SHOWCASING ACTIVISTS & Changemakers AROUND THE WORLD

Growing up, I always had trouble finding my own clothes. They say “free size” but it ends with size 42/44 (EU)! The “plus-size” section always had the most boring clothes! I thought to myself “how many people face the same thing?” and I had to do something about it. Hence, my initiative - BOLD!

The stigma associated with congenital birth defects has long been present in this region and more specifically, here in Kenya. The result has been a flawed negative perception, and in some instances, sub-par humanization of the affected children. In our deliberations on how to address this status quo, The Bold One Out movement began.

The two years of teaching were the best years of my life. It made me learn so much about the stark realities of our society. I got sensitized to the stigma that existed against women. While the boys were sent to a private school, the girl was sent to a government school. Every day, I used to walk the girls back home after school. Every day, I met a person inside the house - the mother. I asked every mother one question - what dreams do you have for your girl child? Every mother had very blurry visions. They felt they could never fulfill their dreams growing up and had no voice, choice or power to dream for their girls. She felt financially dependent on the husband and saw her role limited to household chores. The society had made her believe that it is wrong for her to step out for herself to become independent. This triggered me to begin my journey with Khwaab.

I grew up in the streets of Soweto raised by a single parent (my mother). Growing up was never easy, but I was always determined to make my parents proud and to become someone that would someday inspire the kids in my community. I have always been a big dreamer and a visionary. I’ve always believed I was destined for greatness. I did not have it all as a child - it was a struggle as my mom was unemployed and we had zero income in our household. I used to wear torn school shoes, and when I started getting my period, my mom could not afford to buy me sanitary pads so I used clothes as a substitute so I could go to school and not miss my classes. That made me have low self-confidence as I could not play with my friends and enjoy school on those days, but not even that [experience] could get me to lose my focus, instead it propelled me to dream bigger. I made a vow to myself that I will help as many girls who are underprivileged, so they do not have to experience what I went through as a young girl.

Two years back, I founded my own social entrepreneurial venture known as the Play and Shine Foundation and set out to promote sports at a grassroots level. The education curriculum designed for underprivileged children as a part of the basic education program lacks a holistic approach, with a lack of emphasis on aspects such as skill development and engaging in sports. This motivated me to start the initiative, by which I can impart value sport education to children and encourage them to take up sports. Sports has the power to look beyond boundaries and discrimination, and to unite people to drive a positive social change in their local community.

I inspire and empower the voiceless and hopeless by sharing my mental health journey through storytelling, sparking conversations and raising awareness. I encourage those who have a voice to use it. I encourage you to use it for those who no longer have one, and for those still searching for theirs. I encourage you to no longer be ashamed of what you have been through; but be proud that you made it on the other side of victory! Be proud that the things that tried to kill you, you slayed them! Hold your head up high and shine on! Stand tall and raise your voice.

Growing up, I always wondered about the purpose of my existence, and how I could have a positive impact on the world. Seven years ago, I witnessed a neighbour brutally beating a helpless stray dog in broad daylight. Nobody else came forward to protect the animal. I became deeply affected by their apathy and the level of human cruelty. I wanted to help, so I did everything I could to rescue animals in my community. My experiences with overburdened, underfunded shelters made it clear that we need to fight for quality, accessible care for all beings, and inspired me to start #LivingForChange.

I am passionate about working with young people and women who strive to be better people through learning and sharing with others. I believe young people are today’s agents of change; hence, I have decided to take up any opportunity to create the change I want to see in my community, country, and Africa at-large.

We all need to be aware and have an understanding of our mental health & emotional well-being just like we are informed about the physical aspects of our lives. It is important to upgrade our emotional vocabulary to express ourselves better. I am seeking to streamline safe spaces, to infuse them with more understanding and open minds, with no room for judgment rather just love, support and inspiration for each other.

I’m a young Muslim woman with four law qualifications. I stopped practicing law because I was disenchanted with the system and how it robs people of financial investments, justice, and time. I had aspired to be a judge, however, my decision to live for change came when I realized that despite my law qualifications and practice, I still wasn’t making a major impact. In fact, I faced an ethical dilemma which I had to defend or lose my job. I didn’t want to be on the wrong side of justice. I wanted to help people and so I made the decision to quit law practice and actively pursue civic engagement in the non-profit sector.

I have been playing football and basketball in my school and club teams since childhood. During my training sessions, I noticed how some sports coaches had been promoting the notion that girls can’t play sports. I was very offended when the coaches used phrases like ‘you are a girl’, ‘you are playing like a girl,’ and those kinds of statements. I thought I need to demolish these differences between men and women.

