Purnata (India)

Aaboo Varghese is the Founder & Executive Director of Purnata. Aaboo was born in 1967 in Kerala but grew up and completed his studies in Mumbai. At the age of 17, he had a life-changing experience that led him to try everything short of drugs in pursuit of relief. The change was transformative and his priorities changed as well. He became passionate about serving people as his life’s calling. For six years he worked with Oasis India as part of the leadership team, networking with other agencies and learning valuable knowledge. During his stint there, he developed a passion in the area of anti-human trafficking after seeing story after story of brokenness. He also realized the inadequacy of the strategies followed by most anti-human trafficking organizations, whose focus was curative rather than preventive. Thus, Purnata was born in 2014. He is working hard to find new partnerships with the government, corporate social responsibility programs and other institutional donors. He would like to see Purnata become one of the key players in the anti-human trafficking space and initiate national anti-trafficking hotline and resource center, in collaboration with the government & other NGO’s

Kibera Girls Soccer Academy (Kenya)

Abdul's mission is to eradicate the extreme gender inequalities in Kibera because he believes that educating girls not only improves their lives but has a positive ripple effect in the larger community and future generations. Abdul Kassim, has been a Kibera resident his entire life. Growing up and being raised solely by women, he was conscience of the extreme gender inequalities prevalent in the slums. Wanting to create a more equitable world for his daughter, he started to work to change the misconceptions about girls and their abilities. In 2002, Abdul started a girls’ soccer team. The team excelled and was able to compete on par with their male peers. Though successful, Abdul realized more needed to be done to improve the quality of life for girls in Kibera so he started a school in 2006. Today, Kibera Girls Soccer Academy (KGSA) has 20 full-time staff, over 130 students, and several artistic and athletic programs. Their hope is to inspire young women in Kibera to become advocates for a change within their own and the larger Kenyan community. Kibera Girls Soccer Academy (KGSA) has expanded to meet the growing needs of the girls in Kibera. In addition to their top-performing school program, they run clubs in soccer, journalism, debate, drama, and science. They also provide scholarships to girls so they can continue their education post secondary school as well as provide small business loans to girls interested in establishing a business to support themselves. And in July 2021 the school opened a live-in dormitory to allow 40 girls to live and study with each other in a safe and focused environment. Since it opened, KGSA has directly helped over 1,300 girls and has graduated over 340 students, with 60 going on to higher education either pursuing vocational school, an associate’s degree or a four year university program. KGSA continues to facilitate the holistic education of around 130 girls every year, and hopes to expand the dormitory to allow all of them to reside there.

Global Girl Media (USA, CA)

Ajianna Covington, a 26-year-old dynamo, is at the forefront of Girl Girl Media's innovative approach, infusing lived experiences into the organization's internal leadership. Based in Los Angeles, she serves as the Program Director, overseeing the "Activista" project and coordinating a media-intensive training program for the upcoming summer. Ajianna, a Global Girl Media member since 2017, holds a degree in journalism and Public Relations from California State University, Long Beach. A first-generation college graduate, Ajianna's personal journey mirrors her dedication to overcoming challenges. Inspired by her passion for journalism, she tirelessly refines her skills to make a positive impact in her community. Ajianna's role as Program Director is a testament to her leadership and vision, further underscored by her five years of mentoring within GGM and her pivotal contributions to internal and external communications. In addition to her work with GGM, Ajianna collaborates with notable media outlets like HubWave Media, WeRise, Bastion Elevate, and the Equal Rights Association. Her adept navigation of the media landscape as a Public Relations Assistant reflects her success. Ajianna's story not only showcases personal resilience but also exemplifies the transformative impact of programs like GGM, providing a platform for growth, mentorship, and positive change.

Actitud Resiliente (Colombia)

Alejandro Gutierrez is the director of Actitud Resiliente. He was born in Caracas, Venezuela and is the son of Colombian migrants. Alejandro studied education, as well as administration in tourism. He has worked as a coordinator of youth pastoral programs in the town of Agua de Dios, the largest hospital for people with leprosy in South America. He then returned to Venezuela and worked at the Ministry of the Community of the Dominican Sisters of Santo Domingo where he founded youth groups to support young people in high-risk situations. In 2018, Alejandro was declared "persona non grata" by the Venezuelan government for providing humanitarian aid to migrants in Colombia, which prohibited him from returning to Venezuela. This forced him to become even stronger and focus even more on his work with youth - only this time, he would do it from the border between Colombia and Venezuela.

Hode Educational and Social Services Organization (Afghanistan)

Born to illiterate parents, Attal was encouraged to pursue his education. His mother also helped him see the value in sharing his knowledge with others and motivated him to establish the first school for girls in their rural valley when he was just 14. Teaching and continuing his own education, Attal graduated from high school and went on to study at Kabul Education University earning a Bachelor’s Degree in English Language and Literature. He is a United Nations’ Youth Courage Awardee, a World at School Ambassador, and a Fulbright Scholar alumni. He was also selected as one of twelve emerging leaders in Asia by the Asia Foundation Development Program. Upon returning to Afghanistan, he resumed working for the International Labor Organization as a National Expert on Jobs Policy/Decent Work and founded a nonprofit organization for promoting girls education in rural Afghanistan, Hode Educational and Social Services Organization (HESSO). Attal had to temporarily leave Afghanistan in June 2021 to guarantee his safety as the Taliban advanced and took over the national government. He is currently residing in the U.S. as a 2021 Echidna Global Scholar with Brookings Institution, as he and HESSO coordinate with implementing partners on the ground in Afghanistan (Pen Path Civil Society) to deliver critical education supplies, food and water, salaries to female teachers and other necessities.

Time for Change (South Africa)

Barbara Hill began her outreach work in Johannesburg in the 1990s while working for a nonprofit to provide life skills training to disadvantaged individuals. The increasing number of requests from government institutions seeking assistance for street children and sex workers who wanted to be rehabilitated, had her at a loss. The organization she worked for didn’t offer programs for these individuals, and she was unable to find another organization assisting this population. Feeling called to address this gap, she left her job and founded Time for Change in 2004 with a vision to alleviate the plight of street children and sex workers. She believed strongly that the key to helping these individuals transform their lives was through gainful employment – and time has proved her right. Time for Change began by establishing a bakery where former sex workers could gain vocational training and employment. The bakery was so successful that they were able to expand, opening more bakeries and extending their programs to include educational support, vocational training, and temporary housing to sex workers and street children desiring to change their lives. Since 2004, Time for Change has successful assisted more than 1,000 sex workers and street children to continue their education and/or find gainful employment. In addition to now running 5 bakeries, other successful programs include a sewing co-operative and a nursing assistance program.

