Stories of Change

VOL 2:

Youth Making a Difference

Interviews with Youth Venturers
Stories of Youths and their Ventures:
Interviews with Youth Venturers

What if everyone in the world took initiative to improve society? What if instead of looking to others for
leadership, everyone stepped up, addressed social challenges and led positive change? Ashoka believes
that the most impor tant contribution we can make to the world is to increase dramatically its number
of changemakers. As our world becomes smaller and global problems become bigger, we need changemakers
now more than ever..

Ashoka aims to inspire a billion people to become changemakers. Ashoka created Youth Venture to
provide the inspiration and investment for young people during their most formative years to have a
first experience of launching and leading civic ventures. Through this experience, young people learn that
they are powerful, and they will continue to take initiative and lead throughout their lives. Youth Venture
has enabled over 70,000 young people globally to take part in lasting youth‑led ventures to improve
society. Youth Venture endeavors to support many millions of young people in becoming changemakers,
who will inspire and enable countless others to do the same.

Ashoka is also demonstrating to every part of society the critical need for more changemakers. Ashoka
works closely with universities, corporations, civil society organizations, school systems and other
key players in society to help them realize their potential as places of changemakers, which increases
their competitiveness and ability to succeed. As leading institutions become invested in having more
changemakers they too will become stronger engines for improving society. Staples Inc. was the first
company to see the potential of Youth Venture’s work in cultivating changemakers. The Staples partnership
has paved the way for dozens of other companies to partner in this mission, including eBay, Starbucks,
Best Buy, Virgin, YPF, Nike, Knorr‑Bremse, Pepsi, JP Morgan Chase, and others. By shaping a generation of
changemakers, these companies together form the engine of transformation in our society to one where
everyone can and will solve our global needs.

This eBook offers the stories of ten young changemakers. We hope you are as inspired by their stories as
we and our par tners are.

STORIES OF CHANGE
Stories of Change is Ashoka’s electronic book series. Through these publications we will share the stories
of the changemakers in the Ashoka community: Fellows, Youth Venturers, staff and partners. People who
are producing system change solutions for social problems, inspiring innovation and creating an Everyone
A Changemaker™ world.

We hope you enjoy and share these stories. But most importantly, we hope these stories will inspire you
to continue creating change in your community.

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Table of Contents

Stories of Youths and their Ventures................................................................................................... 2

Shedding Light on Rural Innovation..................................................................................................... 4
Environmental Activism......................................................................................................................... 6
Swimming for Change........................................................................................................................... 8
Serving Iraqi Refugees.. .......................................................................................................................10
Empowering At‑Risk Youth Through Sport........................................................................................12
Building a Green Community.............................................................................................................14
Sexual and Reproductive Health Education......................................................................................16
Empowerment through Mentorship..................................................................................................18
Toilets for a Cleaner Environment and Improved Health...............................................................20
Connect with Ashoka.. ........................................................................................................................22

Writer : Jim Bach

Editing and Coordination: Tom Dawkins and Aliya Bhatia
Layout: Aliya Bhatia and Rachel Land
Contributors: Tia Johnston Brown, Tina Choi, Laura Rusnak, and Gretchen Zucker
Cover Photo: Kyle Taylor
All inter views were previously published at and are re‑printed with permission.

Attribution‑Noncommercial‑No Derivative Works

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 Shedding
Light on Rural
Innovation
Shailesh Upadhyay, founder
of the Tractor Factor in India,
grew up in a village without
electricity. He struggled to find
a way to study that avoided the
toxic fumes of kerosene lamps.
His solution used batteries from
tractors to light fluorescent bulbs. He has given the gift of light to the rest
of his village with the welcome additional benefit of extending the life of
their tractor batteries by three months.
Can you describe the design of your invention and where the idea came from? What was your
inspiration?
I am from a rural background and went to school in a village near Varanasi. I had a tough time while
studying due to the power crisis. Being asthmatic, inhaleing the toxic fumes of the kerosene lamp
worsened my health. Due to lack of resources, I had to drop out for a few years before joining college.
Like me, many rural students struggle to progress in spite of their intelligence and enthusiasm.

As they say, “necessity is the mother of invention,” and this experience gave me a great inspiration to devise
a solution. My experience in farming prompted me to think about utilizing the tractor battery as the power
source. I designed a circuit to tap into the tractor battery to power up one compact fluorescent lamp at
night, and implemented it successfully for my use. Later, when I started engineering studies, I discussed this
idea with Ujala Shanker, who was actively involved in rural activities. That marked the birth of this venture.
We both dreamed of scaling this to more homes and tried the solution on seventeen homes in Gurera
village near Varanasi. To our delight, we were able to help thirty students study longer hours and improve
their health due to reduction of pollution.

