Through My Eyes
A glimpse at the lives of young
people from around the world.
How do we live
For many young people the day begins in our homes with our families. Those families are very
different and the cultures of the world shape who we are.
• In Bangladesh most people are basically religious. Various communities live here. We live
together. About 90% of the people are Muslim and 8% are Hindu and others Buddhist and
Christians.
• The people of Mexico are family orientated, with days that start really early
• In the Bronx, our families are all really different as well, in our group we have young people
whose families are from all around the world, from the Ivory Coast to Jamaica all of our
families have different beliefs but fortunately the one thing we all have in common is that
our families have provide us a positive foundation for us to become who we are, and most
importantly who we want to be.
How do we begin?
• In Mexico most days begin around 7am with school the same can be
said for most young people in the Bronx. We wake bathe and prepare
for our day. In Bangladash the day begins with prayer, and reading in
the reading room all done before 9am
• For everyone the basic necessities of food, clothing and water are
provided by our parents, in New York, some kids eat breakfast at
school, with the overcrowding of schools, some kids have lunch as
early as 10:30 in the morning, this meal is provided by the school and
for all of us it is free.
• Things like electricity are provided by Power Companies in the United
States, in other Countries it is sponsored by the Government. We all
recognize this as a resource that it would pretty hard to imagine not
having, and one that must be paid for by our parents.
School
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Everyone in all our groups go to school regularly, we recognize this is not the same for all
young people and are thankful for the opportunity, but we get there in very different ways,
some people are able to walk, others use some sort of transportation, in the Bronx we use
the Bus, we get a pass that is provided for us based on how far away we live from the school,
if you live more than a mile you get a free pass, ½ a mile you get a half fare, anything less and
you have to walk or pay for it yourself.
In Bangladesh you go in a variety of different ways Bus, Rickshaw (Human Puller) and bicycle.
The one other thing is that we all go to school for most of the day, usually from about 8:30 to
4, with school starting the earliest in Mexico where it can begin as early as 7am, some
schools in the Bronx start that early as well. Bangladesh some students start with religious
study and then go to school afterwards.
Thankfully for all of us school for the most part is safe, in the Bronx we have gangs, but most
of the time the School Safety Agents and the police keep the schools pretty safe, some
schools have Metal Detectors to help.
All of our schools are pretty nice, and are full of different types of people, some rich, some
poor, some religious some not, in school you have all the different types of people in society
all at one place
Living Environment
Is it very different from person to person living in the same area, attending the same school, how much has to
do with you versus your family
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No matter how much alike people are, there are also distinct differences no matter
what country you live in, this is based on your religious belief or the community
you live in. It is based on your morals, how your parents or guardians raise you to
believe certain things then that is what you will believe. People all over the world
are different yet they are also the same, we recognize that it doesn’t matter the
location, it’s the beliefs that make you who you are.
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Some times our wishes are denied by our families and we don’t always understand
why. How we respond to that is also shaped by our upbringing, some people
recognize that adults make their decisions with their best interest in mind others
believe it’s the adult not wanting to trust us, from what we have learned we
believe it is a combination of both.
Closing
• In closing we believe that this opportunity to
look at the lives of others has taught us that
we need to learn more, it is important that we
continue to discover how others live so that
we can both appreciate what we have and
recognize and celebrate the things that others
do that are so very different.
Our Team
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We want to thank all the other participants, hope to really get a chance to talk in
the future
From Bangladesh;
• Imran Hossain, Mamun ,Suvo ,Anika Haque Laboni Mondol, Mukta Islam,Tushar
Ahmed Arif Hossain and Mr. Prodip Kumar
From Mexico;
• Lorena Sánchez César ,Mónica Ramos Gonzáñes ,Mariana Soriano Navarro ,
Cedma Areli Soto López , Cesia Contreras Quintanilla,
Iliana Gabriela Olivera Navarro, Ana Rosa Ortíz Manzano and Mr. Pedro
From the Bronx, New York
Kevin Douglas, Moussa Kone, Jason Ferras, Jeremy Martinez, Joseph Garcia, Joshua
Brito, Jamel Mingo and Jaquan and Mr. Dennis Carter