Stepping Forward LA (USA)

Through her tenacity, sense of creativity and a commitment to collaboration, Beth Ryan has been empowering young adults since she first moved to Los Angeles in 2003. With a Bachelor of Science in Journalism, a minor in Public Relations from Northeastern University, a certificate in Administration and Management from Harvard University, and a Master’s Degree in Applied Community Psychology focusing on foster youth emancipating from the foster care system from Antioch University, Beth's lifelong passion has been serving her local community. Whether in Pennsylvania, Boston or Los Angeles, she has found a way to utilize her community-building skills to tackle the most prevalent problems addressing her neighbors. Prior to working with former foster youth, Beth was Senior Vice President of the Los Angeles Police Foundation. She was responsible for budgeting, grant management, evaluation and reporting, staffing of the board audit, program and finance committees, overseeing the annual audit and setting up all internal controls as well as the day-to-day office operations. Before her role at the Los Angeles Police Foundation, she partnered with the Los Angeles Police Department to create a youth program in the summer of 2006, after three youth were shot and killed by gang activity in her community. Beth collaborated with key players from the community – Captains and officers from LAPD, the Principal and Deans from Hamilton High School, City Councilmembers, School Board Members, Neighborhood Prosecutors, Park Directors, Neighborhood Councils and Councilmembers, local homeowners, neighborhood associations and community members. This program earned Beth awards and commendations from city, state and federal officials. Her program was responsible for transforming an entire community and reducing violent crime by 80%. Currently, Beth uses that same tenacity, collaboration and creativity in her work with foster youth. She connects the young adults to a community of mentors, offers hands-on employment training through an internship and connects them to a variety of resources. Most importantly, she is committed to giving foster youth a sense of belonging and providing them with the tools they need to accomplish their goals. Beth's focus for the future is to continue to expand programs that have a direct and immediate impact on foster youth. She plans to accomplish this by creating leadership programs for the youth to continue to build their skills and to give back to those still in care. Her ultimate goal is to ensure that no foster youth feels alone or abandoned and has everything they need to be successful.

EmpowHer Institute (USA)

EmpowHer Institute founder and Executive Director, Ms. Betty LaMarr, is dedicated to serving girls and young women in underserved communities in Los Angeles and surrounding areas. Betty moved to the Los Angeles area as a young girl and experienced first-hand the challenges of growing up in an underserved community. Betty was a teen mom herself but refused to let that prevent her from reaching her full potential. Despite the odds Betty graduated from high school, earned a BA in Business Administration from California State University at Los Angeles and an MBA from Pepperdine University, and had a successful corporate career. Upon founding EmpowHer Institute, Betty devoted herself to enriching the lives of teen girls, many of whom face the same challenges she faced growing up. When Betty learned of the dropout epidemic among minority girls, a staggering 50 percent dropout rate, she was compelled to do something about it. With a vison of eradicating the dropout epidemic, especially among low-income and minority girls, Betty spearheaded the development of the EmpowHer Girls Academy, a gender-specific intervention program that provides mentorship and life skills development to teen girls. Delivering the program to students attending Title I schools in our city’s most underserved communities, EmpowHer Institute reaches those most vulnerable and in need of support. Since 2003, EmpowHer Institute’s programs have served more than 3,500 teen girls, providing them the education, training, mentorship and support needed to stay engaged in school, graduate and seek fulfilling lives. Betty has been the driving force behind all of EmpowHer Institute’s efforts. Guided by the principle “to whom much is given, much is expected,” Betty continues to lead efforts to increase awareness of dropout, the impact and importance of mentorship, and need for programs, like EmpowHer Institute, that support girls to thrive and reach their fullest potential. Betty regularly speaks at events and conferences, such as Mount Saint Mary’s University’s Women’s Leadership Conference. She works with principals and school administrators to change the school culture so that there is greater emphasis on developing the whole child, not just academically, and using social and emotional learning to combat the underlying causes of dropout. To that end, Betty has spoken on the matter at school site Board meetings and charter school partners’ charter recertification. Betty is committed to seeing EmpowHer Institute expand its programs to more cities throughout the state of California and to other states. She plans on implanting a chapter model for program expansion. Sustained expansion will enable EmpowHer Institute to serve more girls and provide them with the knowledge, skills, mentorship and support needed to keep them engaged in school and on track to graduate.

Conscious Youth Global Network (USA)

Bikbaye Inejnema must have a business card with extremely small print! He’s a cultural activist, writer, teacher, spiritual counselor, traditional healer, public speaker, and spoken word and rap artist. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Sociology with over ten years of experience in social work, case management, youth counseling, writing and teaching. He works as a ATOD (alcohol, tobacco & other drugs) Prevention Specialist at Avalon Carter Community Center, a Cultural Humility facilitator/trainer for Homeless Healthcare Los Angeles, Art Director for City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, and is the Executive Director of Conscious Youth Global Network. In addition, Bikbaye also directs an after school Leadership Development Program at Tom Bradley Elementary School in South Los Angeles. Bikbaye founded Conscious Youth Global Network (CYGN) in 2013, after a colleague’s son tragically took his own life at the age of 16. The boy, an aspiring hip hop artist, had struggled with being biracial in an all-white community. Bikbaye strives to utilize art to equip youth with the skills to become positive, productive citizens. Focusing on diverse topics ranging from leadership development to financial literacy to health and nutrition, Bikbaye gives youth the tools they need to create empowered and enlightened content. As Bikbaye says, “The goal is to flood airwaves, the media, everywhere with enlightened art.” In addition to working with young artists, Bikbaye is committed to being a strong role model for adolescent males in his community and ensuring that any youth lacking a strong male role model obtains the support and wisdom to transition into adulthood.

Freedom 4 Youth (USA)

Billi Jo Starr, M.A. is a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, and received her Bachelors degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). She graduated Magna Cum Laude in Sociology with honors and distinction. She also received her Masters degree in Education from UCSB and is now in the final stages of obtaining her Ph.D. in Education at UCSB. Billi Jo’s research emphasis is in Special Education, specifically supporting children who have emotional and behavioral challenges and are in alternative education settings. Billi Jo’s focus is to evaluate and develop effective interventions that empower youth in alternative education settings. She has presented her findings at the Teacher and Educators of Children with Emotional Behavioral Disorders Annual Conference and received awards such as the Gervitz Graduate School Special Education Fellowship. Through the Santa Barbara Superior Court, Judge Arthur Garcia, has appointed Billi Jo as Commissioner for the Santa Barbara County Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Commission. For the last decade Billi Jo has developed curriculum, facilitated programing, and directly served 2000+ youth at Los Prietos Boys Camp (a secure-care detention facility in Santa Barbara County) as well as, youth on probation countywide. She also co-founded a nonprofit ‘Freedom 4 Youth’ (F4Y) to empower youth during their confinement and support them upon release. In addition to her community activism Billi Jo is a Women’s Economic Ventures graduate with a background in business. She previously owned and operated a catering business for over a decade in Santa Barbara. Billi Jo shares her business expertise through the various classes she teaches and develops through the Career Skills Institute at Santa Barbara City College.

