"People thought I was too young and that women couldn't be leaders. I took these things as challenges; they gave me more power. I didn't call out the problems. I called out the solutions." ~ Isatou Ceesay
The true story of how one woman looked at the plastic
bags littered around her and came up with a way to make a difference. When Isatou
Ceesay was growing up the bag she was using to carry items through her village ripped,
and when she released it into the wind, she knew it would once again become
part of the dirt. All around her she saw people using plastic bags and began to
use them herself. Over time she noticed plastic bags on the ground, hundreds
discarded by people when they were ripped or broken. As a grownup, Isatou
looked around and saw the beautiful Earth with colored bags everywhere. When
she finds out that farm animals have been swallowing the bags and dying she
decides to act. Grabbing at first only a few bags, and then as many as she can
carry, she brings them home. With the help of her friends she washes them and
hangs them to dry. Once her sister teaches her to crochet Isatou and her
friends begin cutting the discarded bags into long strips and they crochet them
into bags. People laugh at them and call them names. But, when they bring the
bags to the market place they begin to sell. Isatou earns money and the garbage
piles continue to shrink.
The bright colors and textured illustrations really
draw in the reader. My sister, Margo, was fascinated by the pictures. The crinkled plastic bags and the
scenes really popped on the pages. I loved seeing how Isatou saw a problem and
instead of complaining, she decided to make a change. The change started with
her, but her friends helped and together they made our planet prettier. This is
something we can all do! Looking around
we all see trash and things that are falling apart. It is amazing to think that
if we all decide to clean up our area that eventually we will have a clean
Earth. When Margo and I finished reading
we walked around our yard looking for things we could clean up. Luckily, there
wasn’t much, but I plan to walk around some busier areas of town with my
friends and I know we will find trash that didn’t make it into the garbage or recycling
bin. Who knows- maybe one of us will come up with a clever way to transform something
we see!
One Plastic Bag Isatou Ceesay and the
Recycling Women of the Gambia is
a wonderful book for anyone who likes to learn about people who are making the
world a better place. Earth Day is coming up on April 22nd and this
would be a perfect book to read together to get ideas for cleaning up our
planet. Books like this make you want to look around you and see how you can
make a difference!
Happy reading! ~ F
*Some people have wanted to
see the bags and learn more about the story.
Here is the website that goes with the book. You can see the pretty bags and meet Isatou. I originally didn't post a picture of the bags because I wasn't sure if it was okay with copyright laws. :)