What have been the biggest obstacles in implementing your innovation and how did you
overcome those challenges?
Villagers thought that using the battery for lighting compact fluorescent lamps will eat up the battery
and reduce its life, and as a result, their tractors will be affected. On the contrary, tractor battery life is
increased by at least three months due to regular use of the battery. To convince the villagers, we gave them
demos of the device and asked a technician to come and explain the advantages in terms of better battery
life to villagers.

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Some villagers were also very concerned about safety while operating the gadget. They feared that they will
get a shock while plugging in the wires. Hence, we took some time in showing demos and practicals before
we could finally convince the people that the gadget operates under twelve volts DC which is safe for the
human body. This problem was especially faced while dealing with girls and women.

Our current plan is to implement this solution in four more villages. We plan to seek more funding and
resources from other organizations so as to impact as many villages in India as possible, in the future.

Innovative grass‑roots solutions can have extremely positive effects on communities, but in
order to reach as many people as possible the ideas must be relatively easy to implement while
maintaining low costs. Based on your experience how can social entrepreneurs meet these two
needs by tapping into local resources?
Honest feedback is the key. Many times “Many times people try to impose
new ideas on the community and
people try to impose new ideas on the
community and ignore the suggestions of ignore the suggestions of beneficiaries.
beneficiaries thinking, “Oh! What do these
folks know about technology? We better
From our experience embracing
stick to our plan.” From our experience we suggestions and communicating
feel embracing suggestions and communicating
continuously with people who use or plan to
continuously is really impor tant. ”
use the gadget is really impor tant. Understanding the needs and affordability and fine‑tuning the solution
are the key. Secondly, being a good observer helps in identifying the difficulties and simplest ideas that could
be of great impact. So yes, one should keep his/her eyes and ears wide open.

Looking into the future, how do you foresee yourself continuing your social entrepreneurial
work? Do you hope to take on other challenges that affect rural India?
Yes, Ujala and I are continuously brainstorming new ideas that can help the community. Our mentor,
Mrs. Sandhya, is also very passionate about rural issues and is supporting us in carrying out activities. As
of now our primary focus is Tractor Factor but down the line we hope to evolve more business models
that have a direct impact on the community. After we are successful in four villages this year, we want to
tackle many more villages next year. We also want to influence the tractor makers to incorporate the
gadget into the tractors. We want to educate the rural youth so that they can carry our work forward,
thus scaling it easily. Our long‑term goal is to completely focus on entrepreneurship.

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 Environmental
Activism

Every day is Earth Day for Climate

Action Club founder Chloe Maxmin.
Chloe has inspired students, teachers,
and administrators at her high school
to change their behaviors and to make school policies to be more environmentally
sustainable. This success led Chloe to start a community‑wide initiative as well
as launch a website to inspire and support other young environmentalists.
In your recent initiative “Paper vs. Plastic” you are really engaging the whole community to
adopt more environmentally friendly practices. Can you tell us more about this initiative and
how you are getting everyone to participate in it?
The Climate Action Club star ted a reusable bag campaign to advocate for a reduction in the use of
plastic bags in local stores. Our strategy was to involve the whole community in this effort. We used
a variety of tactics.

We held several meetings with local merchants. We explained our interests and listened to their interests
and concerns. We developed research to help inform them. I produced a video, a fact sheet, and sent
frequent emails. We invited legislative and marketing experts to speak at one meeting and invited
discussion. We surveyed the merchants to see the range of solutions in which they were interested.
We canvassed shops asking them to sign pledge cards and participate in our meetings. We made extra
effor ts to understand the store owners and the obstacles they face.

We began a column in our local newspaper explaining our campaign and the science behind it. We canvassed
shoppers on the streets, explaining our work, handing out fact sheets and free canvas bags. Our movie
was shown repeatedly on our local cable channel. We spoke at the local elementary and middle school.

When I won a $1,000 award from Prudential for community volunteerism, I donated it to the campaign
as a challenge grant for the community. This was written up in a feature in the paper, as well as in our
column. I decided this would take the financial pressure off the merchants during tough times. We
opened up donations to the challenge grant to community organizations as well as to individuals and
businesses. Within a few weeks we had raised the equivalent of the challenge grant from a cross section of
people and organizations.

We are now in the process of ordering our first installment of reusable bags. They will feature a town logo
on one side and the names or logos of donors on the other side. The Climate Action Club will buy the

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bags, sell them in local stores, and use the proceeds to buy more bags. We have structured the system so
that can be self sustaining and continuous. We continue to raise money and apply for grants so that we can
expand the project. We hope to have the bags for sale in town by the summer.

What are your hopes for your current initiatives and where do you see your work going forward
from here?
As described above, our biggest initiative right now is the reusable bag campaign. The Climate Action Club is
also leading a campaign to reduce the use of energy at our school. We have worked with faculty to decrease
the amount of time that computers, monitors, and printers are active. We have installed SmartStrips in two
classrooms. The Climate Action Club is also collaborating with the administration around new policies for
energy usage. We think the school’s lights should be switched off at night, since 1/3 of our school’s lights
stay on all night.

