Sebastian, 18, Canada

Basic need(s):

Health, Education

Project:

“Bavubuka All*Sports” and “We Got Skillz”

Sebastian believes in the importance of group sports and creative arts for promoting cooperation and tolerance, improving health, developing self-confidence and providing recreation, particularly to those living in poverty and the war-torn regions of East Africa. In 2006 under the Bavubuka Foundation, he organized fundraising efforts to purchase 300 pounds of sporting equipment and to fund shipment of the equipment to Uganda, calling his project “Bavubuka All*Sports.” Sebastian then traveled to Uganda, including the northern war-torn region, to distribute the goods and to provide sports education to the Ugandan children. In March 2008, he completed another three-month journey to Uganda to distribute over 1000 pounds of sports equipment and to educate the youth in sports and sportsmanship. He is currently working on an HIV/AIDS prevention campaign called “We Got Skillz” that will include a large-scale event in Uganda the first week of December 2008 and will bring together international performers and those involved in music, basketball, dance and fashion to advocate for safe sex. Sebastian hopes to expand “Bavubuka All*Sports” globally and eventually to build a community center in Uganda that will include educational and health-related facilities.

Photo: Benjamin Quinto