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By Devlin Smith
2004.10
Last December, Paige Pedlar, then 6, and her mother were watching a special about AIDS in Africa on television. That night, after watching the program that focused on AIDS orphans, Paige asked her mother who comforted these children when they had nightmares. "My honest response was 'No one,'" Paige's mother Anna recalled on the website Cuddlethechildren.com.
Little could Anna have guessed that answer would inspire her daughter, a native of Whitby, Ontario, Canada, to become a champion for AIDS orphans in Africa. The day after watching the television program, Paige wrote a book on the crisis titled "Who Will Cuddle Them When They Sleep?" Soon, she was selling copies of her book door-to-door to raise money for the orphans.
The book soon fell into the hands of Joanne Ashley, a retired nurse and HIV/AIDS educator who was also a member of Rotary Int'l. Ashley shared the book with fellow Rotarians in District 7070 who agreed to take on this project. Paige's book was soon published by Essence Publishing and is now available for purchase through the Cuddletheorphans.com website. Proceeds from the sale of the book benefit the Stephen Lewis Foundation, an organization helping woman and children affected by AIDS in Africa; Ve'AHAVTA, a Canadian Jewish humanitarian organization; the Rotary Foundation; and toward future sponsorship of an orphanage.
This past May, Paige's book brought her to the attention of some very important figures. She, her mother and younger sister were invited to meet Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin and Bono at Parliament Hill in Ottawa. In addition to posing for pictures with Martin and Bono, Paige also swapped books with Bono, receiving an autographed copy of his "Peter and The Wolf" in exchange for an autographed copy of her book.
Today Paige is a busy 7-year-old, balancing the responsibilities of school and home with appearances to discuss her book and talk about AIDS in Africa. She took the time to answer a few questions from Interference.com about "Who Will Cuddle Them When They Sleep?"
Where did you get the idea to write "Who Will Cuddle Them When They Sleep?"
From a TV show I saw with my mom.
Had you ever written a book before?
Yep, but I never got this far.
How long did it take you to write and illustrate the book?
About two weeks.
Why did you decide to start selling your book?
To help save the AIDS orphans because I was sad for them and they need money to buy medicine.
What do you hope people learn from reading your book?
That there is people in the world that need help and they're very sick so we need to help get them money.
What has been the best part about being a published writer?
Meeting Prime Minister Paul Martin and other famous people like Bono.
In May, you met U2 singer Bono. Did you know who he was before you met?
No, but I knew he was a singer.
What was it like to meet Bono and Prime Minister Paul Martin?
Cool.
Bono gave you a copy of his book "Peter and The Wolf." What did you think of his artwork?
It was pretty good.
Do you have plans to write any more books?
Yes, I'm writing a fairy tale.
Is there anything else you'd like to tell our readers about "Who Will Cuddle Them When They Sleep?"
Please help me save the babies.
Thank you to Anna and Paige Pedlar for your help with this interview!
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Published on
10-18-2004 at 10:34 AM |
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10-18-2004 01:52 PM -
