My name is Lorena and my work takes me into small community schools, where children are my greatest source of inspiration. I cultivate a deep connection with nature and a profound respect for the cycles of Mother Earth. I value harmony, balance, and reciprocity, the spirit of giving and receiving, with all forms of life in our shared home.
Addressing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is essential to preventing its serious and far-reaching consequences, particularly for children and future generations. Urgent action is needed. This requires not only safeguarding human health but also restoring biodiversity and transforming the way we relate to the natural world. By doing so, we can reconnect and live in harmony with Mother Nature, who nourishes, sustains, and gives us life.
Before entering the classroom, I begin with a personal commitment: caring for the Earth is inseparable from caring for our health. To teach others to love and protect our planet, I must first embody these values through my daily actions and way of life. In doing so, I strive to open a meaningful path for children to follow.
Learning should be engaging, joyful, and participatory. Through play, exploration and shared discovery, we implement the Child-to-Child approach in the classroom, a methodology that places children at the center of their own learning. We believe it is vital to reach their hearts from an early age, nurturing awareness, understanding, respect, and a sense of responsibility for their own health, as well as that of their families and communities.
Wherever I go, I carry a key educational tool: the “Educational Satchel: The Microbial World and School Health.” This set of interactive learning resources is designed to engage both teachers and students in understanding AMR through a holistic and practical lens. Its core themes, aligned with school curricula, include food and nutrition, water, the microbial world, environmental stewardship, the responsible use of antimicrobials, and bacterial resistance.
Through the Child-to-Child approach, our work extends well beyond the classroom. We collaborate closely with health centers, community organizations, families, farmers, and local leaders. This collective effort strengthens the Educational Satchel initiative and fosters a shared sense of responsibility across sectors.
Children become active health ambassadors. Through creative and participatory activities, they take initiative in promoting healthy nutrition, protecting seeds, valuing beneficial microorganisms, promoting the responsible use of antimicrobials and caring for the natural environment. They are powerful communicators who, through art and expression, remind us that simple ways of living can coexist in harmony with nature.
I would like to conclude with a clear and urgent message: we must prioritize the prevention of infections, strengthen both individual and community health systems, and approach bacteria with respect. Antimicrobials must be protected as a shared global good. By working together with commitment, collaboration, and optimism we can advance toward a healthier world and protect our ecosystems by respecting their natural balance, which is ultimately our own.