I have an eight-year-old daughter.
I want her to grow up feeling comfortable in her own skin and comfortable in the world. This is a child who cannot help being a part of the world. Born of a Filipina mother and a father of mixed origin, my daughter is learning to speak French and Spanish and has more stamps on her passport than most adults. Still, she sometimes heaves a sigh and wishes aloud that her skin was not quite so brown. Her beautiful latte skin, that millions of people toast themselves to emulate, is something of a regret to her.
I show her pictures of kids from around the world, who have skin of every conceivable shade of gold, umber, sienna and blue-black. I tell her that where they live, all the people are dark. In fact, I explain, most people in the world are not white. But to her, even though we have traveled often to Fiji and Hawaii, and we live in a community that is half-populated with Mexicans, she feels excluded from a club vaguely defined by lighter skin. While she doesn’t describe a feeling of missing out on particular entitlements based on heritage or hue, I am committed to helping her overcome any notion of being chromatically or culturally inferior. So, it is my daughter - and other people's sons and daughters - and my need for them to connect with the many colors and cultures of the world, that inspired me to create Just Like Me, But Different, which has become World Wise.
It’s about more than culture and race. When we traveled to Mexico for the making of a film, we sat on a deserted beach and watched a sea turtle lay her eggs. We guided hundreds of hatchlings safely into the sea and visited an iguana preserve. And we met a young boy who eats fish three times a day, walks to school barefoot and plays video games outside under a palm tree.
It's hard to call anyone a stranger, once you have looked them in the eyes.
As we discover the interdependent, parallel existence of people, places and animals across the globe, I believe we begin to recognize the strong and enduring elements that connect us all. My goal is to foster the growth of compassionate, informed and engaged citizens of the world - one adventure at a time. I hope you'll come along for the ride!
Onward together,
Gail Evenari
World Wise Founder
2006
Inspiration
“After that summer, after being friends with Won-a-nee and her young, I never killed another otter... Nor did I ever kill another cormorant for its beautiful feathers, though they have long, think necks and make ugly sounds when they talk to each other. Nor did I kill seals for their sinews, using instead kelp to bind the things that needed it. Nor did I kill another wild dog, nor did I try to speak another sea elephant.
... This is the way I felt about the animals who had become my friends and those who were not, but in time could be... for animals and birds are like people, too, though they do no talk the same or do the same things. Without them the earth would be an unhappy place.” ”