Conor Grennan Brings Home the Lost Children of Nepal
Conor Grennan's journey to Nepal started because he wanted "a good pickup line" for the ladies. Little did he know his volunteer trip would turn into a calling. Conor volunteered at an orphanage in Nepal and quickly learned that most of the children were not actually orphans. During Nepal's civil war, the kids had been trafficked from their villages, hundreds of miles away.
When Doc Hendley learned that water kills more children than anything else, he knew he had to do something. "If nobody else is going to do something about this, I will," he said.
The bartender and musician went to Darfur to help bring water to rural communities reeling from the war and after this experience, he knew he needed to do more. Doc started Wine To Water—an organization that provides clean water systems to the "neediest and most marginalized crowds," including a leper colony outside of New Delhi, an orphanage in Peru and a men's prison in Ecuador.
(Photo: Wine to Water)
Brisa De Angulo Combats Child Sexual Abuse
With the Penn State scandal on the tip of everyone's tongue, the issue of child sexual abuse has been brought to the forefront. The problem, unfortunately, is global and many kids who suffer from this tragedy have nowhere to turn.
Bolivian Brisa De Angulo knows what this is like. She was sexually abused as a child and vowed to help other kids who have gone through the same ordeal. At 17, Brisa started Centro Una Brisa De Esperanza (CUBE), a center for victims of sexual abuse. She says, "I wanted to create a place where children could come and find someone who believed in them, listened to them, and who didn't blame them." At CUBE, kids have access to social workers, lawyers, therapy and volunteers who provide love and support.
(Photo: Brisa De Angulo)
Julio Mer Khamis Brings Art to Refugees in the West Bank
To many, Israeli Julio Mer Khamis was a hero. The filmmaker and peacemaker established the Freedom Theater in the West Bank for children living in the Jenin Refugee Camp. The cultural center was a safe haven for the children living in this area. Sadly, on April 4, 2011, Mer Khamis was assassinated in front of the theater. Despite having lost his life, his legacy lives on.
Nabil Al-Raee, the acting instructor and director at the Freedom Theater, says Mer Khamis taught the children "how to fight against the oppression and the Occupation. He was full of inspiration. He is a man that you will never meet again in your life."
(Photo: Reuters)
Ricochet Surfs With Disabled Kids
So the heroes of 2011 aren't all humans...
Ricochet has raised thousands of dollars for human and animal causes and surfs with kids with special needs and disabilities. This year, she won ASPCA's top prize—Hero Dog of the Year Award.
(Photo: Pawmazing Photography)
Eddie Canales Gives Hope to Paralyzed Athletes
The day Eddie Canales' son Chris suffered a paralyzing spinal cord injury was the day that both of their lives changed forever. Chris was injured on the football field and about a year after his injury, he and Eddie witnessed another player go through the same thing.
Soon after, Eddie and Chris started Gridiron Heroes, an organization that provides "information, inspiration, hope and financial support" to high school football players who have suffered a catastrophic accident. Eddie says, "We stopped asking why did something like this happen to us and we started asking where do we go from here? We answered that by helping families get through this ordeal, and by being a support system for these young men who've had this injury."
(Photo: CNN)
Mark Kabban Gives Iraqi Refugee Kids Hope
Many of the kids that Mark Kabban works with have lost one or both parents in the Iraq war. "As refugees," Mark says, "they’ve been through so many negative things together: they have this association of losing their country, losing everything they had, being unemployed and being in poverty, so they don’t really have many positive outlets to have together."
Mark changed that with YALLA, a healing youth soccer and education program that is bringing together refugee kids in San Diego, California.
(Photo: YALLA)
Mama Hill Keeps Kids Out of Gangs in South L.A.
Millicent “Mama” Hill was a teacher for 40 years in low-income communities throughout Los Angeles. She says, "On my 50th birthday, I started counting all the children I lost to gang violence, and it was 2,000." When she retired, she vowed to help 2,000 kids and over the last 10 years, she has helped 3,000.
At her home, she started Mama Hill’s Help, a learning center where she offers tutoring, counseling, job-skills training and gang intervention.
(Photo c/o Millicent Hill)
Ai-jen Poo Helps the Help
Ai-jen Poo has spent the past 15 years fighting to ensure that caretakers, nannies and housekeepers are recognized, treated fairly and paid appropriately. Serving as the director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, Ai-jen was instrumental in the landmark bill that many told her would be "impossible" to pass. The Domestic Workers Bill of Rights reforms New York State law to guarantee basic work standards and protections for domestic workers such as overtime pay and protection from harassment.
Ai-jen's fight doesn't end in New York. California is the next stop, and hopefully the rest of the country after that.
(Photo: Stephen Hurst)
Melony Samuels Fights Hunger in Brooklyn
Melony Samuels is the heroine behind the Bed Stuy Campaign Against Hunger. Each month she helps to meet the needs of over 10,000 New Yorkers. It's not always easy to keep her organization up and running, but the challenges, she says, are "worth it."
Melony's organization focuses on health, wellness, and hunger. They operate a supermarket-style pantry full of local fruits and veggies and Brooklyn's only community-focused urban garden, and they offer culinary classes and healthy living and eating education for people of all ages.
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