Gabriella Centre (Tanzania)

Brenda Shuma is a Senior Pediatric Occupational Therapist and Co-Founder and Director of the Gabriella Centre in Moshi, Tanzania. Brenda has been working with children with disabilities for many years. While working with the YWCA Children Rehabilitation Centre, she designed and ran one of the first “therapeutic weeks for special needs children” in Tanzania. As part of her work she visited schools and assessed special education classes. Brenda saw clearly that the special needs of children with disabilities were not being met in the classroom or in the community. She felt that children with autism and learning disabilities were not given an opportunity for therapy and that more had to be done for them. Brenda quit her job at YWCA and together, with a few other therapists, opened the Gabriella Centre. Their mission is to provide opportunities for early assessment and intervention to children and young adults in Kilimanjaro. She wants disabled children throughout Tanzania to know that there is hope, they are capable, and they can have a brighter future. In 2015, Brenda received a CHILD 10 Award which recognized her efforts to fight for the basic rights of disabled children. Since 2009, Gabriella Children Rehabilitation Centre has worked to support children and youth with disabilities. It is truly amazing how much Brenda has accomplished in such a short period of time. Without any government funding, Brenda and her husband worked relentlessly, visiting various communities to raise awareness about the centre and the potential of children with disabilities. Starting out with only three children, the centre has now expanded to reach 2,584 children and counting! Gabriella Centre offers an integrated kindergarten class for children with and without disabilities, a boarding school, parent support groups, and intensive therapy weeks (where children will stay at the Centre with their parents for a week). They focus on providing the children with valuable skills, such as cooking, craft making, gardening, and caring for animals. These are skills that they can bring back to their communities, and use as a source of income for the future.

Good City Mentors (USA)

Brian Larrabee attended Southern New Hampshire University where he graduated Summa Cum Laude and was the business student of the year. He was the school’s first ever NCAA Academic All-American and signed a professional basketball contract to play in Porto, Portugal. After retiring from playing basketball, Brian started working for Televere Systems where he became the highest grossing and youngest National Sales Rep in company history. Brian then had a short stint in acting, landing over 10 national commercials. Though he had success in every field he worked in, Brian was still longing to use his talents to make a difference in the world doing something that he loved. Anyone who knows Brian will tell you he is the best relationship builder, so it's no surprise he found his calling when he walked in the doors of a school that desperately needed some caring adults to pour into their students lives. Brian Larrabee is considered a leader in building strategic community partnerships for social good. His diverse background in the sports, entertainment, and business fields gives him incredible access to inspiring professionals who also want to make a difference in their community. He has connected brands such as Netflix, Uninterrupted, Matte Black, Capital Group, etc. with local underserved high schools, creating a mentoring movement across Los Angeles. Brian resides in Mar Vista, CA with his wife and baby boy, Camden. He founded Good City Mentors in 2015. He was asked to give a motivational speech to students at a charter school serving at-risk teenagers in Crenshaw, California. His eyes were opened to young students in a challenging environment, who lacked access to opportunities they needed to succeed. After speaking with their English teacher, Ricky Williams, Brian decided the most powerful way to make a difference for students would be to fill a gap in their lives with caring adults. A week later he brought 35 inspiring friends into the school and began what is now Good City Mentors.

SAKALA (Haiti)

Daniel seeks to promote civic responsibility and peace for the youth through sports, education, and mentorship. Daniel Tillias is the Executive Director of Pax Christi Ayiti – SAKALA. He is a peace worker, community organizer, and human rights advocate. He was born and raised in Cite Soleil­­ Haiti’s biggest slum. Growing up he had a chance to see various forms of violence from the gangs, the Duvalier dictatorship, the repression of the military and paramilitaries, the blind operations of the police and the UN forces. He graduated from law school with a strong desire to utilize his professional skills to promote justice for the Haitian people. He was frustrated by the judicial system because and felt it was not going enough to improve people’s lives. He left his position and became the Executive Director of Pax Christi Port au Prince. In 2010, he founded the Community Center for Peace and Alternatives (SAKALA). SAKALA seeks to encourage peace building work in Haiti through sports. Through its programs, SAKALA has educated 1600 children on peacebuilding and none of its alumni have joined gangs. Many have continued on to university after graduating high school. The most successful of SAKALA’s programs are its sports programs where teams have earned Fair Play Awards at local tournaments.

Voice for Humanity Uganda (Uganda)

David Elungat is the Founder and Executive Director of Voice for Humanity Uganda, formed in 2015 to provide opportunities for women and children (particularly in the Adjumani refugee settlement in northern Uganda) to live healthy, dignified lives free from hunger, disease, and abuse. David is from the Iteso tribe of Eastern Uganda. He was orphaned at a young age and experienced homelessness, extreme poverty, depression and substance abuse. After being taking in by a widow, he was motivated to start an NGO that would meet the physical and emotional needs of children, especially orphaned and displaced children, as well as single mothers, widows and other women. His dream is to see Voice for Humanity Uganda grow and reach out to millions of vulnerable children and women who are less privileged, and give them the tools, skills, and resources they need to live meaningful and dignified lives.

Team GRS (USA)

DeAndré Austin grew up in Compton, California. During his childhood, he was exposed to the streets, a life where drugs and violence are part of the fabric of society. Because of the positive influence of family and mentors, however, he used sports as a way out. DeAndré played Division 1 basketball at Fresno State under the legendary coach Jerry Tarkanian, and later played professional basketball in Central and South America. Through playing basketball Austin learned that being coachable, having a strong work ethic, being able to work in a team, having good sportsmanship, and setting goals are transferable characteristics to the corporate world. He realized that the countless hours he spent practicing his basketball skills in the gym had inadvertently prepared him to become a successful entrepreneur. He utilized these experiences to develop the Gym Rat Squad curriculum and he seeks to help other vulnerable youth make positive life choices.