The Climate Action Club is also continuing to recycle batteries and cartridges both in our school and
community. As the height of spring approaches, we are monitoring our school campus for idling. We will
continue to talk to idling drivers and educate them about the harmful effects of idling on the environment.
We surveyed the school campus a couple of days ago, and there were only two idling cars.

On a more personal level, I want the club to be able to thrive without me by the time I graduate. I
want to make sure that there is a strong foundation so the club will continue as an effective platform for
students to have voice and real impact. I want the club to be an exciting platform for others to make a
difference. However, it is my responsibility to give the club the tools, knowledge, and relationships to be
able to continue our work. I want to fur ther develop this platform for future generation of the Climate
Action Club so it can continue to be a powerful body of young changemakers.

I also hope that my experiences with the Climate Action Club will enable me to create even more powerful
movements in the future. I have learned so much about human behavior and attitudes toward change
through my environmental work. I can now see that there are millions of noble, brilliant, and effective
ventures around the world that are committed to saving our planet. These groups range from Al Gore’s
Repower America to ventures in Africa.

However, while I admire these effor ts, I see how their power is limited because each one is separate
from a wider network. Massive organizations, corporations, non‑profits, for‑profits, clubs, societies, and
individuals are all taking action. But we are all fragmented. I see a need to unite and coordinate the
global community of activists. I believe this is the next step that is essential for a better planet.

Watch a [video] by Chloe!

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 Swimming for
Change

After saving five inner city campers

from drowning during a swimming
trip, Laura White started Wild
and Water Swimming to teach
swimming and water safety to low‑income urban youth in Atlanta. She is now a
student at Tulane University and is bringing Wild and Water Swimming with her
to New Orleans. She plans to expand to more locations and also to incorporate
poverty reduction, academic excellence, and health into her program.
Can you tell us how your organization got started and some of the unforeseen challenges you
have faced along the way?
Three impor tant things catalyzed Wild and Water Swimming. Right before my freshman year of high school,
I left competitive swimming and star ted looking for something to do that would fill the three hours of
my day that were now freed from practices. Around the same time, I met my best friend, who has been
homeless her entire life. Based on my experiences with her, I decided that it was really important that I
dedicate my life to helping people. I star ted volunteering on a regular basis, but I still really missed having
swimming as par t of my regular routine. One afternoon, I was volunteering on a camping trip for inner city
kids from Atlanta, Georgia, and was asked to supervise them on a swimming trip to the lake. I quickly found
that none of the kids knew how to swim or about basic water safety, and I ended up rescuing five children
from drowning at once. I realized then that my swimming friends and I had a very valuable skill that we
could share with low‑income children. That is how the idea for Wild and Water Swimming was born.

The biggest challenge that we have faced along the way is volunteer retention. Though Wild and Water
Swimming gets a lot of volunteers, in order to achieve our mission, it is important for us to develop a core
of consistent regular volunteers. This way, our kids can develop relationships with our instructors, who can
serve as role models to our students. The best solution we’ve found to this problem is to provide awards
and incentives for volunteering regularly. For example, our volunteers in the New Orleans programs get
free Water Safety Instructor Training from us, which they can use to find paying swim instructor jobs.

Where do you see your organization going?

We’ve recently revamped our mission to encompass the idea of using swimming as a medium to combat
pover ty. Using this new platform, we plan to scale our mission up. We just recently expanded to include
swim lesson programs in New Orleans and are in the process of developing programs in Charlotte, North
Carolina. In late 2009 or early 2010, we are hoping to also expand to Mobile, Alabama, Pensacola, Florida,

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 and perhaps Chicago, Illinois. The potential is
definitely there to develop new programming to
complement our swimming lessons, as long as it
falls under the framework of “using swimming to
combat poverty.” We are currently talking with
contacts in New Orleans about developing a
“Community Pool Initiative,” where we help to
build and staff swimming pools in lower‑income
areas. In addition, we are working to implement
an “All‑Star” program to reward students for
academic achievement as well as progress
in swimming lessons, and are in the beginning
stages of planning a healthy eating program that
would provide our students with healthy lunches
and nutrition tips.

What advice would you give other young

social entrepreneurs on how to gain media
exposure?
I would first say that first and foremost social
entrepreneurs, particularly young people, must
be able to speak succinctly and articulately about
what their ventures are trying to accomplish.
Before even seeking media attention, it would
be good to have a two‑to‑three minute “speech”
prepared that you can share with media people
who interview you, or even your neighbor when
he asks you about what you’ve been up to with your venture. The reason I think this is important is that
media tends to only take fragments of what you say and put it in their reports, so it’s good to just present
information that you want the public to hear. Friends, family, and teachers are great resources for practicing
this speech and for helping you fine‑tune it. After you have your general speech prepared, you can send
out press releases to newspapers, magazines, websites, and television stations, starting with those in your
closest community, such as your neighborhood. There are some great resources for writing press releases
at [www.genv.net]. It’s also impor tant not to be afraid to call and tell reporters, producers, and other
staff people about your venture. The worst that they can say is no!