I am fighting for Girl Child Education in Africa; that education be prioritized, with an emphasis on girls who are least likely to have access to learning and formal education due to poverty, geographical location, or long-held traditions that don't support learning for these girls. I am a first generation university graduate and my life is a testimonial that education is the key to unlocking a girl’s power; to equip her to actualize her dreams and aspirations as she contributes to societal development.

One of my major achievements was helping women and girls from a community get rid of their self-made barriers. I can happily and proudly say that I gave exposure to around 800 girls from the community who were stuck in those barriers. I made them - and their parents, realize that football can be played in any kind of clothing, even while wearing a hijab - all you need is your foot to play. Those girls are now into football! The schools in that locality have started their own girls’ football teams and they participate in various tournaments.

I got this idea one day when I was being driven to school. It was like any other day but it was rainy, kids were clutching their books and running to school and the reality of poverty and affluence living side-by-side hit me. If my books got wet, I would just get others, but these children didn't have that privilege. I wanted a way to give them some of the resources that I had readily available, so I started out just trying to give as much extra stationery and books as I had available.

After the blast of 4 August 2020, I founded an initiative called “Medonations“ and that’s where I started officially making change. We replaced the government by doing its role on the field. We went on the ground to help our people, afforded their medications, helped financially with the treatments, helped with the renovation process of the homes... and we are all a team of six ambitious dreamer girls, and I am the founder of this initiative. We were able, in two months of non-stop work, to change the lives of 350 families in Beirut that were affected by the explosion...

I come from Cameroon, where we have very talented children and it is unfortunate that most of our children suffer from low self esteem issues which affects their personal development and leads to failure to thrive syndrome, poor social skills, problems in school and being afraid to try new things. Being successful professionally at my young age, the only way to give back to my community was to use my creativity to add value to young boys and girls, to develop their self esteem and talent through creativity. My daughter’s self esteem issues was also a great motivating factor to [start doing something] through the Elevate Esteem program.

In my family, there is nobody who shares the same profession as me. I felt there was a need for a platform where you can get career guidance so I started my website. There is hardly anyone around to tell you which field is right and which is not. You are constantly in doubt because some things look lucrative and some jobs pay way better than others. Since I always missed a mentor, this inspired me to be a guiding light for others.

A dream of years, combined with a lot of personal experiences with many survivors and many women who faced injustice but chose to stay quiet, I decided that 2020 was the year of change. There were too many stories being unheard, too many women silently suffering, too many women who had lost their voices and were on the verge of giving up. Hence, I finally created Unstitched Women's Tapestry, as a means of change and a means of empowerment.

For at least 3-6 days every month, a young girl somewhere in rural Tanzania misses school. Lack of proper sanitary towels is a key hindrance to accessing quality education. I realized the challenges during one of my trips to Monduli (one of the rural areas) in Tanzania. And now, I have started manufacturing re-usable pads.

My focus on women was sparked because I was raised in a matriarchal family and went to a girls’ school. I resonate with this group of people. The impact has not only been a legacy-building initiative for me but has literally changed my life knowing that my organization is leaving young women and girls better off, in making subject choices, choosing alternative careers or starting and growing their own businesses.

I am fighting for women's rights, to give women the space to reach their development goals. I focus on women because when women are given the space they need and a platform to show what they have, they will definitely bring positive change in their communities.

I have witnessed family and friends battle the stigma and stereotypes associated with having mental illnesses or mental ill-health. Mental health is deemed a taboo topic - it is misunderstood and swept under the rug. These beliefs have thus created a hostile and unforgiving culture towards individuals that may suffer from mental ill-health.

My innovation, The Hadassah Project (Kenya), pushes for the cultivation of artistic gifts within children from families living below the poverty line, in order to provide them with an opportunity to earn a decent living (in the future) through these natural gifts…

I was very young when one of my teachers tried to violate me but when I spoke against that teacher not many people tried to listen to me. After I raised my voice [publicly], many other students began to speak up for themselves and at last, that teacher was punished.

After going for practice,  it got very evident for me that people are not even aware of simple mental health issues, which delays the process of recovery. That has given me the motivation to help provide awareness about mental health issues on a number of platforms.

I did several projects for NGOs where I started believing in self-sustaining projects. When I was in Ghana for an internship, I saw the many girls with few chances and the many opportunities available in Ghana…

I grew up in the deep rural of Polokwane in Moletjie Makgodu, Ramongwana. Kids in my area were abused day in and day out. I used to encounter a lot of them at school who would be bruised, raped by uncles but told to keep quiet about it.