I Have the Right To Have a Bad Hair Day

Hi everyone,

Today we're finding about something that affects all teenagers, and something that I'll bet you never expected to be one of your rights. I'm talking about the Right to have a Bad Hair Day. That might sound like something not so important, but let's take a closer look at what this means.

Every day we are bombarded with images of perfect people with perfect skin and perfect hair. Just look at all the models in magazines and all the film stars! Let’s face it we are under a lot of pressure to look beautiful all the time! This effects girls a lot but boys are under pressure too. Think about all the men in the adverts with their perfect muscles and perfect hair. It makes boys feel like they're supposed to look like bodybuilders.

Why is it so important to look a certain way? Why can’t we all just accept ourselves the way we are and be happy? And what makes this a children’s rights issue exactly?

Here's an email someone sent us:

My name is Catherine and I am 14 years old. I’m pretty OK with the way I look, but all my friends ever seem to talk about is how unhappy they are with their hair, their weight, the length of their legs and so on and so on. There’s a lot of pressure to look a certain way. What I want to know is who decides who is beautiful and who isn’t? And more importantly, don’t I have the right to a bad-hair day now and again?

Catherine brings up a VERY interesting question. What does “beautiful” mean anyway, and who decides whose beautiful and whose not? Gugu and I did some research to find out more and this is what we discovered.

Did you know that blue hair was all the rage in ancient Egypt? Or that having a corncob shaped head was the ultimate sign of beauty in Mayan societies? Mayan parents used to strap their babies heads to two boards so that the skull would be elongated. What a price to pay for beauty! As hard as it may be to imagine, ideas about what makes a person beautiful differ from country to country and have changed a lot over time. Take a look at this historical time line which shows how ideals of beauty have changed in the western world over the past two hundred years.

1800 – Small, thin bodies are in, as is ghostly white skin. Women wore tightly laced corsets to achieve the smallest possible waists; their stomachs and lungs were so compressed they could hardly eat or breathe. Some women even had ribs removed so they can lace their corsets tighter. Fainting spells were common.

1860’s – Plump women with large hips come into fashion. A little extra weight is considered a sign of prosperity, and proof that you are a nice person. Thin women are considered mean and sour.

1920’s – the ‘Flapper” look is in style. Women bind their breasts to achieve a slimmer, sportier, more boyish look. Skirts get shorter and dieting becomes a popular pastime.

1930’s – The Great Depression and World War II gave women more serious concerns than the numbers on their bathroom scale. A more full-figured look is in.

1950’s – Marilyn Monroe frenzy leads three out of 10 brunettes to dye their hair blond. Womanly curves and beehive hairdo’s are definitely in!

1966: The miniskirt arrives, made popular by an underweight 17 year old fashion model, Twiggy who was 168cms and weighed just 40 kg’s.

1974: A black model appears on the cover of Vogue magazine for the very first time.

1990’s – the supermodel look comes into fashion - models with sickly, bone-thin bodies are the norm. The US Centre for Disease Control estimated that 11 million women have eating disorders.

2000’s – Cosmetic surgery including liposuction, nose jobs and breast implants become increasingly popular with young women. One Third of girls ages 12-14 say they would like to have cosmetic surgery to correct something they don’t like about themselves.

Meanwhile in Africa, things are a little different. In many parts of Africa thin means poverty and fat means wealth. In large parts of Africa, women are fattened up as much as possible before marriage. In south-eastern Nigeria, girls are kept in "fattening rooms" for weeks, prevented from exerting themselves and given high-protein food. In southern Niger, girls take appetite-enhancing pills and drink excessive amounts of water. In Mauritania, their ankles are bound to increase water retention as they are fed huge quantities of sweetened goat's cream.

This just goes to show that ideals of beauty can be very different depending on where you are from.

