Arborg Student Pens Novel, Named Young Humanitarian of the Year

Kids really are our future. 11-year-old Arborg student Alliana Rempel is a shining example of that. She's recently published a children's book and was awarded the Young Humanitarian of the Year award by the Manitoba Teacher's Society this week. She talks about her book entitled One. 

"My book One is about a girl named Azmia, and her school gets shut down by terrorism, and she's really disappointed that she can't keep going in her education. Then some unlikely heroes come and save the day," says Rempel. 

Rempel was inspired by Malala Yousafzai's 2014 book, I Am Malala: How One Girl Stood Up for Education and Changed the World. In 2012, Malala was shot in the head by Taliban in her country of Pakistan because she was attending school after they tried to ban her. All proceeds of Rempel's book are going toward building a school in Nicaragua, in partnership with WE Villages. 

Rempel says she has many reasons for wanting to help the impoverished country. 

"My grandparents have been there before," says Rempel. "They took a lot of pictures, and told a lot of stories about the kids they met there. The stories were really sad... I wanted to help there, and also it's a place I'm allowed to visit once I build the school."

Rempel isn't unaware of the plight facing Nicaragua. She's full of facts and stats about just what the country is facing. 

"Nicaragua is a really beautiful country, but it's also the second poorest in the western hemisphere," says Rempel. "Around three quarters of the people live on less than two dollars a day. According to the United Nations and on average, Nicaraguans complete less than five years of school. And 15 per cent of children between five and 15 are in some sort of child labour." 

Rempel has been busy with her philanthropic efforts for a while now. She's been selling art, in the form of various greeting cards and has raised thousands of dollars for the Malala Fund, which supports girls all over the world the right to 12 years of free, safe and quality education. 

Rempel plans to continue her charity work, and also has the goal of becoming a marine biologist when she grows up. 

To find out more about Alli, check out www.alliannarempel.com. Her book One is available anywhere books are sold online, and can be found on her other website, battlethebadwithbeauty.com.