ELP Project 1

Level 5

“Making a Difference”

2021
Materials step 1

1. 2016 CNN Hero of the Year:

Dreaming is worth it
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/12/15/opinions/jeison-aristizabal-2016-hero-year-update-
letter/index.html

CNN)We asked Jeison Aristizábal to share what's happened since he was

recognized as the 2016 CNN Hero of the Year. Here is his open letter:

I used to look at life with difficulty.

Through every path I walked, I encountered barriers and discrimination. I was a boy
with dreams and tireless perseverance, on a mission to find opportunities for disabled
children and young people. I never wanted to spark pity, only love and solidarity toward
disabled children like me.

CNN Hero Jeison Aristizábal

I was passionate about helping the disabled community, but this was not easy to
achieve: The system in my country, Colombia, does not promote public policy to
provide opportunities and a better life for people like us. It hurt terribly to hear the
stories of those families with disabled children; especially because, as a child, I lived
through adversity in thousands of ways, due to a society (and a school) that excluded
me for being different.

Despite having cerebral palsy, I came up with different ways to conquer the world, to
change the perception of disability and, before all else, to get society to realize that we
should always give, regardless of how little we have.
At all times, I carried my message of the value of solidarity, of recognizing that it's the
most effective way through which we can understand that helping others is
extraordinary.

Being nominated to be a 2016 CNN Hero was a wonderful dream come true for me. It
moved my desire to help forward. I was filled with a roller coaster of emotion; it was
days and months of new-found feelings. I would always keep the need to create
opportunities for all these children with disabilities in mind; these children that, despite
the challenges they face, always provide a hug, a smile or a look filled with hope. All
of this motivated me to keep dreaming.

Through the labor of our foundation, ASODISVALLE, every day we are surprised by
the capacity people have to teach us the importance of unity. How can we not
recognize its greatness? Through this recognition by CNN, people have been moved
by my message and have been spurred to act.

Today, because of the recognition as the 2016 CNN Hero of the Year, I have traveled
the world with my motivational speech, "Three secrets to being happy." I am moved
by the fact that families want their children to be like Jeison. Children meet me and
say that they want to be like me, and even those who know my story through other
platforms are motivated to follow the model of a "CNN HERO." It's so gratifying to be
the motivation for so many human beings.

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Jeison Aristizábal. foundation, the name is Colombia.

ASODISVALLE.

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disabled children. because he is also the importance of unity

disable. and help people even if
we have little.
 2. Woman fighting sex slavery named
CNN Hero of the Year
http://edition.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/11/21/cnnheroes.hero.of.year/index.html

Editor's note: Nominations for 2011 CNN Heroes are now open
at CNNHeroes.com.
Los Angeles, California (CNN) -- A woman whose group has rescued more than
12,000 women and girls from sex slavery has been named the 2010 CNN Hero of
the Year.
Anuradha Koirala was chosen by the public in an online poll that ran for eight weeks
on CNN.com. CNN's Anderson Cooper revealed the result at the conclusion of the
fourth annual "CNN Heroes: An All-Star Tribute."
"Human trafficking is a crime, a heinous crime, a shame to humanity," Koirala said
earlier in the evening after being introduced as one of the top 10 CNN Heroes of
2010. "I ask everyone to join me to create a society free of trafficking. We need to do
this for all our daughters."

Koirala was introduced by actress Demi Moore, who along with her husband, Ashton
Kutcher, created DNA, The Demi and Ashton Foundation, which aims to eliminate
child sex slavery worldwide.
"Every day this woman confronts the worst of what humanity has to offer," Moore
said of Koirala. "She says, 'Stop. Stop selling our girls.' By raiding brothels and
patrolling the India-Nepal border, she saves girls from being sold into the sex trade,
where they are being repeatedly raped for profit, tortured and enslaved.
"Since 1993, she has helped rescue more than 12,000 women and girls. Through
her organization Maiti Nepal, she has provided more than a shelter for these girls
and young women, she has created a home. It is a place for them to heal, go to
school, learn a skill, and for some who are infected with HIV/AIDS, it is the place
where they can spend their days surrounded by love."
 HERO TYPE OF SOCIAL PLACE
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Anuradha Koirala. DNA, The Demi and Nepal

Ashton Foundation

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eliminate child sex create a society free of raise awareness of the

slavery worldwide. trafficking and trafficking of girls and
organization Maiti give them asylum.
Nepal.
 3. He got into trouble for fighting as a kid. Now
his boxing program is helping students stay
on the right path.
By Laura Klairmont, CNN

Chicago (CNN) Growing up in Lexington, Kentucky, Jamyle Cannon frequently got

into fights.

