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| Joi describes her Trap Neuter Release model at the Girl Scout Silver Award Ceremony. |
One of WAB's Grade 8 students, an animal lover named Joi, has not only made Beijing a safer place for cats, but set an extraordinary example for how youth can voice their opinions to help make a difference in the world. Over the past few months, Joi has cooperated with various members in her local community to develop and implement a Trap-Neuter Release program for the stray cats roaming around the American Embassy, as well as around her housing compound.
As a result of her hard work, Joi has been recognized with two prestigious awards: the Girl Scout Silver Award, which recognizes a Girl Scout's commitment to excellence as she develops skills and values to meet present and future challenges in her life, and a Clements International Foreign Service Youth Community Service award from the US Department of State. Joi is the youngest participant of the latter award, which recognizes the outstanding accomplishments by US Foreign Service youth in the areas of community service, diplomacy, post video production, and unaccompanied tours. The Girl Scout award is the highest honor available to Girl Scouts aged 11 - 14.
Further congratulations are in store for Joi, who has written articles about her work for the American
Embassy's newsletter, the Great Wall Gazette, as well as for the
quarterly newsletter published by the US-based feline-advocacy group
"Alley Cat Allies."
According to the Overseas Committee Chairperson for Beijing Girl Scouts, Joi "began working toward the Girl Scout Silver Award in 2007. To earn the award, she had to design and carry out a plan of activities including community service, exploring careers, gain leadership skills and make a commitment to self-improvement. To complete the final requirement, a community service project, Joi liaised with community members to develop, and implement a Trap-Neuter Release program for the stray cats around the American Embassy, as well as her compound. This project is one in which she has an ongoing interest and a willingness to continue her involvement."
Joi's mother, Jeanette, elaborated on her daughter's commitment to her community service work: "Joi actually suspended work on her Girl Scout Silver Award project to 'TNR' the cats at the American Embassy and then embarked on an entirely separate PR and awareness campaign by writing a series of articles for the Great Wall Gazette. She then went back and finished her original Girl Scout Silver Award project -- much to the relief of her mother! Now if only we could find someone to adopt the eight adorable kittens temporarily living with us...."
"Seriously, though," Jeanette continued, "I do think this is an excellent example of the kind of positive impact that our WAB kids can have on their community, much like the ongoing efforts to alleviate the suffering caused by the Sichuan earthquake. I truly believe that kids grow holistically in accordance with their environment and WAB certainly fosters a spirit of awareness and service."