Watch a [video] of Laura!

9
 Serving Iraqi
Refugees

Sky Choi started The List Kids to

help serve a forgotten population—
the Iraqis who assisted the United
States Military and had to flee Iraq
for their personal safety. Sky has raised awareness of the challenges that these
families have faced and provided their children with monthly care packages.
Why did you start List Kids? Why is it needed?
I founded The List Kids in order to reach out to the Iraqi refugee children who are resettled in the US in
connection with The List Project. Their parents risked their lives working as advisors, interpreters, clerks,
and construction workers, alongside American soldiers. Many U.S.‑affiliated Iraqis have been kidnapped,
beaten and killed; many others were forced to flee to neighboring countries. A small number make it
through the long and difficult screening process and are able to resettle here in the U.S. It is very difficult
for the Iraqi refugee families when they arrive here as they have to not only adjust to a new culture, but
find homes and jobs as well. While there are various agencies that provide limited support in terms of
food and housing, no one was addressing the needs of the children. That is why I founded the List Kids.
For their first year in the US, the List Kids sends a special care package every month to each child in order
to let them know that they are welcome and safe here. The care packages contain cards, letters, school
supplies, toys, books, gaming systems and other items that are donated from companies and volunteers
across the US. Our goal is to help make their transition to life in the US a little easier.

I imagine it is hard to for most people to understand the reality of what life is like for Iraqi refugee
children. How have US kids responded to your project?
I think the average American knows very little about the Iraqi refugee crisis in general and even less
about the dangers faced by those who risked their lives and the lives of their families helping our soldiers
in Iraq. It is very difficult to get people interested in this cause. I think there are two main reasons
for this. First, because of the bad economic situation in our own country, many people have taken the
approach of looking out only for themselves. Charities across the nation have suffered a severe decline
in suppor t since the end of last year. While it is understandable that people are concerned about their
own financial situations, I don’t feel it is right to simply turn our backs on these families that are in danger
because they helped the US.

The second problem is ignorance. I think people fear what they do not understand or know. Until this past
year, I had never met someone from Iraq before. I think that is likely the same for many Americans. After

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 9‑11, our lives changed and many Americans
now look at people, especially those from
Middle Eastern countries, through a lens of fear
associated with terrorism. I bet that if people
were able to meet these families they would see
that they have far more in common than not.
They are moms and dads, brothers and sisters,
grandparents. They worry about employment.
They worry about school and making friends.
They worry about life in their new country—a
country they willingly served and risked their
lives for.

I have faith though that people will understand

that we are dealing with children, who did not
choose to live through a war and did not choose
to live as refugees. Last week, my cousin donated
his Playstation to The List Kids instead of selling
it. His five‑year‑old sister, clearly not wishing the
Playstation was leaving her home, asked me why
we help the Iraqi kids. I explained to her how
these children have lived through a war and have
ended up here with very little. They often have
no books or toys when they arrive. Sometimes
they don’t even have a bed! She looked at me
and said, “Oh, I understand. This is the right thing
to do.” If a five year old can understand that
this is the “right thing to do,” I am optimistic that
others will understand as well.

What are your plans for the project? And how do you foresee yourself continuing your work?
I plan to continue running The List Kids as long as the need for it exists. At some point, all The List Project
families will have made it to the United States and The List Kids’ original mission will be complete. I am
not sure whether I will continue to do work with refugees or whether I will take on some other causes
that are impor tant to me. I can only tell you that I will always find a way to hopefully make a difference in
the world around me. I know that one person can make a difference.

11
 Empowering At‑Risk
Youth Through Sport

In Mumbai’s slums where many

youth drop out of school, Ashok
Rathod is getting kids back into the
classroom through his organization
Oscar Club. Oscar Club is in one of Mumbai’s largest slums, and it provides
boys a safe place to play soccer with the condition that they also attend classes.
What is Oscar Club and when did it start?
Oscar Club was star ted in October 2006 and uses sports to attract kids, ages 7‑17, to participate in our
activities. We place conditions on par ticipants to pass all their classes and for those who have dropped
out of school to attend basic reading and writing classes. We conduct football sessions, as well as other
activities such as dodgeball and other games, twice a week for two and a half hours each. Football is a strong
motivational factor for the kids and is a healthy activity that contributes to physically fitness. The sports are
also used to impar t life skills. For example, if you foul during the game you are given a red card. Similarly,
in life if you harm someone there are consequences.

Currently there are for ty kids, twelve of which are school dropouts. Since the school dropouts spend their
days at work they go to Oscar study sessions and several of them are interested in joining night school. The
study classes are divided in three groups; school dropouts, 5th to 8th graders, 9th and 10th graders. All
groups attend classes twice a week held in the Oscar office, in which different team members teach math,
Hindi, basic English and other educational tools.