Our research showed just how crazy the things people do to fit the image of “perfect beauty.”
Sadly, Africans are now adopting the Hollywood idea of beauty. Most of the TV we watch and many of the magazines we buy are made in North America. Many young women try to look like these models even if they do not have the same body type. If you put all your energy into trying to achieve the body you weren’t meant to have, then your self-esteem can suffer. This is one of the reasons why young girls can be so susceptible to eating disorders.

Definition: An eating disorder is a compulsion to eat, or avoid eating, that negatively affects your physical and mental health. Examples of eating disorders are:
Anorexia – starving yourself to keep body weight abnormally low.
Bulimia: Eating large quantities of food and then vomiting it up, to keep your body weight abnormally low.

Here's something you can do, not to caught up in the Hollywood idea of beauty, and to improve your self-esteem:

Most of the ads we see of beautiful perfect people are in fact digitally altered to make them perfect, so consider throwing out all the fashion magazines that made you feel bad.

You can write letters to the companies that produce adverts that made us feel bad about ourselves. Ask them why they didn’t use more normal looking people in their ads. Also write letters to the magazines that print the ads. Even if nothing changes, you will feel empowered by having your say!
Now think - who is in charge of our self-esteem anyway: the mass media or us? We are of course! Make a list of the 10 things you like best about yourself. Then make a list of 10 wonderful things that your body allows you to enjoy. Riding a bike, dancing, climbing a tree. The more you focus on how amazing your body is for allowing you to do all these things, the less you'll focus on what your body looks like.

You only have one life to live, so why waste it worrying about how fat your thighs are or how to achieve that perfect complexion? There is more to life than thinner thighs. The most important thing is to start loving yourself from the inside out. This means not putting your looks down at any time. Never forget that you are wonderful all around, from the inside out.
If you hate looking at yourself in the mirror try some of these pointers:

Do something nice for yourself every day.
Find things that make you feel good about yourself that don’t involve buying some product. Maybe it’s doing a friends hair or running, taking a walk, or playing a musical instrument.
When you look at yourself in the mirror, practice being kind to yourself. Tell yourself what about you looks great and strong. Keep the negative voices out your head.
Surround yourself with people who are supportive

This doesn't mean that you shouldn't read magazines or put on nail polish or dye your hair or dress up. But when you do, remember that you do not have to measure up to someone else’s idea of beauty. Just have fun expressing yourself.

That's it for now, don't forget to write to us with your comments or questions


Bye
Sfiso

I Have the Right To Walk Lightly on the Earth

Hi everybody,

I hope you are all well, and managing to keep warm in this Winter weather. All of us tend to use a lot of fuel in Winter to keep warm whether it's gas, wood, coal, paraffin, or using double the amount of electricity. Unfortunately, although keeping warm is important, using all these extra natural resources isn't very good for the planet. Did you know that you have the Right to Walk Lightly on the Earth? Let's take a look at what this means.

Here's a letter we received from someone who watches our TV programme on the SABC.

Dear Justice Gang,

These days I can’t seem to stop worrying about all the stuff that gets made in factories every day; all the stuff that’s for sale in the shops. Where are we going to put it all? We’re drowning in stuff!! We seem to be using up more and more of the earth’s resources to produce more and more stuff. Don’t you ever worry that one day the earth is going to be so full of stuff that there’s not going to be any room for all the beautiful things like trees and flowers? Do we really need all the stuff we buy? As I see it, the main problem is that people don’t think twice before buying something. And they don’t recycle!! How on earth are we going to get people to stop and think about the stuff they buy before they buy stuff that’s just going to end up in the landfill in 6 months??!!

Yours Sincerely
Desperately-worried-about-the-planet

Now, here's something interesting we found out, Ecuador, which is a country in South America has become the first nation in the world to grant constitutional rights to the natural environment!! It means that now in Ecuador, rivers, forests, plants and animals have the same rights that humans do. If nature has the same rights as people then any damage to the environment in Ecuador is illegal, whether people are harmed or not! People do not have to prove that environmental hazards have harmed them or their property to make a claim against a polluter. This is groundbreaking!

