The Vegan View

Nate lives in Jakarta, Indonesia and is a passionate animal lover & vegetarian. He spends all his free time rescuing animals in need and trying to educate people who neglect their pets. He is very intelligent and artistic. He is also very lonely. He told me he has no friends because everyone thinks his beliefs are stupid. He said all the kids at school make fun of him. His home life is equally difficult. He said his parents get mad at him every day because he won't eat meat. They don't like animals and have no idea how their son turned out like this. I just see a sad, lonely boy. He told me he wishes he could find kids his age which have the same passion & beliefs. He said the only people who think like him are always adults. I promised him I would try to find someone like this for him to connect with. Do you have any suggestions how he could find kids his age with similar thinking?

VegFamily readers reply:

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Elizabeth:
Maybe he can join Care2. It's a great community and there are people of all ages who can offer him support and friendship.

Kim:
I didn't see any mention of Nate's age, but I'd suggest that he do an internet search combining words like "jarkata vegan" and "vegan" with other towns near him. He could also consider himself the Gandhi of his area. Many times the one who is in the right,or the person with compassionate lifestyle choices is not in the majority. As I see it,there are two choices, either of which can work out well: 1. Nate can consider himself a pioneer, much like Gandhi, and become a leader among lemmings. 2. Nate could start a vegan club online for locals, including people his age who are vegetarian, or who eat only fish, as they are likely to have similar goals. He might have adults join, but those adults might have kids his age who are vegan, or considering it. Best wishes!!

Joan:
Check out these articles and sites:

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2010/10/10/the-bearable-lightness-being-vegan.html

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2011/03/21/born-be-a-vegan.html

http://www.expat.or.id/orgs/vegansociety.html

I'd reach out to those people and organizations and see if they have a youth group. Good luck and all the best to Nate!

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