What does everyday life look like for the kids who participate? How can sport be used to
positively influence them?
These kids do a lot during the day. Some go to school while others work, such as in housekeeping, fishing,
office [work] and pantry [maintenance]. They have to fill water after returning from school, cook food for
working parents, pay bills, and fill fuel for the month. Apart from doing chores many kids also roam, hang
out with friends and even buy alcohol for their fathers. Before Oscar Club they would gamble and play the
lottery and cards.

Spor t has changed their mindset. They have developed mental capacity. There has also been a change in
their behavior. Before they would talk back to their parents, throw garbage, spit and swear a lot. They would
waste a lot of time – But we have taught them to value time and now they spend more time on their studies
and playing spor ts. Before there was a lot of group conflict and fighting, but now that has decreased. It is
clear that their interest in spor t has moved them away from bad habits and negative behaviors.

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 There seems to be a strong
educational component to your
work. Can you tell us more?
We started working with school
dropouts and tried to understand
why they would leave their studies.
We noticed that the kids were very
poor students, they were failing
in school, did not understand
the value of education, and their
parents failed to encourage
them to study. They were weak
students, so inevitably they would
fail in their studies, and many times their families would suggest that they were not paying attention to their
studies and would put them to work instead. We thought by using the extra time that these kids have, which
they wasted with bad habits such as gambling, smoking and drinking, we could improve their studies. The
classes we star ted for dropouts focus on increasing their interest, and to encourage them to enter a night
school. We also star ted classes for kids from 7‑11 to ensure that their studies are strong at a young age so
they don’t drop out later.

What are your future plans, and how do you see your work continuing to positively influence
young people?
I would like to offer girls the same oppor tunities that boys currently have. More opportunities will motivate
the girls and give them a better future, where they can think and make decisions independently. To do
this we will also have to increase the number of female team members so that families will feel more
comfor table sending their girls to learn. This will also bring about a change in families’ thinking about girls
who do not give equal oppor tunity to girls and boys. For example, in education, boys are supported till
college and girls are suppor ted till the 7th grade and then married off.

We also want to involve parents in the program so they become more aware and participate. Currently,
we hold parents meetings where we give them updates about their child, but in the future we want
them to understand the value of spor ts and the effect it has on the children. Although many parents
have star ted to understand the impor tance of education, they do not understand the responsibility that
goes into sending a child to school and encouraging them to study and attend classes. We will do this
in a variety of ways including bringing in people, such as teachers, child rights activists, etc. who can talk
to them about these issues and explain to them the importance of education.

Watch a [video] of Ashok!

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 Building a Green
Community

Jessie Mehrhoff started Green Teens.

She was determined to change the mindsets
of people in her school and encourage
environmental sustainability. Her enthusiastic
approach to environmental action is making
everyone in her community and beyond
realize how they can contribute to a
greener world.
What is the focus of Green Teens?
Green Teens is a youth‑led organization that aims to spread environmental awareness throughout the
community by promoting simple, positive lifestyle changes. The group originally focused on the use of reusable
eco‑bags instead of paper and plastic, but soon found that so much more could be done simultaneously.
Green Teens holds events geared towards different age groups. We tend to use arts and crafts to share
our environmental message with young children. Our work with adults tends to focus on how easy and
cost‑effective it is to be environmentally minded. Our newest initiative, The Compost Caf. Project, works
with high school students, like ourselves, to show how composting involves the three R’s – reducing, reusing,
and recycling. We aim to show the public that every small thing they do to help the Earth counts!

What has your project accomplished and where do you see it going?
Green Teens has established a name for ourselves and our cause in the community which is allowing us
to take on bigger projects. We have donated over one thousand eco‑bags to members of our district.
Our town does not recycle incandescent light bulbs and most people here did not realize that this could
even be done. Our group has conducted compact fluorescent lamp exchanges where we have donated
hundreds of compact fluorescent lights to community members in exchange for their old incandescent
light bulbs which we then recycled. We have planted trees in local parks and given speeches on the
impor tance of preserving our natural resources. Our current initiative is The Compost Caf. Project,
which is proving to be our biggest challenge and success thus far. We will transform high school cafeterias
into recycling centers, star ting with our own. Work in the cafeteria will allow our message to reach
youth it may normally miss. After creating a stable composting system we will replace the plastic and
Styrofoam lunch supplies with reusable and biodegradable ones. We enjoy and will continue our small
community‑based projects, but hope to increase our impact with larger initiatives like The Compost Caf.
Project as well.

