Maria, the Giraffe.

Maria, the Giraffe.

Once upon a time there was a giraffe named Maria, whose skin was peeling and falling down. Everyone was wondering why. What’s going on? What’s happening with her skin? What is causing that Maria loses her skin? All these were puzzles that everyone had. Maria was very sad because she saw herself ugly, her skin wasn’t as it used to be. It was blurred and with patches, and also, she was during a breakup because her boyfriend left her alone due to her ugliness. She left her extremely confused because she thought that he was the only giraffe that really loved her.

Maria was also wondering why this was happening. So she was thoughtful until she concluded something. Her conclusion was that the sunlight was burning her skin because of the damage that the ozone layer has had. It was so spoiled that the sun rays were extremely strong.

She never stayed at home, well, at a close place. So, these rays were mistreating her skin and also her self-esteem because she was suffering from bullying because of her ugly appearance. So, she began to investigate on the causes. She found that all the contamination that humans have made, by using cars, buses, and all the pollution released with chemicals like chlorine and bromine. Such deterioration allows large amounts of ultraviolet B rays to reach Earth, which can cause skin cancer and cataracts in humans and harm animals as well. 

Therefore, without any doubt, this was what was causing her to lose her beautiful, glowy and colorful skin. She began to tell everyone (other animals) that this all was because of humans. They didn’t believe that humans could cause this, but it was happening because they weren’t aware of all the harm they were making to the animals and to the rest of the planet.

As a consequence, the animals began to spread this information out, and everyone saw that this was a serious problem that needed to be treated. As a result, they made campaigns in which they showed their unconformity with the unawareness and misbehavior that humans were having because they didn’t see that, little by little, were contributing to make the end of the planet happen very soon.

We need to take care of our planet through a combination of rising awareness campaigns with fun activities, practical workshops, intercultural, and intergenerational discussions. We need to see all the blessings God has given us and because if we aren’t aware, this will be the end of the planet.

By Valentina Salas, Step 11