Let's find out what we can do to help protect the environment:

One of the UN Millennium Development Goals is to ensure environmental sustainability, which means protecting the Environment for Future Generations. Governments can help by making laws to protect the environment, but isn’t it up to all of us to look after the earth, so that we have something to leave those who come after us? Do you ever stop to think about how your own activities affect the earth?

Like many teens around the world, your room is probably full of stuff, right? Okay I know kids in South Africa probably don’t have nearly the same amount of stuff as kids in richer countries, but we’ve probably got more than we really need. Come on be honest with yourself! Now have you ever wondered where all the stuff we buy comes from and where it goes when we throw it out? Do you try to tread lightly on the earth or do you walk heavily, not caring how much of the earths resources you use as long as you have everything you want?

We live on a finite planet, which means there are only so many natural resources available to make all the stuff that we own. And the truth is, we are using too much stuff and the planet is running out of resources. In the past three decades, one-third of the planet’s natural resources base has been used up. Gone!

Not only are we using up natural resources but over 100,000 synthetic chemicals are being mixed in with the natural resources to make the stuff. Hardly any of these have been tested for effects on human health. But you can be sure that if toxins are going into the stuff, it’s sure to come out and that will be in our homes, workplaces and schools.

If you are curious about how your activities affect the planet (and you should be!!), you can take a quiz that will show you what your ecological footprint is.

Definition:
Your ecological footprint is a measure of how much of the earths natural resources are needed to support your lifestyle.

Everyone has an ecological footprint because we all need to use the earth’s resources to survive. But we must make sure we don’t take more resources than the earth can provide. The quiz will show you how many planets would be needed if everyone in the world consumed the same way you do. You might find that it will take between 3 and 7 planets! But of course we don’t have 7 planets, or even 3. We only have 1 and we need to take care of it. Tread lightly on the planet, my friends, tread lightly!

1. To measure your environmental footprint visit http://www.earthday.net and click on Environmental Footprint. Or just click here.

2. If you are worried about Stuff, and want to find out more about the things you buy, where they come from and where they go, Google The Story of Stuff to watch a 20 minute animation by Annie Leonard. Or just click here.

Here's a story about a boy who helped his family to walk lightly on the earth. Maybe you can do the same.

"My name is Temba and I am 13 years old. The other day I measured my ecological footprint and was shocked to see that if everyone used the same amount of energy and resources as me, to live, then we would need 4 planets to support all the people in the world. I wondered how this could be possible? After all, I live in an ordinary family, in an ordinary house. We are comfortable but not super rich. How come it would take so many planets to support us? Then I started to look around my house. The bathroom light was on, even though there was no one in it. The outside porch light was on, even though it was broad daylight. My Dad’s cell phone charger was still plugged into the wall even though his cell phone was fully charged. My Mom drove my sister to her friend’s house, which was three blocks away. Then she came back, and five minutes later she went out in the car again because we needed bread and milk. I began to see how it was possible that 4 planets are needed to support families like ours.

I looked at all the packaging and empty containers, and plastic bags that ended up in our rubbish bin. If everyone has rubbish bins like ours, imagine how much rubbish must end up in the landfills each and every day. I found out that each household in South Africa produces about 1 tonne of waste each year! I also found out that 500 billion plastic bags are used in the world every year and that it takes about 400 years for plastics to break down in a landfill, and when they do break down, they release harmful toxins into the environment. Just look at all the rubbish that ends up in landfills:


That night I sat my family down and I told them about my ecological footprint and I invited them to sit at the computer and do their own. They were as shocked as I was to find out they were over-users of energy and resources.

Then I let them know a couple of hard-hitting facts:
About 550 000 tons of waste glass finds its way into landfills in South Africa each year
It takes one million years for a glass bottle to break down in a landfill.
Only 26% of all glass containers produced are taken for recycling
The energy saved from recycling one glass bottle can run a 100-watt light bulb for four hours. It also causes 20% less air pollution and 50% less water pollution than when a new bottle is made from raw materials.