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 What do you think are the most effective
ways to get people to change their behavior
and live more environmentally friendly?
Unfortunately, it seems as though most people
cannot see environmentalism without a dollar
amount attached to it. Sure, covering your
roof with solar panels is great, but in these hard
economic times, it isn’t always a reality. If we
can show people the simple changes they can
make to their everyday routines that benefit
Mother Nature, then we can get them to change
their attitude towards helping the environment.
Most schools, towns, and offices have recycling
programs so taking a few extra seconds to throw
that piece of paper in the recycling bin rather
than the trash proves rather easy. Eco‑bags can
be purchased for $0.99 and are much nicer than
paper or plastic. Not only do they hold more,
but they are easier to carry. Compact fluorescent
lights use about a fourth of the wattage an
incandescent bulb uses and last much longer, in
the end saving about thirty dollars for a 60 watt
incandescent equivalent. If we can educate the
general public about how easy it is to help the environment without spending lots of money, then we can
change their attitude towards environmentalism.

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned from your work as a social entrepreneur?
Every cloud really does have a silver lining. As cliché as it sounds, that phrase is something for a social
entrepreneur to live by. Creating social change is in no way as easy as it looks. When creating Green
Teens, I thought the group would be able to spread environmental awareness throughout the community
without hitting many roadblocks; I quickly found out that I was very wrong. Not everyone is going to
see the same level of impor tance in your work as you do. That is normal. As social entrepreneurs we
must work creatively with the situations we are handed. For every roadblock you hit, you are given more
time to think of an even better approach to your goal. Social entrepreneurs are told “no” quite often.
Through Green Teens I’ve learned to take that small word and work with it until a solution can be reached
to please everyone. That is success. The joy social entrepreneurs get out of standing up for their cause
serves as a large enough reason to keep fighting for it, even when chances for achievement seem slim.

Watch a [video] of Jessie!

15
 Sexual and
Reproductive
Health Education
As he saw more and more of his
classmates get pregnant at young ages,
José María Mora Luna of Puebla,
Mexico, started Services for Youth
Sexual Education (SESEJ). Services for Youth Sexual Education has organized
youth to teach their peers about sexual and reproductive health, including
both issues of pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. The program
has challenged conservative Mexican society to look beyond taboo and has
impacted over 2,500 youth through its workshops.
What inspired you to start SESEJ?
SESEJ was conceived, designed and star ted in 2004. That was the year my friends and I began our studies
in high school. When we entered the school we noticed a large number of pregnant girls. This really
worried us because most of them believed that pregnancy sidetracked (sometimes permanently) their plans.
We were also shocked that so many of us youth started to become sexually active at such an early age
without having sufficient information to prevent unwanted pregnancies as well as the possibility of infection
from sexually transmitted diseases. This project is based on and inspired by the youth with whom we live
on a daily basis, many of whom are our friends, neighbors, or even relatives.

Why are schools so ineffective or inefficient in teaching such topics as the importance of knowing
more about sexual and reproductive health?
The education system in Mexico is used to censor certain topics related to sexuality. Teachers are not
used to openly choosing topics on sexual and reproductive health for fear of retaliation by parents, many
of whom think that young people will learn everything we need to know about sexual health in due
time. But the question is, when is that time?

Parents, teachers, and even religions have a hard time accepting that youth must be well informed now,
and not be isolated from the realities we live with from day to day. In many places in the world lots of
young people get some kind of infection or die because they lack the information to protect and care for
themselves when it comes to their sexual lives.

16
 In many parts of the world, reproductive
health and sex education can be controversial.
Have you experienced any resistance to your
work? If so, how have you confronted it?
The resistance we have encountered in our
work has mostly been from the schools, the
obstacles that the “older” generation puts in our
way. Some teachers do not allow us to develop
and carry out the workshops because they
have the misconception that we do not have
sufficient information to properly inform and
empower other young people; how can youth
inform and educate other youth? Frankly, we
were able to demonstrate that we had the knowledge and skills to work with them, and those same
schools ended up recommending us to others. For us, this was a great success!

For tunately, we were able to prove to them that we had the capacity (knowledge and skills) to train other
youth, and in most occasions we invited the teachers that doubted our ability to do an “adequate” job to
observe our workshop and judge our performance for themselves. As it turned out, all of the schools
that had doubted our ability had changed their minds after observing one of our trainings. This cleared
the way for us to continue our work!

What do you think needs to happen in our society to achieve a lasting and positive change
regarding the way sexual and reproductive health is viewed?
I think the most impor tant step is to open the door to freedom of expression. I also believe in different
social groups joining forces. I truly believe that we all have the gift of giving and we all bring positive things
that contribute to the different processes that lead to our development and help us grow as human beings
and have a better life.

It is impor tant that adults understand and allow us to participate openly in the issues that affect our society,
youth are not what the adults view us to be, we are the ones who bring the benefits to all, the ones who
innovate and those who believe in change. It is important that adults help us achieve these changes and to
forget the bad ideas that they alone have created, we are not irresponsible youth, and youth are not the
future, but one thing I am sure of is that the youth are the present and we are changing the world.

