The great thing about being a kid is that when you come across you don’t necessarily agree with, you make it a point to tell it like it is. In a way kids within their own capacity try to become the change they wanna see. Some of the bright ones tend to go one step further and instead of just voicing their disregard actually do something about it.

10 year-old Zymal Umer is one such gem who identified a problem in society and is working toward an impressive solution

Hailing from Sargodha, Zymal was fed up of the influx of garbage present on the streets. More specifically she was put off by the presence of non-biodegradable plastic bags in these huge piles of garbage. Instead of accepting as a reality like most of the adult population her mind began to wander off towards a solution.

At the tender age of 6 the idea of making garbage bags from newspapers popped in her head

She got the idea after seeing a shopkeeper sell her something in a similar bag. “This is a situation you can find across all of Pakistan – these bags are not biodegradable and people carelessly discard them. They don’t really think about recycling,” Zymal said in an interview with BBC.

Calling them ‘Zeebags”, Zymal aims to reduce pollution and raise awareness regarding environmental issues

Zymal, who’s only in elementary school right now, transform old newspapers into beautifully decorated gift bags. “It is hard to balance my schoolwork with running Zeebags, so I make them at the weekend or during the holidays with my cousins. My father and grandfather pay for my raw materials and if they didn’t help me, it would be very hard to keep my project going,” she told BBC.

That’s not all, the profit she earns from the sale of the bags, she donates to underprivileged children

One charity she donates money to, helps orphaned children across Pakistan.

Among other things, this young social entrepreneur as won a host of awards in both Pakistan and the Middle East. Zymal here just doesn’t want to grow her project to grow in Pakistan but also wants it to reach a global stage.

We wish Zymal all the best in her ambitions and hope others from the country join the cause.

 

Cover image via: bbc.com