After the rain (English)

After the Rain

The Perception Change Project The Perception Change Project (PCP) is a small team in the Office of the Director-General at United Nations Office of Geneva. It was started by the Director-General, Michael Moller, in 2014 with the idea to change the perception of the United Nations and International Geneva.

International Geneva is made up of International Organisations, Permanent Missions, non-governmental organisations and other institutions who are all working to achieve peace, rights and well-being. It is, therefore, PCP’s aim to creatively inform the public about the impact International Geneva has on lives around the world.

International Geneva brings many skills into Geneva, making a small city have great reach. If all these actors combine their knowledge, we can help put an end to or reverse the problems we see every day, such as global warming, hunger or lack of education.

To work well together, we need to all be following the same road map: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There are 17 SDGs that were invented to make our world a better place for us all and are the golden thread in the PCP’s work. PCP aims to bring awareness to why the importance of the SDGs and how to achieve them.

Copyright © 2017 The United Nations Perception Change Project created this book to inform and educate children about the life-threatening circumstances many children face daily.

Thanks to Union University in Jackson Tennessee, the beautiful illustrations bring the story to life.

Written by Kirsten Deall Illustrated by Kayli Sommers

The United Nations Perception Change Project created this book to inform and educate children about the life-threatening circumstances many migrant children face daily.

Thanks to Union University in Jackson Tennessee, the beautiful illustrations bring the story to life.

After the Rain

“We are doing everything we can now to ensure that we leave behind a safe and sustainable planet for you. Read books and equip yourself to understand our world.

Every skill is needed. You are never too young to start the change.”

- Michael Møller, Director-General, United Nations Office at Geneva

Human Migration

Migration has been happening for many years. Recently, it has been in the news a lot with the scary route across the sea or the desert that so many people face. You might be wondering why people cross the dangerous sea in a small boat to get to another country? There are so many reasons for this. Some leave to find a job and with a plan to send money back to their families. Some go to get education.

Others might leave because they don’t have a choice – either it is too dangerous from all the fighting and violence, or extreme weather conditions (drought or floods) prevent their lands from providing enough food and/or water for them to survive.

The people who move to other countries are, therefore, divided into two groups: Refugees and Migrants. Refugees are people who leave their own country for another because they are forced to.

They hope that the new country will protect them and let them live there. Refugees often leave for political reasons or because of war. A migrant is anyone who crosses international borders because he or she is looking for a better life.

There are many organisations who support refugees and migrants and help them overcome the dangers they face. The United Nations Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation of Migration (IOM) are just two of the many organisations working in this area.

There are also many other actors working to solve the roots of the problem: war, violence, human rights violations, lack of job opportunities, extreme poverty or climate change.

It is important for all of us to understand the difficulties refugees and migrants face, so that countries accept them and treat them with respect and kindness. If we want to create a better world, we must make sure we leave no one behind.

Grey, a baby elephant lived in the wild with his two sisters and his mother. Their home was peaceful and beautiful. There were lots of rivers and waterholes to drink from, there were shrubs and green trees for food, shade and scratching their backs on.

Animals from far and wide heard about this great spot and moved there. Soon, there were too many animals sharing the same land.

Food, shade and privacy became hard to find. Mother Elephant would often think about leaving with her family to a better place.

One early morning, before sunrise, there was a loud boom. It sounded like the earth cracked in half. The dark sky was lit up by lightening and the wind rushed across the lands. An angry and violent storm had come from over the hills.

Grey and his sisters ran for shelter under their mother’s ears and hoped that the storm would go away. They were terrified.

Mother Elephant worried about how the storm would damage the few trees and plants that remained - their food.

A large black bird was sitting in a tree above the elephants. The black bird said to the elephants, “I know a place where the storm does not go. Follow me�, and he flew off.

Mother Elephant and her children ran after the black bird. A herd of animals ahead of them had already started leaving and they were following other large black birds.

The animals arrived at an overflowing river. It looked violent and they were afraid to cross it, but they didn’t have a choice. Hippos popped up on the surface of the water and offered to help the small animals across.

The gazelles bounced from one hippo’s back to another. The blue cranes followed. The elephants were unfortunately too heavy to step on the backs of the hippos, so they had to cross without any help.

Mother Elephant led the way followed by her children.

They were crossing tail-in-trunk. Grey and his sisters had very short legs so they struggled to walk in deep waters. Suddenly, crocodiles emerged from underwater and locked their jaw around Mother’s feet.

The children let go of Mother’s tail. “HELP!” they shouted. But the currents pulled them away from the other animals.

Grey woke up from a deep sleep and looked around him. He and his sisters were lying on the edge of the river bank with a monkey, snake, leopard and sloth leaning over them. He rubbed his eyes and made sure he was not dreaming. Sure enough, they were lost in an unknown forest.

Grey said, “Can you help us? We need to find our mother.�

The animals from the forest were very helpful.

The snake gave them water. The monkey gave them food. The sloth gave them Band-Aids for their scratches. He was very slow to hand them over. And the leopard led them out the forest and pointed in the direction the elephants should go.