What are your plans for SESEJ? What are your hopes for the youth that you continue to
work with?
As a team I think what interests us most is that other young people participate and get involved in the
work that we are developing. We hope to make SESEJ a civil society organization, while offering more
and improved services for youth. We hope to have a strong social impact by contributing to the decrease
in the transmission of sexually transmitted diseases as well as the reduction of unwanted pregnancies
among youth. We also want to motivate the youth to raise their voices and to believe in their own ideas.

17
 Empowerment
through Mentorship

Through Girls Helping Girls,

Sejal Hathi is building partnerships
between youth in the developed and
developing worlds. One program,
Empower‑a‑Girl, creates a cultural exchange between girls in different countries.
Another program called The Sisters 4 Peace Network provides one‑on‑one
mentorship to help girls grow into entrepreneurs. Sejal hopes the program will
inspire the program’s mentees to transform their world.
What has your project accomplished and where do you see it going?
In the past year and a half, we have mobilized and engaged over five thousand girls to collaboratively
create social change, training girls from more than fifteen different countries to launch their own social
change projects, create micro lending projects that loan funds directly to struggling women entrepreneurs,
speak up about self‑respect, construct holistic education programs for sex‑trafficking victims, learn about
global issues, and engage in cultural exchange. We have also raised over $30,000 to invest directly in girls’
initiative by funding their pursuit of education, the construction of schools and libraries, their basic needs
like food and water, and social change workshops that educate hundreds of deserving but impoverished
girls around the world. We aspire to continue to blossom and amplify this movement by engaging
thousands more girls to get involved; eventually, we hope especially to attract business corporations
to sponsor a cause or a program—for example, our education for sex‑trafficking victims program or
our micro lending initiative—each month as we raise awareness for the cause, to build business and
nonprofit plan generators through our Sisters 4 Peace Network, and to establish an official Youth Social
Entrepreneurship Month both first in the U.S. and hopefully eventually internationally to raise awareness
and galvanize action among more girls and youth.

What is the most important lesson you’ve learned from your work as a social entrepreneur?
The power of people, of a team, and of networking is one of the most significant lessons I have gained since
founding Girls Helping Girls: Without a team to focus on specific aspects of an organization, like fundraising
or website development or outreach or internal development, it is nearly impossible to craft and evolve
a dynamic and holistically successful program. One person cannot accomplish everything, and a cohesive
team of dedicated and responsible individuals is an indispensable ingredient to transitioning from idea to
implementation, and then from bir th to sustainable growth. Yet even after a team is assembled, I have learned
that we should always be reaching out to potential partners, supporters, and sponsors to continue to
raise awareness about our cause and ensure its relevance and significance to the public: exposure is

18
 crucial, and a web of reliable and
supportive and inspiring contacts
is certainly no trifling advantage to
augmenting wider involvement and
staying afloat, especially in these
meager economic times.

Why should youth get involved

in creating social change?
More than forty percent of the
global population is young people
aged twenty four and younger, and
more than half of this population
is located in the developing world.
And when poverty, economic crisis, or HIV/AIDS strike, it is youth who are most vehemently and irrevocably
injured. From being the first to be ejected from employment and contract HIV/AIDS, to helplessly
and haplessly perpetuating the cycle of poverty through illiteracy, drugs, and abuse, youth are suffering
and are not being heard or consulted.

Yet it is youth who possess the most innovative and unique perspectives and ideas on how to solve
these problems, for they perceive them with more idealism and creativity than adults. Youth connected
in the community and have access to multiple networks. Youth have more time on their side, are flexible,
and can nur ture knowledge and experience and work to change perceptions; they can mobilize quickly,
especially using novel technology. Because youth are such a critical population sector, youth activism and
engagement is indispensable to creating holistic social change.

What advice would you give to aspiring social entrepreneurs or current leaders?
Yes we can. In those timeless words, so exquisitely epitomized by our nation’s recent presidential election
and embodied throughout our history, you must seize your own potential and realize that anyone can
make a difference. Every day, through your actions and choices, every moment, you are already changing
the globe: you are the change that you wish to see in the world already—everyone is—and all you must
do is channel your reflections, your talents and passions into something even greater. Perhaps the most
important step is to find a mentor and join a community of people invested in social change and committed
to giving back, from whom you can learn and with whom you can exchange ideas: Ashoka—and Youth
Venture if you are a young person—are phenomenal networks to find these resources. I would also
highly recommend, if you are a woman or a girl, joining Girls Helping Girls’ Sisters 4 Peace Network for
resources and mentorship in getting star ted. Ultimately, know that if you believe in yourself, if you confide
in a better future, you will create that future: Be humble and yet exude confidence in your abilities and the
world’s potential to change for the better, and you will create a whole new realm of possibility.

Watch a [video] of Sejal!

