Youth: Inspiring Stories

Gerson Andres Florez Perez.

At age 16, Gerson, a youth from Columbia was honored along with a group he did volunteer work for to win a Nobel Peace Prize. This award nomination came after he received a national Peace Prize for his work in helping the children of his country by working to stop the placement of personal landmines. These mines blew up when people walked on them and many children suffered as a result, losing their legs and arms to the blasts. Gerson worked with government officials by volunteering with an organization called The Children’s Movement for Peace. His volunteer work was to see buttons to raise money to support the organization as they worked with the government to stop the mines. Gerson is also a musician and he wrote a song that was sold called “Constructores de Paz”. All the money he earns from selling the song goes to helping young people who were hurt by the mines. Gerson’s dream is to attend the United World Colleges. Gerson is a young man who through simple volunteering and a lot of passion has made the world a better place for others and also improved his own life.

Maura Welch.

At age 16, Maura Welch from New York, began spreading awareness about the issue of child labor, and raising money to build schools and fund child labor rehabilitation centers. She started a New York chapter of Kids Can Free the Children, an international network of young people working to free children from poverty and exploitation. The organization helps to empower children to bring about positive social change to improve the lives of their peers. She has helped to open the door to education to impoverished and exploited children by raising funds to build schools in Latin America and Africa.

Kristianne from Toronto, Ontario.

Kristianne only has one arm and yet she is a champion gymnast and performs in dance. Unfortunately, as she was growing up, Kristianne got bullied a lot because she only had one arm. Rather than make her mad and negative, Kristianne decided to use her time to educate people about amputees. She doesn’t just think about herself or feel sorry for herself. Instead, she gives her time to help others. She is an example of how anyone can be a leader and anyone with the right attitude can be successful.

Ryan Hreljac

At the age of 19, is a voice for those impacted by the water crisis throughout the developing world. His story has inspired many of all ages to take responsibility for their world. Ryan’s first well was built at primary school in a northern Ugandan village. Ryan’s determination grew from the $70 collected by doing simple household chores to the Ryan’s Well Foundation that today has contributed to a total of 602 water and sanitation projects in 16 developing countries bringing access to clean water and sanitation to over 685,000 people. Ryanis recognized by UNICEF as a Global Youth Leader. His story shows how one person can make a big difference in the world.

Lenora Shiroka

From Kosovo, a war torn country, joined a group called the PostPessimists when she was 14 years old and became president two years later. One of the projects she has been involved with through the PostPessimist group is Children to Children, in cooperation with Children’s Aid. It is a project in which Leonora and other members of the group go to high schools and talk to young people about alcohol abuse, drug abuse, and family problems. Leonora organized the Golden Hands project, which gathered 25 children from the war-torn zone of Dernitza to participate in reading, writing, and storytelling workshops. Together this group of five- to twelve-year-olds produced theater performances, artwork on paper, computer workshops and concerts. It has been highly successful and offers these people a respite from the ravages of war that still surround them.