Make Nice Mission: H.E.A.R.T. & Human Rights

At the beginning of this year we began our Make Nice Mission with our friends at HEART (Humane Education Advocates Reaching Teachers). We committed to highlighting their organization and adding some projects to their already outstanding humane education curriculum. However we quickly found that one edition of the magazine would not be enough to cover all three strands of their program.

In April we focused on environmental ethics. We embraced the idea of recycling, reusing and reducing plastic and paper. We offered simple ways to get involved in Earth Day and found easy ways to talk to our kids about all the amazing things that happen outside our window every day.

This installment of our mission with HEART focuses on human rights. Over the past few months we have paid particular attention to all kinds of human rights stories that have appeared in the news. In April we were horrified to hear of the 276 young girls that had been kidnapped in northern Nigeria for simply attempting to gain an education. A few months later we were astounded to see a video from the Human Rights Watch showing children laboring in hazardous conditions on tobacco farms in the US. These stories really opened our eyes to issues of human rights in our world and reminded us of the importance of educating our youth to enable them to make a change.

Lucky for us, we know that the amazing teachers at HEART are already on the task. They work hard to develop humane education programs and services designed for Kindergarten through High School students. Their programs are created to impact the way young people think about their responsibility to one another, covering topics such as bullying, conflict resolution, child labor, fair trade, farming rights and the acceptance of human differences and beliefs.

In this edition of Make Nice, we are making it easy for you to bring aspects of HEART's Human Rights curriculum into your own home. We have created fun and easy moomah-made templates inspired by the lessons in the program and donated them to the teachers to use in their classrooms. They are available online to encourage you to partake in the lessons with your kids in your own homes.

We have teamed up with the incredible team at The Little Market to explore the world of fair trade and learn different ways that we can make a change in our every day lives. The articles within this edition will help you and your children to understand the importance of reading labels on products, knowing where your goods are coming from and understanding why we are "voting" with every dollar we spend.

IN THIS EDITION:

Make it! The Cultural Iceberg Placemat - Teach your children the importance of getting to know someone below the surface before judging them on looks alone. You may have more in common than you think!
Girl Crush: Hannah Skvarla - Get to know one half of the dynamic duo behind The Little Market - an online marketplace selling handmade goods ethically sourced from artisans around the world.
Fair Trade Scavenger Hunt - Learn the importance of fair trade certification and begin to identify fair trade labels on products we purchase every day.
Meet The Makers: A Travel Journal - The ladies from The Little Market take us on a trip to Guatemala to meet the women artisans behind some of our favorite online products.
Make It! Beaded Bracelets - Inspired by the artisans in Guatemala, make some beautiful beaded bracelets to wear this summer.
The Summer Round-Up - We are pulling together some of our favorite summer products from businesses that are working to give back. The best part? All items are fair trade and ethically made.
Where Was Your Shirt Made? - Make a difference, make a shirt! Find out why it's important to shop for fair trade t-shirts and why we are asking people where their shirt was made.
How To Throw A Jewelry Selling Fundraiser - You can make a difference in the world by throwing a fundraiser to raise money and awareness for your favorite non-profit organization.