Mahishka, 16, Sri Lanka

Basic need(s):

Education

Project:

"Learn and Lead"

Mahishka's project, "Learn and Lead," works to instill peace among children by promoting international understanding between those of developing and developed nations. To accomplish this task, her initiatives include linking a Sri Lankan elementary school with an Irish school, Limavady Grammar School (LGS), in order to help the students from these two schools learn about cultural and societal differences. She has also organized presentations on universal human rights and the status of human rights in Sri Lanka. Believing that culture should be a unifying force, Mahishka works to create a global network of youth with the aim of breaking down major barriers between populations. Mahishka wants to expand her project to include basic English language instruction to rural Sri Lankans through an interactive project which would include storytelling, sharing of daily routines and diaries, production of children's dramas and holding seminars and leadership camps for school children.

Photo: Benjamin Quinto