We decided, as a family, to make a greater effort to recycle as much as we could. The first thing we did was to set up a compost bin in the garden for all the vegetable peels and other organic waste. Next we set up a number of bins in the garage so that we could separate out our waste at the source to make it easier to take it for recycling. We also think about ways we can re-use things so that they don’t end up in the trash or in the recycling.

Recycling and Reusing, help to reduce your ecological footprint because energy is saved and pollution is decreased. Now our new family motto is: Reduce, Reuse and Recycle."

That's it for this week. Don't forget, we'd love to hear your stories, and if you need any help with questions, we'd be delighted to answer them.

Bye for now
Gugu

I Have the Right To Get Along with My Parents

Hello again, Sfiso here, and today we're looking at a subject close to my heart, something I think we all struggle with from time to time, especially when we're in our teenage years - and that's getting along with our parents. Did you know that you have the Right to Get Along with your Parents

I don't know about you, but sometimes my parents really drive me crazy, and I feel like I never seem to be able to do ANYTHING right anymore! I'm so tired of hearing “Either that room gets cleaned up now, or else!” or “When I was your age….”

Here's an email we received from somebody who reads our blog:

My name is Serena and I am 14 years old. I’m not sure why life is so difficult right now. I live in a loving and caring family but these days we seem to be tearing each other apart. Our home seems to have become a battleground. Everyday the house is full of fighting and arguing and door slamming. All of my friends also seem to be having a hard time with their parents these days. Every day at school we swap stories about our nightly arguments. Every gory little detail! And I mean gory! I’m beginning to think it is impossible to have a normal relationship with parents in our teen years!! I thought parents were supposed to be able to solve problems like these but they seem just as into the fighting as we are! My big question is: what do you do when the people who are expected to solve the problem, are the problem? Please help!

Well, don't worry, if you're having trouble getting along with your parents, the good news is, there is something you can do about it. Loveday Constitutional, the founder of the Justice Gang sent us some information from his cosmic world in a parallel universe to help.

Loveday Constitutional

UnderstandingYour Parents

Ever feel like you and your parents just can’t seem to get along? Ever wish your parents came with a “How To…” book, as in “How to bring up your parents” ? Well you’re not alone. Parents do a lot of things that grind on our nerves but since we live with them it’s important to try to get along. The first step to understanding parents is figuring out how they think. See if you can recognise your parents from this handy list of Parent Types:
Pushy parents are the ones who want you to give 110% of yourself 110% of the time. This parent type can be good because they make you push yourself but sometimes they push TOO hard.

Unconcerned parents tend to go in the other direction. They pretty much let you run wild, which can be fun but when you need help or direction they are of little assistance.

Politically correct parents may have some horrible problems, but to everyone outside the family they’re “just fine.” Politically correct parents aren’t bad people; they just seem to care more about what other people think than their children’s feelings, worries or preferences.
Overworked or distant parents may seem like bad parents, but in fact they really may not be. They miss a lot of what is going on in their child’s life because they are trying to give their kids a better life.

Average parents are a mixture of all the other types, but not so much that it’s a bad thing. They are called average parents because it’s what so many parents are, including ours.

You might not believe it, but your parents were children once and they had parents of their own. If you’re having ongoing problems with your parents you need to understand the link between your conflict and your parents childhoods. If you are tired of being caught by the, “When I was your age…,” routine, you need to find out as much about your parents childhoods as you can. In this way you will be able to understand where they are coming from.

If your parents are giving you a hard time because of the way you fight with your siblings, you might try to find out about your parent’s sibling relationships. How about your room? Is it always too messy for your Mom. Maybe she never had her own room when she was growing up and it bothers her that you keep the room she always wanted looking like a war zone.

