I didn't have anybody, really, no foundation in life, so I had to make my own way. Always. From the start. I had to go out in the world and become strong, to discover my mission in life.

Well, I think the biggest pressure the youth of today is facing is to believe in themselves. To know that you are unique and that's what makes you beautiful. Stop comparing yourselves with others and let's talk about more important things that are happening worldwide. I think this is what you need to understand. Come out, speak for yourself, because you are the leader of your life. You are the voice of your own. I believed in myself and that's why I am standing here today.

I kept trying to tell people that just because I was young didn't mean I could speak for all young people.

a part of adolescence is feeling that there's no one else around who's enough like yourself to understand you.

There is a powerful force unleashed when young people resolve to make a change.

So, first of all, you’ve got to try to get people involved. And a lot of people are busy in their own lives or they don’t think it’s going to make a difference or they’re scared if they’re speaking out against authority. And many of the problems that we’re facing, like trying to create jobs or better opportunity or dealing with poverty or dealing with the environment, these are problems that have been going on for decades. And so, to think that somehow you’re going to change it in a day or a week, and then if it doesn’t happen you just give up, well, then you definitely won’t succeed. So the most important thing that I learned as a young person trying to bring about change is you have to be persistent, and you have to get more people involved, and you have to form relationships with different groups and different organizations. And you have to listen to people about what they’re feeling and what they’re concerned about, and build trust. And then, you have to try to find a small part of the problem and get success on that first, so that maybe from there you can start something else and make it bigger and make it bigger, until over time you are really making a difference in your community and in that problem. But you can’t be impatient. And the great thing about young people is they’re impatient. The biggest problem with young people is they’re impatient. It’s a strength, because it’s what makes you want to change things. But sometimes, you can be disappointed if change doesn’t happen right away and then you just give up. And you just have to stay with it and learn from your failures, as well as your successes.

Helping the younger generation brings joy to me because I’m just like every normal young person. I’m a person that discovered herself early in life. Thus, my NGO helps younger people to know what they want to do in life, to help them positively and being fulfilled doing it.

I really struggled to get clarity from my parents about who I am and, you know, ‘where I come from.

Poverty, I realized, wasn’t only a lack of financial resources; it was isolation from the kind of people who could help you make more of yourself.

I am passionate about youth development and as a person who has always been an activist, I’ve always been about seeing young people using their gift to empower themselves into bettering their lives to contribute to society.

If I am not able to do anything for the young people and women of my nation, my story and journey should be an encouragement and inspiration that regardless of your background, you can make it.

When I was young, my ambition was to be one of the people who made a difference in this world. My hope is to leave the world a little better for having been there.

It really motivated me to work harder because there was no one to take care of me except myself in the future, that was ... a motivator for me to have something to do with my life.

I have found it impossible to talk to anyone about my problems. I couldn't face the embarrassment, and anyway I lack the courage. Any courage I had was knocked out of me when I was young. But now, all of sudden I have a sort of desperate wish to tell everything to somebody.