'Lil MDG's   Organization: ‘Lil MDGs Location: United States Name: Dylan Mahalingam

“Until the whole world is educated on the topic, it is going to be hard to meet the 2015 targets.”

Dylan's speech

Many of eleven year-old Dylan Mahalingam’s interests are typical: tennis, basketball, snowboarding, and swimming. He is in sixth grade and his favorite subjects are math and science. He holds a purple belt in karate and has a wide array of musical talents. However, he is strictly vegetarian—and this is not the only thing that sets him apart from his peers. Dylan’s passion for public health and the quality of life worldwide led him to create a non-profit organization, ‘Lil MDGs.

Based on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), the organization was founded, managed, and run by youth, with adult support. When Dylan was 8, he was on a trip overseas with his family when he realized the harsh realities of poverty and felt mobilized to do something about it. He heard about the MDGs and in his quest to learn more, found that most of the information available was written for older children or adults. This inspired him to create a website with information readily available for others his age. As a result, Dylan has received approval to begin a ‘Lil MDG’s club in his middle school next year to involve more of his fellow students.

This project has helped his class to connect with classrooms in other countries. Dylan says that the project has taught him about real life problems that are not necessarily covered in classrooms, and given him leadership skills by networking with teachers and administrative staff. Dylan is also involved with another project, Living on the Brink, which increases awareness about endangered species around the world.

MDGs & TakingITGlobal

Interested in teaching your students about the MDGs? Check out the lesson plans in the TIGed Activities Database or visit TakingITGlobal’s featured theme page on the MDGs where students can play the MDG card game, participate in discussions surrounding the issues, and develop ideas for action.

Action in the Classroom

One World Youth Project is a sister-school initiative in which students in the US and Canada collaborate with schools around the world to learn about one another’s culture and the MDGs through community service and leadership. In 2006, One World Youth Project and TakingITGlobal partnered to create an Educator’s Guide to the MDGs, featuring lesson plans that integrate the MDGs across the curriculum into subject areas such as math, social studies, and language arts, as well as ideas for service learning and action.