Lincoln Heights Tutorial Program (USA)

Dennis Ortega, the Executive Director, is the Founder of LHTP. Dennis Ortega was born in East Los Angeles, where his father had been raised. His father moved his family away where he had been raised, in the attempt to give his children a better chance at life away from all the gangs and crime. After Dennis graduated from college, Dennis felt called to return to his community and ensure that other children had the same opportunities that he had. Getting to know the urban context led Dennis to the understanding that the deepest issues concerning these communities are youth related - gangs, violence, crime, drugs, teen pregnancies, etc., and that the healing and forward progress of the inner city would come from raising up children with new direction, through education and college preparation. This was well before it became common place for organizations to have after school tutoring. The vision was to undermine the pipeline of children into gangs, by getting them excited about school in their younger years, and changing the direction of their lives to not want to be a part of the gangs and their effects, when they became of age. At the same time, by working with the local gang, those influences would also change as they left that life. It was the JYC youth club that was designed to help change the lives of the gang youth, and bring them to better places in life. Dennis worked for the County of Los Angeles as an Engineer during the day, and then ran the tutoring program and youth clubs in the afternoon. Once LHTP was incorporated as its own non profit 501(c)(3), Dennis was able to direct LHTP full time, hire staff, and began to hire key youth from the youth clubs to become the tutors and staff, instead of importing non inner-city staff from the college campuses. This helped fulfill the vision of raising up new role models from the community, that would also give back their knowledge to the next generation of children, while also acquiring the job skills and resume build. LHTP grew from the first 2 classes of tutoring children, serving 20 students back in 1985, to now serving 1,110 children and teens, and through multiple sites, locations, and programs. Throughout the years, they’ve developed an extensive leadership training program, and a workforce training program that is fully integrated into their tutoring and youth club sites, all to assist their youth to prepare for college and careers. They also added a Summer Day Program to assist their families in providing enriching activities while school is not in session and added nutrition and wellness components to deal with the obesity issue of inner city life. LHTP’s goal is to continue to develop programs that serve their children, teens, and parents, to assist with the new issues that they face in each new decade.

Generation Her (USA)

Dianna Smiley, Founder and Executive Director of Generation Her, first felt the pull to work with teen moms when she was just a teenager herself. One of her best friends found herself pregnant and Dianna witnessed how her life changed instantly. There were many people who were quick to judge her friend’s circumstances. At the time she wasn’t sure how to respond but after working as youth pastor, it became evident that she could have a direct impact. She started by developing a curriculum that would provide young mothers with the tools needed to raise healthy, happy babies while taking care of their own needs. This would soon evolve into a weekly class where she could shower the girls with gifts, love and education. Young mothers and their babies loved coming to class each week. Many found hope in the classes Dianna taught, they found self-worth and a way to care for their own children. Dianna’s first class started in Los Angeles and soon grow to locations in Pasadena, Pomona, and Montebello. Each week Dianna lugs gifts, food, and necessities to meetings to give to the ladies. Each class is structured to teach topics of relevance to teen moms and partner them with mentors who help guide them as they learn self-care, set goals and raise their children. Since the inception of Generation Her, 700 young ladies have benefitted from the program. 97% of mom’s who regularly participate in weekly classes have graduated from high school. Dianna Smiley is a Southern California native. She is a graduate from Biola University and is a wife and mother to two children of her own. She was recently recognized as the “She Shifts Culture Woman of 2018”.

Recycled Orchestra (Paraguay)

“The world gives us trash, we give them back music!” – Favio Chávez, Director

A true visionary, Favio takes the world’s trash and gives back music, and demonstrates that despite extreme poverty, one can transform a community and inspire the world. Favio’s mission is to transform the lives of the children of Cateura through music and motivate public action to address global issues of extreme poverty. While working as an ecological technician at the Cateura Landfill, the largest garbage dump of Paraguay’s capital Asunción, Favio Chávez got to know and befriended some of the 2,500 impoverished families who lived at the garbage dump working as recyclers. Witnessing the rampant illiteracy, extreme poverty, pollution and surrounding culture of drugs and gangs, Chávez became acutely aware that the children needed something positive in their lives – something to keep them out of the landfill and striving for something more. Favio, having previously been a music teacher, decided to share his love of music with the children, and he began teaching music lessons using the handful of personal instruments he owned. He quickly realized there weren’t enough instruments for all the eager students wanting to learn. With help from one of the trash pickers, he started experimenting with making instruments with the given resources. Using scraps of dirty oil cans, jars, wood, forks and other junk in the Cateura landfill, the instruments began to take shape and become finely tuned musical instruments - violins, flutes, cellos, drums…all made from trash. From this ingenuity, the “Recycled Orchestra” was formed with the local children as its members learning and performing Bach, Mozart and Beethoven. By taking the world’s trash and giving back music, Favio aims to not only raise public awareness of a global issue but also demonstrate that despite extreme poverty, students can become contributing members of the community. The orchestra has breathed new life into the community and is providing the children with new opportunities for a future they never imagined possible. Favio and his students were featured on 60 Minutes on CBS in a documentary called, "The Recyclers: From Trash Comes Triumph" and in the film "Landfill Harmonic."

Lumumba Children's Library (DRC)

Fidel Bafilemba was a former militia member turned peace activist. He embodies courage as he challenges corruption and violence in his home country. Through the Lumumba Children's Library and Learning Center, Fidel hopes for a better future for the Congo, one in which the citizens have access to educatIon.

Transforming Community for Social Change

(Kenya)

Getry Agizah Anguva was born in Western Kenya in the Kakamega County. She was the 7th child born to her parents, but her father was a polygamist with two other wives (her mother was the 3rd wife). Her father died when she was 8-years old and her stepbrother sold their property, leaving her mother to struggle to care for her and her siblings. These early years of struggle shaped Getry and helps her to see the suffering of those around her. Now, the parent of 2 biological children and one adopted daughter, she is compelled to help other children born into difficult marriages.

Dragon Kim Foundation (USA)

Grace Kim is a marketing executive with experience building exceptional brands in the Tech, Consumer Products, and Education space. Grace has more than 15 years of leadership experience at companies such as Allergan, ConAgra, Yahoo!, and a proven track record of building and leading successful teams to drive big results. Her experience includes managing teams of 25+, budgets of $40MM, and responsibility for $500MM brands. Grace holds an MBA from Stanford's Graduate School of Business and a BA in Economics from Harvard University. Grace and her husband started the foundation as a tribute to their son Dragon Kim, a bright and talented teenager. Dragon died tragically during a family camping trip when a tree branch fell on his tent in the middle of the night. The branch killed Dragon and one of his friends. Dragon believed all kids deserved opportunities to grow and learn and strived to serve his community by helping give others the access to a bright future. The ultimate goal of the Dragon Kim Foundation is to carry on Dragon’s legacy of sharing his passions of academics, arts, and athletics with those around him, particularly youth who would otherwise not have access to such programs. At the Dragon Kim Foundation, they believe we are each most effective when we are engaged and excited and pursuing and sharing our passions. They believe not only in the power of ideas, but in the magic of taking action. They also believe the path to a better world is grounded in service and helping one another. Their biggest accomplishment has been the tremendous growth of their programs since their launch in 2015. During the Music Program’s inaugural year at the Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) in 2016, they served 65 low-income children from elementary schools throughout Santa Ana and provided music mentorship opportunities to 30 high school students. Today, the Music Program serves 110 low-income elementary-aged children annually, as well as engages over 40 high school students to serve as music mentors.