The faraway sun was sinking into the ground. They had been walking for a long time and now Grey’s feet were hurting. They stopped to rest.

A couple of meerkats from the area popped their heads up when they saw the three wandering elephants. They called to their friends who came out from their homes. Suddenly, there was a gang of meerkats trying to chase the elephants away. The elephants could not understand the meerkats’ barking, but they knew they were not welcome.

The elephants were sitting under a tree, listening to the sounds of the different animal calls. The night was still. They heard a rustling in the tree above them. It was another black bird, but this one looked smaller.

The small black bird chirped, “Grey, your mother sent me to give you a message.� Grey read the note: Follow the sun until you reach your safe destination, Nomvula. The small black bird flew away before Grey could ask if his mom survived the crocodiles.

Grey and his sisters awoke with the sun and started following it. When the sun was directly overhead, Grey spotted a large group of animals of every kind in an enclosed, protected space. It was not Nomvula, but the animals looked friendly. Grey and his sisters hurried over.

At the entranceway, a mole welcomed the elephants in, and then from the herd of animals, a large elephant ran towards Grey.

It was Mother Elephant. He and his sisters were overwhelmed with happiness. They told their mom all about their journey, the kind snake, the helpful leopard, the unfriendly meerkats, and the small black bird who passed on the note from Mother Elephant. The elephants could not stop talking. Eventually the mole rounded up the herds and led them to Nomvula.

Mother Elephant pointed to the sun on the horizon with her trunk. Right in the middle of the bright, orange ball that they had been following for a long time was Nomvula. “After the Rain”, Mother said to herself, aloud.

“What?” asked Grey.

“Nomvula. It means after the rain”, explained Mother.

The animals lined up to cross over to the new territory. A warthog who was in a wheelchair asked Mother, “Where have you come from?”

“We came from where the sun rose, Sir”, said Mother Elephant.

“What brings you here?”

“There is plenty of food here and the weather is good”, said Mother Elephant.

“You’re right about that,” said the warthog, “Welcome to Nomvula”.

Grey looked across at the rich colours of nature and the endless supply of food and water. He gazed at the trees, the birds, the afternoon shadows from the sun, and he listened to the different sounds of wildlife. None of it was familiar. The trees were different.

The sounds were different. The animal calls were different, but he was happy. Grey thought to himself: Home is not where I was born.

Home is where I am accepted. And it was true that Grey and his family were accepted by all the animals. They were home.

Note to Parents and Teachers Sustainable Development Goals

If you could create the perfect world, what would it look like?

Imagine if no one died from incurable diseases, or if there was no waste, no extreme climate changes, no hunger, no hate and no natural disasters.

Imagine a world with fair elections, accessible and good schools for all children, plenty of safe drinking water and good harvest in remote areas.

The purpose of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are to help us improve our planet and our daily lives.

The SDGs were adopted by world leaders in 2015 to reach specific targets by 2030.

The goals help influential people and organisations to work smarter, but they are also there for the individuals to make better everyday choices.

If we are aware that our actions have major impact, we can make informed decisions.

The goals are our united roadmap for all of us to work towards and create the world that we all want.

The Perception Change Project The Perception Change Project (PCP) is a small team in the Office of the Director-General at United Nations Office of Geneva. It was started by the Director-General, Michael Moller, in 2014 with the idea to change the perception of the United Nations and International Geneva.

International Geneva is made up of International Organisations, Permanent Missions, non-governmental organisations and other institutions who are all working to achieve peace, rights and well-being. It is, therefore, PCP’s aim to creatively inform the public about the impact International Geneva has on lives around the world.

International Geneva brings many skills into Geneva, making a small city have great reach. If all these actors combine their knowledge, we can help put an end to or reverse the problems we see every day, such as global warming, hunger or lack of education.

To work well together, we need to all be following the same road map: The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). There are 17 SDGs that were invented to make our world a better place for us all and are the golden thread in the PCP’s work. PCP aims to bring awareness to why the importance of the SDGs and how to achieve them.

Copyright © 2017 The United Nations Perception Change Project created this book to inform and educate children about the life-threatening circumstances many children face daily.

Thanks to Union University in Jackson Tennessee, the beautiful illustrations bring the story to life.

Written by Kirsten Deall Illustrated by Kayli Sommers

The United Nations Perception Change Project created this book to inform and educate children about the life-threatening circumstances many migrant children face daily.

Thanks to Union University in Jackson Tennessee, the beautiful illustrations bring the story to life.

After the Rain In this book, we meet Grey, an elephant, who faces the consequences of overpopulation, famine and extreme weather conditions. Grey and his family are faced with a difficult decision to make: Do they leave or do they stay?

Leaving behind the only home they have ever known, Grey and his family cross borders, fearing the unknown. It is not easy to go and it proves to be an even harder experience than they had imagined. Come journey with Grey and discover some of the challenges of migration.

Created by the Perception Change Project in the Office of the Director General at United Nations Office at Geneva.

Peace, Rights and Well-Being