TEACHER RESOURCES:

One Plastic Bag: Isatou Ceesay and the Recycling Women of Gambia

By Miranda Paul, illustrated by Elizabeth Zunon

The inspiring true story of how one African woman began a movement to recycle the plastic bags that were polluting her community. Plastic bags are cheap and easy to use. But what happens when a bag breaks or is no longer needed? In Njau, Gambia, people simply dropped the bags and went on their way. One plastic bag became two. Then ten. Then a hundred. The bags accumulated in ugly heaps alongside roads. Water pooled in them, bringing mosquitoes and disease. Some bags were burned, leaving behind a terrible smell. Some were buried, but they strangled gardens. They killed livestock that tried to eat them. Something had to change. Isatou Ceesay was that change. She found a way to recycle the bags and transform her community. This inspirational true story shows how one person's actions really can make a difference in our world.


 

Lesson Plans

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Click HERE to listen to Mary Nolin, Connections Program Manager, read "One Plastic Bag."






For questions or ideas for your learners, please contact Mary at mnolin@nhhumanities.org.