KIWOCE (Tanzania)

Grace Lyimo, “Mama Grace”, is the founder and coordinator of Kilimahewa Women and Orphan Center for Education (KIWOCE). Mama Grace is a trained nurse, community health worker and former Peace Corps staff. KIWOCE’s is dedicated to improving the living conditions of the disadvantaged, the disabled, and the impoverished in Tanzania. Grace is dedicated to improving the living conditions of the disadvantaged, the disabled, and the impoverished in Tanzania. Local Hero Grace Lyimo is known as “Mama Grace” in the village of Kilimahewa, Tanzania. A trained nurse, community health worker and former Peace Corps staff, Mama Grace is a longtime advocate for impoverished families and those struggling with disabilities in Kilimahewa and the surrounding villages. She is the founder and coordinator of Kilimahewa Women and Orphan Center for Education (KIWOCE). In an effort to address the alcoholism, TB, malaria and a lack of educational opportunities in the area, she created KIWOCE with 16 women, who each contributed a small amount of money every week to help each other. Grace continues to spearhead KIWOCE and slowly achieve her dreams for the youth of Kilimahewa. In addition to providing economic opportunities for women, KIWOCE began schooling children in 2006 with the help of a volunteer teacher. The class started with two students and in less than a year, they had over 150 youth coming to their door eager to learn. With the help of GO Campaign, KIWOCE will now be educating 60 students ranging in age from 14 to 18 who are struggling to attend secondary school so that they can continue to learn and hopefully access post-secondary education. Additionally, the Center will provide career counseling to 50 teenagers who dropped out of secondary school.

SHERP (Kenya)

Grace Seneiya, a teacher and child rights activist, started Samburu Handicap Education and Rehabilitation Programme (SHERP) in 1999, to provide a home for these disabled children. She provides education, medical care, food, clothing, counseling, and a loving home to Kenyan children living with disabilities. Since ancient times, the Samburu people have been nomads, following their herds as they search for grazing land. Sadly, this nomadic life style is not conducive to the special care needed by children with disability. Disabled children are seen as a burden and are often abandoned and left to die at birth or in the best case, grow up locked inside and simply neglected. Grace Seneiya dedicates her life to providing disabled children with a nurturing home and the education and health services they need, while working within the community to dispel the stigma of being disabled. There are 156 handicapped or HIV children in her care -- all of whom desperately need help at this center. As you can imagine, many children are mentally as well as physically traumatized. Though Grace operates SHERP on a shoestring budget, the center is a clean and well-organized home where the children's abilities and confidence are being fostered. Grace is indeed a champion of change for her community and the world.

Avalon Carver (USA)

Jamico Elder was born and raised in Watts during the crack epidemic that ravaged South Los Angeles. Although Jamico had given up on life and had repeated two grades in school, he was fortunate to have a supportive family and participate in a mentorship program for young men. When he did not believe in himself, others did! Without mentorship, Jamico would have fallen into the violence that continues to plague South Los Angeles. He excelled academically, graduating summa cum laude earning degrees from Tuskegee University and Harvard University. He returned to Watts and became a teacher at Markham Middle School and Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall. Jamico taught in Bedford Stuyvesant and Roxbury as well. He has always developed after-school and mentoring programs for young people from infancy to college. As Jamico would say “from the cradle to calculus.” He went on to bring a STEM education program to students across LAUSD. Due to his efforts, partnering schools have seen dramatic increases in students’ math and science scores. In 2016, Jamico became the Executive Director of Avalon Carver Community Center. Under his leadership, the organization has doubled its size and expanded programs to include an on-site YouthBuild High School, 150-bed transitional age youth shelter, and prevention and education programs reaching vulnerable youth across Los Angeles County. Jamico is committed to ensuring that youth growing up in South Los Angeles have the same opportunities he did.

Future Ties (USA)

Jennifer O. Maddox, born in Chicago and was raised on the south side. Jennifer graduated from Corliss High School. She received a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice at the University of Illinois, Circle Campus. She earned her M.B.A. from St. Xavier University, and Jennifer is currently enrolled at Lewis University pursuing an ED.D, in education focused on early childhood development. Jennifer is an alumna fellow with the University of Chicago Civic Leadership Academy and the Erikson Institute Early Childhood Leadership Academy. With 23 years of service with the Chicago Police department and currently working in the former Office of Community Affairs (now Office of Restorative Justice Strategies), she fights to educate, protect, and serve communities. Jennifer is a single mother of two African American males, and a new grandmother to a beautiful grandson, Caden. Jennifer knows and understands the struggle parents face trying to protect and parent our youth, this is why she strives to make our community better and a safer place to live. This passionate conviction is why she founded, Future Ties NFP. In 2011, Jennifer incorporated a 501c(3) non-for-profit organization that provides afterschool and summer programs. Future Ties provides a safe place where our youth can come aand experience love, support, and protection from the trauma and violence they face daily. Future Ties also trains parents, as well as the youth (teens) of the Woodlawn community, (primarily residents of Parkway Gardens Apartments) with workforce development skills needed to be competitive in the workforce. Jennifer, through Future Ties, meets the needs of the community. Jennifer was nominated and received honors nationally as one of CNN's top ten Heroes for 2017 and A Woman of Worth (L’Oreal) 2018. She also has been acknowledged as "someone you should know" by ABC 7 and has been featured on many media outlets including The Today Show and Good Housekeeping. Jennifer received a Humanitarian honor from the Anti-defamation league. Jennifer was nominated and awarded as one of Chicago's 20 most inspiring Chicagoans. Jennifer decided to answer the call to serve the community of the 20th Ward, she has launched her candidacy for 20th Ward Alderman. On February 26, 2019, the election was not in her favor but the community will shine brighter because Jennifer continues to fight, serve and have hope for all communities.