Ask your parents question about when they were teenagers. Get a dialogue going that will help you come to a common understanding. Not only will you get some juicy information about what Dad got up to when he was a teenager, but you will score lots of points for being interested.

Now, I bet you didn’t know that your parents sometimes feel ignored by you? Well it’s true! They do. Show a little interest in their lives and you’ll be surprised at how your relationship improves.

Some more useful tips to getting along with your parents:

It helps to be aware that in many families, as children reach their teens their parents are reaching their 40s. They may begin questioning their careers, worrying that they are going grey, loosing their hair and their waistlines. They may feel like their hopes and dreams have passed them by.

You can improve things by learning to communicate better with your parents. For example, you can use the “Put-Myself-In-Their-Shoes-Plan”. If your Mom is shouting at you think of how you would feel if we were to switch places. You just might discover that your reaction would be much more drastic than hers!

Let's take a look at a typical situation:

Jabulani is a teenager, this is what happened before and after he learned to communicate better with his parents.

Picture this scene, Jabulani is lying on his bed listening to his favourite music and his Dad comes in.

Parent: “How can you listen to such trash?”
Jabulani: “It’s not trash. This is the Number One album in the country!”
Parent: “That just goes to show that the country is going down the drain.”
Jabulani: “At least it’s a lot better than the stuff you and Mom listen to.”
Parent: “Don’t talk back to me young man!.”
Jabulani: “Well don’t say that my music is trash.”
Parent: “Don’t tell me what I can and can’t say. This is my house and if I don’t want that noise blasting away under my roof, you’re not going to play it.”
Jabulani: “You can’t tell me what music to play. This is my room and you can’t even hear it in the hall.”
Parent: “I don’t like your attitude one bit….”

And the situation ends up in a fight!

But, there is a communication method you can use, it's called the Agree-to-Disagree strategy.

Now look at the difference.

Parent: “How can you listen to such trash?” (This is the moment of truth. Will Jabu stoop to his father’s level or will he elevate the interaction to his level?)
Jabulani: “I guess you don’t like this music, eh, Dad?” (Hooray! He doesn’t take the bait. He used active listening and reflected his dad’s feelings back to him.)
Parent: “Don’t like it? I wouldn’t even call it music!” (Dad continues to try to establish the supremacy of his position. Jabu is too smart to fall for it.)
Jabulani: You’ve got to admit that the music you and Mom listen to isn’t exactly my favourite either. But that’s OK. We have different tastes, that’s all. You listen to the music you like and I’ll listen to the music I like, OK?” (Now, how can Dad object to such a reasonable position?)
Parent: “I guess so. Just keep it down. OK?”

That went much better, and a fight was avoided!

This approach only really works when the conflict is over different tastes, styles, opinions or ideas. Agreeing-to-Disagree is helpful when one person’s opinion doesn’t affect the other. When it comes to matters of taste, opinion, politics or personal style, try to move your parents to a position where they can respect your right to have preferences by accepting their right to do the same. You could try saying:

“I respect your right to have your likes and dislikes. I’d like to feel that you can respect mine.”

Or

“Just because we have different tastes doesn’t mean one of us has to be wrong. We’re just different.”

So remember, you have the right to live in peace with your family BUT you also have the responsibility to do your bit to be understanding and try to resolve difficulties.

That's it for today, if you have any comments or questions, I'd really love to hear all about it!

Bye for now
Sfiso

I Have the Right To a Sustainable Future

Hi all,

It's me Gugu here, and today we're going to be finding out about your Right to a Sustainable Future. This right was mentioned in the Millennium Development Goals. One of these goals is to protect the Environment for future generations. Protecting the environment for future generations means exactly that. All living things are connected and if anything in the environment is removed too fast or removed completely, it destroys the balance. When an environment is out of balance, many living things may have trouble surviving.