19
 Toilets for a Cleaner
Environment and
Improved Health
Moses Odhiambo has invented the
Eco‑San toilet which prevents contaminating
ground water in the ecologically‑sensitive
Dunga wetlands. In addition to safeguarding
the wetlands it reduces the spread of
infection diseases and provides a source of
income to local Kenyans, giving them a way
to recognize the benefits of sustainability.
This is a very unique toilet. Can you tell us about your design and how it works?
The Eco‑San toilet is a sanitation system that does not require any water to function. Not only does it
save on water use, but it is entirely isolated from the surrounding environment and cannot contaminate
underground water resources. The system utilizes a natural biological process to break down human waste
into a dehydrated odorless compost‑like material.

Through the uniquely designed ventilation pipe, adequate airflow is provided for the dehydration, evaporation,
and deodorizing processes. Human excrement consists of roughly 95% moisture. As the solids dry in
the conveyer, the urine and moisture is vented into the atmosphere. The solid waste then dries into a
compost‑like material, roughly five to ten percent of its original mass.

A standard component of the Eco‑San toilet system is a urinal. Using the urinal will divert some of the
liquids which will assist in the evaporation of moisture in the conveyor and will prevent possible bad odors
that can be emitted. Three ventilations options are available to ensure a flow of air down the toilet bowl,
through the screw conveyor and out via the ventilation pipe.

After six months of anaerobic decomposition, the manure is pulled out from the vault and spread on the
organic farms while the urine is continually used on fruit trees to provide more greenness to the leaves and
therefore aid in photosynthesis. The urine is mixed with water in the ratio of five to one.

Can you tell us more about the problems that you are addressing and how environmental
degradation in the Dunga wetlands impacts human health?
Unique birds and animals rely on this swamp for survival. However, anthropogenic activities threaten the
aforesaid. The swamp is shrinking at an alarming rate due to encroachment for agriculture, cultivation,
livestock grazing, settlement, unsustainable papyrus harvesting and use in material culture industries leading
to habitat loss as exemplified through cutting, burning, and pollution of the swamp. Papyrus cover loss

20
 in Dunga has been to the tune of fifty percent
between 1969 and 2000, and if it continues
unabated at the current rate, Dunga Swamp
will disappear before 2020. The proximity of
the swamp to Kisumu City puts particular strain
on the swamp through pollution in the form of
sewage and solid wastes. The community has
been cutting down the wetland to open up
areas for farming. Therefore, the wetland does
not perform its natural functions, including flood
control. Because of the lack of proper toilets the
floods wash down all the wastes into the streams
and the lake and this is the same water that is
used by the community for domestic purposes.

These problems are compounded by the fact

that the wetland is not under any protection and
Kenya is yet to finalize a wetlands development
and management policy. Being a slum, Dunga
experiences a myriad of problems including
sanitation, high infant mortality rate due to poor
nutrition, flooding, water borne diseases, and lack
of clean water among others. This is the main
reason why we started this venture: To try and
reduce or if possible eliminate some of these
problems from the community.

Environmental degradation through burning and clearing of the wetland for agriculture is the main problem
we have been trying to address, even though we cannot do this in isolation because sanitation is a higher
priority problem for the community. Therefore, with this in mind, the Eco‑San toilet has tried to look at an
integrated solution by providing the compost manure and also improving the sanitation standards of the
households and the community at large.

Through the project we have also been trying to empower the women by using the produce from the
organic farms to star t up small‑scale businesses and a revolving fund for them.

21
Connect with Ashoka!

We hope you have enjoyed the stories in this publication and we invite you to join our online
communities and become par t of the Ashoka community.

YOUTH VENTURE
Youth Venture’s vision is a world of everyone a changemaker through a global culture of young people
initiating positive, lasting change. Imagine what a difference it would make in the strength of our society and
in our lasting impact on the world if millions more people gave themselves permission to be changemakers.

CHANGEMAKERS.COM
Changemakers is Ashoka’s community of changemakers, a platform for those wishing to make a
difference and the organizations that wish to engage with them. Changemakers open‑sources social change
ideas by hosting competitions and conversations that matter.

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Ashoka was founded on the belief the social entrepreneurs are the most powerful force for changing
the world. Our investment in leading entrepreneurs is deliberate—we support the best innovators,
who we believe will achieve the greatest impact for systemic social change. These entrepreneurs also
serve as role‑models and facilitators for the next generation of social leaders, building an Everyone A
Changemakers™ world.

We believe that the synergy between a passionate “who,” an innovative “what,” a sustainable “how,” and a
community of changemakers can and will change the world.

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Ashoka would not exist without an amazing network of supporters around the world. Join this community
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22
The most significant historical event of our time is the
emergence of social entrepreneurs as the dominant
force for social change around the world and the
newly competitive citizen sector they are creating.
These extraordinary individuals solve critical social
issues on a global scale from every area of need. They
inspire others to adopt and spread their innovations—
demonstrating to all citizens that they, too, have the
potential to be powerful changemakers.