Rosedale Freedom Project (USA, MS)

Jeremiah Smith is the co-founder and Executive Director for the Rosedale Freedom Project. Originally from Virginia, Mr. Smith travelled to the Mississippi Delta with Teach for America in 2012. Working as an English Teacher at the High School in Rosedale and inspired by the work of the Sunflower County Freedom Project, Mr. Smith became convinced that, if given the right opportunities, students in Rosedale could compete with students from America's most prestigious schools. In that spirit, he worked for two years as the Director of Literacy Programming at the SCFP and worked to open the RCYC for its first Freedom Summer program in 2015. Mr. Smith is also currently working on his Master's degree at Delta State University as a member of the TFA Graduate Fellows program. In 2018, Mr. Smith was accepted as a Fellow with Voqal. Mr. Smith currently lives in Rosedale.

My Small Help (Peru)

Jessica started volunteering for MSH in 2012 after meeting the founder of the organization. Little by little she became more involved in the organization and eventually took charge of MSH Peru two years later. This was a big change for Jessica both personally and professionally, but she felt called to shoulder this responsibility and dream big. Jessica was born in Lima where people have a lot of opportunities in terms of education, resources, leisure activities, and a comfortable life. When she arrived in Ollantaytambo she was shocked by the difference in standard of living. The majority of Ollantaytambo residents are living in sub-standard conditions due to extreme poverty. Jessica felt moved to help them. Jessica’s greatest motivation is to give people, especially children, the opportunities that they do not have because of a physical disability, cultural hindrance, or other barriers that limit their access to basic rights.

Create Now (USA)

Jill worked for 25 years in the film industry as a Script Supervisor on international productions with famous actors and directors. She’s also a screenwriter. Two of her scripts were produced (Rigged with George Kennedy and Socrates with Ed Asner). After she taught a screenwriting workshop at a boys’ detention center, Jill discovered that many of these incarcerated teens were illiterate. Through her program, they learned how to read and write. Many wanted to go back to school and enter college. One gang leader even had loyalty tattoos removed from his neck and hand. The successes from a second screenwriting workshop that Jill taught to a different group of incarcerated teens equaled her first. Impressed with the results, a film producer at the American Film Institute gifted Jill with $5,000 to start a non-profit organization. She founded Create Now in 1996 and serves as the CEO. Jill was featured on NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams and CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360°. She was one of eight people in the U.S. selected to be in an exhibition at the Museum of Tolerance called “Everyday Heroes.” .Jill published a comprehensive book, Mentor Youth Now: A Guidebook for Transforming Young Lives, which is available on Amazon. She was hired as a consultant by the DCFS to train all foster group home and foster family agency providers with a workshop about how to use mentoring techniques as therapists, case managers, dorm supervisors, etc. Jill received excellent reviews for her presentations.

Los Patojos (Guatemala)

In 2003, when Juan Pablo Romero Fuentes was 20 years old began his work with a group of young people from different communities in Antigua Guatemala, mostly in a school and some educational centers; discovering his passion and vocation for the rest of his life: Education. That is when Juan Pablo organized different cultural and academic activities with children and youth groups. Education outside the classroom and the intention to create safe spaces to be and know, share and question are the first steps of Juan Pablo's permanent self-formation. In 2006 he receives several children from his colony with learning problems and family disintegration. This is how on September 8 Los Patojos is founded. In 2007 it receives many more children and young people with the same characteristics, but with the willingness to change to improve their quality of life and that of the other participants. In 2014 Juan Pablo was nominated as one of the 10 Heroes worldwide by the CNN Heroes television network, This award gave Juan Pablo and Los Patojos school the opportunity to be recognized as an example of positive social and academic change. Currently Juan Pablo has been invited to give lectures internationally regarding the alternative education processes of El Patojismo. In these lectures Juan Pablo is promoting a future of integral social processes which when realized will bring dignity and hope to the lives of thousands of children and youth in Guatemala.

Root Down LA (USA)

Karen Ramirez was actaully apart of the first group of youth who joined RootDown LA in 2010. Motivated to give back to her community, Karen went on to college to study psychology and returned Fall of 2010 to be youth volunteer with RootDown LA. From there, she worked her way up to Program Director. She now aspires to one day be the Executive Director for Root Down LA in the future. She is passionate about learning new skills and getting people to eat their veggies. “One reason I have stayed with RDLA since 2014 is that it is a place where you feel empowered to make a change in your community. And because it’s youth driven, it shows the youth that they can exceed their own expectations - they can look up to the staff and relate to them.”

Loving Hands (USA)

On a wall next to Kathy Wooten's kitchen in South Los Angeles are photos of her two oldest sons, Branden and Kejuan. The pictures are blown up to the size of posters, larger than life. The sons are dead, murdered months apart in gang-related violence in 2008. The gangs in South Los Angeles were established in the area long before her sons were born — and their pull is still very strong. Kathy is working to stop the violence and prevent more children from dying. She is a gang intervention worker and has started a grief and support group for families affected by the violence. She's seen over a hundred mothers like her, whose children have been injured or killed in shootings.

Elimu Fanaka (Kenya)

Kazi Mghendi is the Founder and Team Lead of Elimu Fanaka, a young organization in Kenya that provides functional libraries and technology for schools and vocational training and mentorship to youth. She has over 10 years of experience in humanitarianism, leadership training, social development, and microfinance. She previously worked at the impact investment organization Acumen managing its East Africa Fellows Program and Academy. She also worked at Ongoza Institute as Stakeholder Engagement Manager, managing relationships with investors, funders, donors, government institutions, partners, and entrepreneurs. Kazi is enthusiastic about improving education standards in public primary/elementary schools, including supporting the reformation of education policies and their implementation in rural communities. She views schools as centers for change and believes that education can be utilized as a tool that can bring positive transformation to underserved communities.

Aspen Strategy Center (USA)

Kevin Ward received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College, and his law degree from the University of California, Berkeley. He has since pursued a life-long fascination with how people learn – specifically, how to create lasting educational moments through experiential learning. Kevin was a teaching fellow at Harvard from 1998-2002. He also was a leading creative director in New York from 1980-2000, designing focused immersive experiential programs on leadership, innovation, and training for educational programs and companies such as Apple, IBM, AT&T, and other Fortune 500 companies. When Kevin moved to Aspen, Colorado, he started the Aspen Strategy Center with the guiding principle that science is an indispensable tool for understanding our world, becoming an informed citizen, and enriching people’s lives. Now, he is focused on introducing youth to STEM education and the opportunities that come with such an education. Since 2012, Aspen Strategy Center has been focused on science research, education, and outreach in order to bridge communities, universities, government, and NGOs together. Their goal is to inspire and innovate people around science and research for the betterment of humankind.

