Jody Williams
joined us on March 6 for a live interview. To read a transcript of that interview, click here.
Trying to help others
started at an early age for Jody Williams.
Jody's oldest brother
was born deaf. Jody remembers that some kids were mean to her brother
because he was different and could not hear or talk. "I kind of grew
up defending him; giving him a voice that he did not have. I think that
experience made me sensitive to trying to help others when more powerful
people tried to hurt them or take advantage of them."
Jody went to college
during the Vietnam War, a time when many people in the United States
were questioning things and working to change society through the civil
rights and the women's movement. Jody's experiences in college combined
with her childhood helped shaped the way she is today.
Today, Jody is
an activist, someone who works for a political or humanitarian
cause. She has worked very hard for over ten years to ban the use of
landmines all over the world.
Landmines are often
used in wars. They are explosive devices that are buried under the ground
to blow up tanks or troops that pass over them. The problem with landmines
is that they stay behind, buried in the ground, for years after a war
is over. This means that the people getting hurt or killed are civilians
like women and children. Landmines kill or wound over 15,000 people
a year!
Jody Williams looked
at the numbers of people who were hurt or killed by landmines, and she
wanted to make a difference. In 1991, she founded an organization called
the International
Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL). The goals of this organization
are:
Get governments
to sign a treaty that bans using, making, and selling landmines. So
far 142 governments have signed this treaty. Monitor, or
keep an eye on, countries to make sure they follow the treaty. Raise money
to remove mines from areas. Raise awareness
of the landmine issues around the world. Increase medical
and financial help for landmine victims around the world.
The ICBL and Jody
Williams did such a good job at getting governments to sign the treaty,
they won the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize.
Jody Williams
joined us on March 6 for a live interview. To read a transcript of that interview, click here.
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