"I had a childhood with a fair share of ups and downs. We dealt with poverty, drug
addiction in the household. I was upset about a lot of things," he said.
When Cannon was 12, he had to undergo court ordered anger management classes
after getting arrested for a fight.
"I didn't have the ability or the skills to turn down a fight and I let anger control me,"
he said.
When Cannon took up competitive boxing in college, he found an outlet to channel
his energy.
"I didn't know what anger felt like on its way up, and boxing forced me to confront it,"
said Cannon, now 31.

He became a National Collegiate Boxing Champion in 2009 before injuries made him
take a break from the ring. After graduating, Cannon spent two years with Teach for
America, feeling passionate about tackling the issue of education inequality.
In 2012, with a master's degree in secondary education, Cannon moved to Chicago
and helped found a charter school on the city's turbulent West Side.
His students lived in neighbourhoods plagued with violence, and Cannon knew they
would benefit from an afterschool program that gave them a safe space to learn and
grow.
"There is a lot of violence in the community," Cannon said. "When violence is on
your mind constantly, you can't just turn that off when you walk into school. It impacts
everything that you do. It impacts the way you interact with people and your comfort
level, wherever you are."
Cannon decided to start a small boxing club at the school.
"Kids would come to the club thinking they were going to learn how to fight, but
instead learned how to control those impulses—and they did better in school," he
said.
He found that the students' grades, behavior and test scores improved as a result of
their involvement. He knew he was onto something, and it laid the foundation for
what is now his non-profit program, The Bloc.
"When you have the unconditional acceptance that we offer, when you have the
support that we give, you are no longer going out and fighting in the streets," Cannon
said.
His organization, now in three schools, uses boxing as a hook to get kids in the door
and then provides them with tutoring and mentorship, ultimately laying the
groundwork for success.
"We push them academically, help them out socially, and are a resource for them in
all the other areas of their lives," Cannon said.
Since 2016, the co-ed program has helped more than 300 students. The group has
maintained a 100% high school graduation rate and 100% college acceptance rate
among participants who apply.
CNN's Laura Klairmont spoke with Cannon about his work. Below is an edited
version of their conversation.

HERO TYPE OF SOCIAL PLACE

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Jamyle Cannon. The program, the Bloc Chicago

TARGET COMMUNITY CAUSE/REASON FOR EFFECT/CHANGE ON

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children through boxing

control their impulses
children He has a childhood with and improve their
a fair share of ups and behaviour and life in
downs, like children. their day to day.
 4. She's changing the cultural stigma around women's
periods
Mekelle, Ethiopia (CNN)When Freweini Mebrahtu got her period at age 13, she
panicked.

"I was terrified," she said. "And I remembered (hearing) that it's actually a curse to
have a period ... or that it meant I am ready to be married, or (that) I'm being bad."

Like most girls in northern Ethiopia, she suffered in silence, never mentioning it to
her mother or sisters. With no access to sanitary products, she coped by using rags.

"One time I had an accident in class and I was so scared and ashamed," said
Mebrahtu, now 54. "Even today I remember how I felt."Mebrahtu went on to study
chemical engineering in the United States. She still remembers her first trip to an
American drugstore in 1983.

"I saw overwhelming choices of sanitary pads," she said. "I started thinking ... 'What
about the girls that I left behind?'"

In Ethiopia -- and many other parts of the world -- menstruation is still considered
taboo. According to UNICEF, the subject is generally not taught in schools and most
girls never discuss it with another person. Disposable sanitary products are very
expensive and often unavailable, so nearly 75% of Ethiopian women and girls don't
have access to the menstrual supplies they need to manage their periods.

The situation has serious consequences. On average, one in 10 girls in Ethiopia

miss school for reasons related to their periods; in some rural areas, this increases
almost 50%. Missing school can lead girls to fall behind in class and eventually drop
out.

In 2005, she designed and patented a reusable menstrual pad. Today, she and her
team produce 750,000 pads a year at her Mariam Seba Sanitary Products Factory,
named for her daughter.