Our Lady of Loudes Parish (Tanzania)

Father Leopold's given name “Mushobozi” means “the one who enables”, and he has dedicated his life to servicing and enabling those in his community. After primary school, Father Leopold entered the Ntungamo Preparatory Seminary and later St. Charles Rwanga Katoke Seminary for studies. He continued on to a university education and later accepted a scholarship in 2008 to join the School of Theology and Ministry at Boston College in Massachusetts where he earned a Master’s Degree in Pastoral Ministry with a concentration on Church Management. He served for one year in the Archdiocese of Boston, and returned to his diocese in Tanzania. He is now the first pastor of the St. Josephine Bakhita Parish. He has great goals to make it a vibrant and thriving parish. ­Father Leopold continues to provide care to his community through spirituality as well as through the Parish’s services in the fields of education, health, environment, justice and peace, agriculture, women’s development, and relief services. The parish’s emphasis on protecting human rights has brought much-needed help and inspiration to - not only the parish - but the greater secular community as well.

Hospice Emanuel Loving Angels (South Africa)

Lydia du Pluesis, known to the community as Ria, was a staff member at the Potchefstroom Hospice until it closed in 2010. She lives in Potchefstroom and knew there was still a need for palliative care as well as a day care program for orphans, children of her terminally ill patients, and children with chronic illnesses such as HIV/AIDS. She started Hospice Emanuel Loving Angels in June 2010. In the day, she provides 90 children ages 0-5 with early childhood educational opportunities and a nutritious meal. In the evening, she provides home care for all her terminally ill patients. Her mission is to provide individuals and families facing serious illness, death, and grief with the best experience of humanity and to ensure that their lives are lived with dignity.

General Welfare Pratisthan (India)

In the Makwanpur District of Nepal, Local Hero Mahesh Bhattarai is fighting for the socioeconomic empowerment of women. After graduating with a degree in Economics from the University of Nepal, he started his own business making recycled paper. With its success, he expanded the company to three manufacturing factories in Nepal – all the while donating a portion of his profits to local NGOs who were working to solve problems in the community. Through his work, he met people from Bodyshop International who were interested in working with him to address social issues and sex trafficking in Nepal. With their support, Mahesh founded General Welfare Pratisthan (GWP) in 1993 to promote the socioeconomic empowerment of women. GWP works to educate the community about sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS, reduce the number of girls who are trafficked to neighboring countries like India, and provide girls with business education, mentoring and micro/small business loans. GWP programs have impacted over 13,000 youth and their families.

Pride in Truth (USA, CA)

Founder of Pride In Truth, Maria Casillas displays leadership and has extensive years of experience. Maria is formerly incarcerated, a single mother and 1st generation immigrant advocating for social justice rights. Maria has been working with the system/direct impacted by incarceration. Maria experienced the oppression of marginalized communities and witnessed the harmful effects of a farm-working family living in a farmworker’s community. Along with those challenges she has experienced the loss of loved ones due to gang and gun violence, causing Maria to learn to be on a survival mode instead of living. Maria had to endure the racism and challenges of being profiled as a brown immigrant female. The worst experience was losing her best friend Gilbert Braz due to gun violence in 1996. Life was never the same for Maria. She lived with anger, fear, resentment and loss and after many years Gilbert’s case went cold. After experiencing incarceration, loss of loved ones and now having two young adult sons, Maria took all her trauma and experience to empower youth. She followed her calling to become a leader in the communities of Los Angeles to help youth develop their leadership skills in a positive way. Maria followed her grief from the loss of Gilbert and transformed that pain into healing. She created a space, where just maybe if that space of intervention existed when she was growing up, Gilbert might have still been alive today. Maria continues his legacy and helps our youth today with The Braz Project which became live in January of 2023.

CleanSlate Inc. (USA)

Raised in a low-income neighborhood in Los Angeles County, Marianne Diaz was exposed to gang violence at a young age. During her teenage years, she became involved with gang culture and served time in jail. Since her release, Diaz has focused her full attention on preventing this cycle from happening to other children. She founded CleanSlate as an alternative method to orchestrating peace and healing individuals in communities like hers. By providing fair access to everything from violence recovery counseling and youth support groups to low-cost tattoo removal, Diaz is working to empower each person impacted by this violence by giving them individual care to heal. Her mission is to help former gang-affiliated youth take the final step in dissolving all their past gang ties. Since inception, several of CleanSlate’s youth members have enrolled in or graduated college; in addition, many of their clients previously involved in gang culture are now providing intervention services in their old communities. Over 500 children have been directly impacted by the program already, along with many adults who have had their gang-affiliated tattoos removed so as to secure gainful employment.

Cisarua Refugee Learning Center (Afghanistan)

Muzafar Ali is a former refugee from Afghanistan. Muzafar worked for the United Nations in Afghanistan. His roles included supporting the disbandment of illegal armed groups and promoting human rights. His work took him to remote areas of Afghanistan where he was overwhelmed by the beauty of the country and the people he encountered. He began to photograph them and became a well known photographer. His photos have been exhibited in Afghanistan, South Korea, USA, Canada, Holland and Australia. Later he was forced to leave Afghanistan and made his way to Indonesia, where he co-founded the first refugee-managed school in Indonesia, the Cisarua Refugee Learning Centre. Muzafar is passionate refugee advocate. He regularly speaks for and to refugees in Australia and internationally. His life as a refugee in Indonesia is featured in the recently released feature documentary, The Staging Post. He is currently living with his family in Adelaide, Australia, where he is a student at the University of South Australia and the Project Director at Cisarua Learning Ltd.

Let's Be Ready (Guatemala)

Born to an alcoholic mother and father, Nora Tun Bacajol’s early education was interrupted by her need to earn money to support herself and her three younger sisters. She went to work in a sweatshop, sewing at age 12. Four years later, through a scholarship program at the nonprofit Familias de Esperanza, Nora was able to complete her high school degree as a teacher by working during the week and going to school on the weekends. Nora had a dream to establish an educational and early childhood development center for her indigenous community. Many of the children in her village were not successful when they entered first-grade. The families in her village live on USD $2 per day. Children have never held a pencil, never been read to, and have parents that lack the skills and resources to help their children excel. Nora and other Guatemalans are concerned that between 25-40% of the children of rural Guatemala either repeat or drop-out of first-grade. The lack of success in first-grade has contributed to the high illiteracy rate--the highest in Central America. Nora started Pequeños Pero Listos to help children successfully transition into primary school.

