me and all the other children and adults in the world who are denied an education.
Sincerely,
Nthabiseng Tshabalala

World leaders will be gathering in Johannesburg at the end of the World Cup to discuss the global education crises.

Dear friend,When Shakira was seven years old, her Christmas gift was a typewriter. On it, she wrote the poetry that was to become her songs. Education is the key to unlocking the best in all of us.
Yesterday Shakira met with her friend Nthabiseng, an amazing young student who lives in the Soweto township. Only 12 years old, she's a beautiful writer and already a natural leader. Despite facing many challenges, her future looks bright.
Education has changed both of their lives. Like you, they're committed to ensuring every child has that same chance. That’s why Shakira and Nthabiseng have joined forces to launch an urgent new plan -- and they need your help.
This Sunday, world leaders are gathering nearby to discuss the education crisis, and the decisions they make will have a huge impact. We have just a few days to take our global call to the next level and ensure our voices are heard.
Watch this video of Shakira and Nthabiseng announcing their urgent campaign, and then join them by sending your own message today:
http://www.join1goal.org/shakira-and-nthabiseng.php
Every day, 72 million children around the world are denied the chance to set foot inside a classroom.
These children are future artists and singers, scientists and doctors, inventors and leaders who can't even begin to offer their gifts to the world. And we all pay the price for this injustice. Every day this goes on is another song you'll never hear, another invention you'll never use, and a new cure you'll never receive.
So let's not wait another moment.
The summit is this Sunday, just before the World Cup Final. But we still have time to make our voices heard, even above the vuvuzela horns, and push world leaders to provide education for every child.
Join with Nthabiseng and Shakira by adding your message to world leaders, and then ask your friends to do the same.
http://www.join1goal.org/shakira-and-nthabiseng.php
Thanks for making a difference,
The 1GOAL team
PS – Working together, Nthabiseng, you and Shakira can help get every single child around the world an education. Check out the video of Nthabiseng and Shakira signing their messages here, and then add your own message to theirs before Sunday.