Bilaal, 14, Canada

Basic need(s):

Education, Environment, Food, Health, Shelter, Water

Project:

Making Change Now

Bilaal's compassion for those in need became clear at a very young age. When he was only 4 years old, Bilaal was informed that a religious leader from his community had been killed in the devastating 2001 earthquake in Gujurat, India. Deeply troubled by this news, he decided to raise funds for the victims of the earthquake by selling Clementine oranges door-to-door. Bilaal raised $350, no small feat for a 4 year-old salesman, and so his career in philanthropy began. At the age of 8, Bilaal founded "Making Change Now", an organization through which he has raised over $5 million dollars for a variety of causes, including victims of the 2004 tsunami in south-east Asia, an orphanage for children who have lost their parents to HIV/AIDS in Kenya, and most recently, the earthquake in Haiti. As a UNICEF Children's Ambassador, Bilaal has spoken to tens of thousands of children in over two dozen countries, leading by example and driving home his favorite saying: "Together, we can make a difference." Bilaal's knack for creative, outside-the-box projects (such as the annual "Barefoot Challenge", for which Bilaal will not wear shoes for a few days out of each year to raise awareness about child poverty in the Global South) have garnered much media attention and Bilaal has now made more than 100 media appearances. Having already become an accomplished author with his book Making Changes: Tips from an Underage Overachiever, Bilaal looks to the future with zeal, considering career paths in neurology, politics, and possibly even space travel!