Children Changing the World

The inaugural group of O Ambassadors is comprised of 12 students from diverse backgrounds across North America. The members include Jeremie, from the South Side of Chicago; Mary, who moved to Queens, New York, from a farm in the Philippines at age 6; Shannon, who has been supporting herself in a tough Toronto neighborhood since she was 16; and Ola, from New Jersey, whose parents were born and raised in Nigeria.

When the group learned that they could build a school in Kenya for about $8,500, they launched fundraisers from dodgeball tournaments to school carnivals to kissing booths, eventually raising the money and heading to Africa to get to work.

See what happened when the O Ambassadors arrived in Africa. 

For the 12 Ambassadors, the three-week trip to Kenya was a life-changing experience. Andrew is a member of the group who says that before he went to Africa, he didn't know what he wanted to do with his life. "I didn't really understand the world outside of America. But after I came back, I was fired up. I was really interested in development. Since then, I have been trying to learn as much as I can about Africa and the developing world, and I think it's a career I want to pursue," he says. "But more than anything, it unlocked a passion in me to change the world that I never knew I had."