As the famous song says “Children are our future.” But many of this generation’s youth are now taking the future into their own hands.
This week on Full Frame, meet young people who are making an impact in their own communities and changing the lives of other children half way across the globe.
Leroy Mwasaru: From poop to power
Seventeen‐year‐old Leroy Mwasaru is not unlike most high school students. He enjoys blogging, hanging out with his friends, and is a student leader at his school in Kenya.
But, when the school wanted to build a new dormitory for its students, it faced a challenge: dealing with the growing human waste problem contaminating nearby water sources. That’s when Leroy, and a few of his friends, came up with an idea: create a Human Waste Bioreactor that’s powered by the students’ own human waste.
From Nairobi, Leroy Mwasaru joins Mike Walter in our Los Angeles studio to discuss his design that has potential to be a huge economic, political, and environmental game changer.
A ball can change a life
Sporting events like the FIFA World Cup, Wimbledon tennis, and the NFL’s Super Bowl have the unique ability to appeal to sports fans of all ages in every corner of the world. But for some young people, sports not only captivate them, it also inspires them.
At the age of 15, while sitting in the stands of a FIFA World Cup tournament, Garrett Weiss realized the power soccer held for those living in the African country of Angola. That’s when Garrett, along with his brother Kyle, created FUNDaFIELD, a student-run organization that works with local communities to build soccer fields, provide soccer equipment and hosts soccer tournaments to help rehabilitate post-trauma and post-conflict regions around the world.
Their younger sister Kira also helps with fundraising initiatives to increase donations. To date, the group has raised more than $250,000.
And it was at the age of nine when Austin Gutwein created Hoops of Hope, the largest basketball shoot-a-thon in the world. The global event raises money to support children orphaned by the AIDS virus, helping to build homes and schools, and supply medical resources for these children. Since its inception, Hoops of Hope has grown to an estimated 40,000 participants across 25 countries, raising more than $3 million dollars for AIDS orphans in Africa.
Garrett and Kira Weiss join Austin Gutwein to talk with Mike Walter in Los Angeles about how a ball can change someone’s life, who is a world away.
Hannah Taylor: Heroine to the homeless
When Canadian Hannah Taylor was just five years old, she watched a man eating out of a garbage can on a frozen winter day. This defining moment would forever change Hannah’s life.
Three years later, at age eight, Hannah founded The Ladybug Foundation, a non-profit that raises awareness and donations to support the needs of the homeless and near- homeless in Canada. Since then, more than $3 million has been raised by the foundation.
Hannah is also the founder of a second, separate charity, The Ladybug Foundation Education Program Inc. which developed the “makeChange: The Ladybug Foundation Education Program”, a K-12 resource for use in schools across Canada to empower young people to get involved and “makeChange” in their world.
From Winnipeg, Canada, Hannah Taylor joins Mike Walter in our Los Angeles studio to share her inspiring story.
Nathan Sawaya: Art of the brick
What was your favorite toy as a child? If LEGO bricks make the list, then this week’s Close Up is for you.
Nathan Sawaya is an award-winning artist who creates awe-inspiring, larger-than-life works of art out of LEGO bricks.
The former corporate lawyer has been creating these beautiful and whimsical sculptures since 2002, using only standard LEGO bricks and endless imagination.
He is now the author of two best-selling books and his touring exhibitions, “The Art of the Brick”, has broken attendance records around the globe.
Full Frame caught up with Nathan in Los Angeles where he told us how his belief that “art is not optional” inspires everything he does.
Connect with Nathan on Facebook