WACN (Nepal)

When Prativa Subedi was a child, school was not an option for many Nepali girls. However, with the encouragement of her forward-thinking father, and despite societal limitations, Prativa completed high school and went on to earn a Masters of Arts in Economics degree from Tribhuvan University in Kathmandu. She took a job in the Women’s Development section of the government and was tasked with implementing community-based development programs for women in rural and urban areas. Through this experience, she was able to see first-hand the difficult conditions of poor women and children in rural areas. She started writing articles about the harsh realities she saw; her writings became instrumental in communicating the subordinate status of women in Nepal and in promoting social change. In 1991, Prativa was granted an Ashoka Fellowship for her innovative ideas. Sharing her experiences globally, she has helped raise awareness regarding the plight of women. In June 2000, she was chosen as one of six gender experts by the Ministry of Women and Social Welfare and was asked to prepare a report to be presented at a special session of the UN General Assembly. The Nepalese government has also nominated her to develop models in microfinance for the national policy committee. Prativa’s mission is to alleviate poverty by improving the socioeconomic status and self-development capacity of all disadvantaged people, especially women and girls. Through Women Awareness Centre Nepal (WACN), Prativa helps rural women start savings and credit cooperatives, together with community-based development activities, to increase their social and economic power. At present WACN has registered and developed 41 women’s savings and credit groups, establishing a base of more than 30,000 women members. Together, these cooperatives have saved and invested over 300,000,000 Nepalese Rupees ($4 million).

KAVI (USA)

Dr. Gore is the Founder and Executive Director of the KAVI. He is an attending physician and clinical assistant professor at Kings County Hospital-SUNY Downstate Department of Emergency Medicine in Brooklyn, NY. He is also a TED Resident and shares his first-hand experience and insights on violence and its impact on communities. After finishing his undergraduate studies at Morehouse College in Atlanta, GA, he went on to the State University of New York at Buffalo for medical school. He completed his emergency medicine residency training at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, where he was Chief Resident. Dr. Gore was the Assistant Program Director for the Kings County-SUNY Downstate Emergency Medicine Residency Program for four years. Gore is the founder and director of the Minority Medical Student Emergency Medicine (MMSEM) Summer Fellowship, which is a mentoring and enrichment program for underrepresented minorities interested in Emergency Medicine with a focus on project development. Dr. Gore has lectured around the U.S, the Caribbean, and Asia and has worked in East Africa, Haiti and South America. Since 2008 he has been working as a consultant for Clinique Espérance et Vie in Terrier Rouge (Northern Haiti) and working towards establishing a regional health care system in the northern part of Haiti. He is on the board of directors for EMEDEX International, a non-profit organization dedicated to the global promotion and advancement of emergency medicine, disaster management and public health.

SOM Chess Academy (Uganda)

Robert Katende is the man behind the success of Ugandan chess champion, Phiona Mutesi. His story begins in a small town in Kiboga District, where his teenage mother had to place her son in the care of his grandmother. Uprooted by the Ugandan Bush War insurgency of those years, Robert and his grandmother eventually made their way to Kampala. Later, living in the slums of Nakulabye, he was taken in by two different aunties. Against all odds, he made it to Kyambogo University where he pursued a degree in civil engineering. It was there that he started volunteering with Sports Outreach. Two years later, in 2002, he began working for the organization full-time. He introduced and developed chess programs in the slums of Kampala and in the internally displaced people’s camps in Gulu, Northern Uganda, an area severely affected by Kony’s Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). He works to help youth attain the skills needed to become productive members of their communities. The impact of the chess program has now drawn international attention with the Disney film, Queen of Katwe, which depicts the life of Phiona Mutesi and her rise from the slums to become an international chess champion.

LA Room & Board (USA)

Born and raised in Detroit, MI, Sam is the 12th born of 14 children. After dropping out of high school and attending community college, Sam went on to earn his bachelor's degree at Central Michigan University, a master's degree from Fordham University, and his doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy from California State University, Northridge. With nearly 13 years of experience in higher education as a student affairs practitioner, most of his career has been built in Housing & Residential Education. Sam is passionate about fostering student success in the context of housing and has developed a keen sense of the critically important growth & development that occurs at the intersection of living in communities where students also learn.

Red Brigade Lucknow (India)

Usha was an education activist working to ensure that all children in India could access education and live with dignity. In 2006, she survived a rape attempt perpetrated by a coworker. It took her a year and a half to recover from this trauma and continue her activism. In 2010, while conducting a gender sensitization workshop with teenage girls, Usha discovered that most of the participants (53 out of 55) had been sexually assaulted in their own home by a family member or close relative. This fact shattered the belief that girls are safe at home. Usha started to organize with other victims and fight back. For Usha, the culture of silence and victim blaming was even more insidious than the sexual assaults. Usha started Red Brigade Lucknow with a few other girls. In the beginning, their focus was to raise awareness of the problems impacting girls and women through street dramas, gender sensitization workshops, good touch/bad touch workshops with children, and protests demanding rights and protection from their local government agencies. Today in addition to raising awareness, Red Brigade teaches martial arts and other self-defense techniques. They want to ensure that girls have the knowledge and ability to defend themselves. Since 2011, Red Brigade has trained over 70,000 girls/women in self-defense. Usha was awarded the Rani Laxmi Bai Award by the Government of Uttar Pradesh. She was also recognized as one of the 100 Women Achievers of India by the President of India in 2016.

Life and Hope Association (Cambodia)

Lorm was born in 1979 on the very day of the fall of the Khmer Rouge and overcame all the odds. Too poor to attend school, he joined the monastery in order to get an education. Through incredible perseverance, he finally achieved his dream of graduating high school at age 28. He went to work for LHA so he could help give back to others, and he quickly moved up the ranks and now leads LHA in their mission to help the poorest of the poor. He knows education changed his life and he wants every child in Cambodia to have the same opportunity.

Burgess Sports (United Kingdom)

Vernon Neve-Dunn founded the organization Burgess Sports. Vernon is a primary school teacher who has specialized in PE. He has been involved in sport in Southwark for many years. Twenty years ago, he founded the Southwark Tigers rugby club, the first inner-city rugby team in England. He founded the Burgess Sports charity to give youth access to all sports. Vernon runs the organization with his wife, Alejandra Teixido.

Kibra Green (Kenya)

Yakub Jaffar is a community organizer in Kibera, Kenya who co-founded the organization Kibra Green with his friends Alfred Ayaro and Guguni Nyabade. It was formed to address immediate environmental hazards in the community such as poor water sanitation and lack of proper waste disposal. In Kibera, there are many youth groups that do garbage collection, but they often collect and dump it improperly. Kibra Green brings together all these youth groups to work together in garbage collection and monthly clean ups in partnership with Nairobi County for proper disposal. Kibra Green is also working to expand a vocational training program for the youth to learn valuable welding skills.