Let's look at an example:

Rhino’s are on the Endangered wildlife list, which means that there are not as many rhino’s in the world as there should be. When rhinos start to disappear from their habitat it changes the landscape and makes it difficult for other species to survive. For example, black rhinos in Africa only browse on tips of shrubs and small trees and this helps to prune the plant which is very helpful to other species. Fewer rhino’s mean that bushes and trees take over the land and species like antelope will have to leave the area to search for more suitable food. There’s another reason we need to protect rhino’s -rhino’s also eat a LOT and this means they POOP a lot.

Rhino poop is dry, and if you pick it apart you can often see some of the things the rhino has been eating; like seeds that will eventually germinate and grow into plants. By pruning bushes and small trees and spreading seeds through their poop, rhinos play a very important role in maintaining the health of the habitat they live in. This shows how everything is connected.

What you can do to help:

Doesn’t it seem sometimes that the world is in a big mess? Does all the work that needs to be done to solve the world’s problems sometimes weigh you down? Worrying about the big issues is all very well, but only Taking Action will make you feel better. If you would like to become a Doer instead of a Worrier, here’s how to take your first steps:

Identify the issue that matters to you most. Action needs a sharp focus to be effective. It’s hard to take action on big issues so try to focus on a smaller issue that helps the big goal. For example “Saving the Planet” is a Very Big Issue. But you can help out in your own neighbourhood by planting trees.

Do your research: once you have decided which issue you care about most, you will want to find out all there is to know. The more you know about your issue, the more effective your action will be.

Choose your approach: Much can be done as an individual but there is strength in numbers. Join an existing school, community or other local group working in your chosen field. If there is not an existing group, you could form your own group or club but remember this requires a lot of work and a long-term commitment.

Get Organised: Talk to people you know to see who will support you. Find out where you can get the money and other resources you will need. You could ask for permission to talk about the issue at school, or at your place of worship, or at a community gathering.
Set up a meeting: This is a good way to gather support. Ask for permission to put up posters announcing the meeting at school. The day before your meeting, remind as many people as you can about it.

Build Your Team: It’s nice to do things with your friends but you may need to get others involved.

To be effective you will want to have people with different skills in your group. You need people who are:

creative to think of good ideas for campaigning, fundraising and other forms of action;

artistic to help create posters and displays;

organized to help plan events and make your group function smoothly and efficiently;

good at writing to compose letters, speeches, press releases and so on;

logical to help solve problems; and make sure your goals are realistic

good at maths to take care of finances;

passionate and enthusiastic to keep people motivated and aiming high;

good communicators to negotiate, help overcome personality clashes, and run meetings;

Lastly you will need to elect, or agree on who should be responsible for specific roles and jobs in the group and establish rules that you all agree on.

Remember it is easier to work on issues that affect your own neighbourhood.

Think Global. Act Local!

You can also help by planting trees, and this is how to plant a tree:

Dig a square hole, half a metre wide by half a metre wide. Keep the dark topsoil separate from the lighter soil beneath it. Put the topsoil in the bottom of the hole.
Remove the plastic bag from the sapling and place the tree upright in the hole, so that the base of the tree is just below the ground level.
Next to the tree’s roots, plant a 2 litre plastic cool drink bottle, cut holes in the bottom of the bottle. The top of the cool drink bottle must stick out of the ground.
Mix a small amount of compost or kraal manure with the left over lighter soil, and pack it firmly in the hole.
Measure one spade length in distance around the tree. In this area, remove all grass and weeds. Water the tree and add 10 cm layer of mulch (leaves, straw, or strips of newspaper). The mulch must not touch the tree.
Place a wooden stake next to the tree, and tie it loosely to the trees trunk with soft material, such as a stocking to help the tree grow straight.
Fill the cool drink bottle with water once a week. Once you have watered the tree, put the lid on the bottle, to prevent evaporation.

Well that's all for now, remember to think local, act global and do your bit for the planet!

And don't forget, we'd love to hear from you, so drop us an email or leave us your comments!

Cheers
Gugu