Since 2009, nearly 800,000 girls and women have benefited from her work.

Traditionally, girls have used rags or dry grasses to deal with their period. Mebrahtu's
pads are fully washable, with an absorbent cotton lining and waterproof backing.
They are secured to the underwear with a button. The design allows it to fold up into
a small, discreet package. The pads cost 90% less than a year's worth of disposable
pads and can last up to two years with proper care, making them environmentally
friendly.

More than 80% of the pads she manufactures are sold to non-governmental
organizations that distribute them for free. Mebrahtu also worked for years to end the
stigma around this issue by speaking to students at schools.

"The whole goal was not only making the pads, but also attacking the cultural
baggage to it," she said. "But it was very limited, because it was just me working on
my own."

That changed when she met Dr. Lewis Wall, a professor of obstetrics and
gynecology from the US. He was greatly impressed with how much she was doing
and in 2014, he and his wife created a non-profit, Dignity Period, to support her work.

Now, in partnership with Mekelle University, the organization has greatly expanded
Mebrahtu's efforts. To date, the group has conducted educational workshops for
more than 300,000 students, teaching girls and boys that menstruation is natural, not
shameful. Mebrahtu speaks at these events occasionally and enjoys seeing
thousands of students receiving this message.

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Freweini Mebrahtu designed and patented Etopia

a reusable menstrual
pad. Your name is
Mariam Seba.

TARGET COMMUNITY CAUSE/REASON FOR EFFECT/CHANGE ON

HELPING PEOPLES REALITY

girls and women because she grew up in The whole goal was not
a country that had that only making the pads,
taboo and had bad but also attacking the
times and sorrows for cultural baggage to it.
that reason,
 5. Daughter of immigrants helps refugees find their
American dream
New York (CNN)Growing up near Washington, D.C. as a child of immigrants, Kerry
Brodie knew her parents worked hard to build a better life for their family.

"They came here with opportunities," Brodie said, "but they've always felt such a
sense of gratitude to the United States." At the same time, Brodie heard stories
about the persecution her great-grandparents endured during the Holocaust, their
family members who were killed and their ultimate survival.

Inspired by her family's story, Brodie says she always felt a sense of responsibility to
help people build new lives and access the American Dream.

Brodie is the founder of Emma's Torch, a nonprofit that provides culinary training for
refugees and connects them with jobs in restaurant kitchens.

Until recently, the U.S. has historically resettled more refugees than any other
country -- about 3 million since 1980.

Yet in their new communities, refugees often encounter a slew of obstacles,

including language barriers and difficulty accessing services. Even if they have an
advanced education or high-level skills, most are only able to obtain entry-level jobs.

"Oftentimes, they're just falling through the cracks," Brodie said. "Being a young adult
at a time where we're seeing one of the worst refugee crises in modern history has
given me a sense of this is our time to really make a difference."

Brodie started the non-profit in 2017 after moving to New York and attending culinary
school. She named her organization for the author Emma Lazarus, whose poem is
inscribed at the base of the Statue of Liberty.

"We have students who have fled political unrest, ... students who are the only
survivors of their families," said Brodie, whose non-profit also helps asylum seekers
and survivors of human trafficking.

The group operates a restaurant in Brooklyn and café at the Brooklyn Public
Library's main branch, where students hone their skills during the 12-week, paid
program.

"I really wanted to make sure students were getting real on-the-job training," Brodie
said.

Students spend the first month learning basic food preparation techniques and food
safety guidelines. After that, they work at different stations of the restaurant, learning
cooking methods such as braising, searing and roasting. In the third month, they get
barista training and learn how to take orders and interact with customers.
In addition, they receive English classes tailored toward the kitchen and culinary
industry and later do mock interviews and receive interview tips from industry
professionals. Nearly 50 students have graduated from the program, qualified for
restaurant employment as line cooks.

For Brodie, the goal is to set graduates on a path with upward mobility. "When our
students graduate, we're helping them find full-time employment that helps them
begin their new careers," she said.

The nonprofit has support from high-end restaurants throughout the city that Brodie
says are eager to hire their graduates.

"I hope that every one of my students can go out there and dream just a little bit
bigger and believe that they have a right to pursue those dreams," she said.

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Kerry Brodie Emma's Torch, a Washington, D.C.

nonprofit

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immigrants help people build new helping immigrants in

lives and access the the American dream.
American Dream.