Something odd happens when you research kids who are saving the world; you become filled with hope. The future looks not troubled, but brilliant. Reality television and social media make Over-sharing a rite of passage in modern life, yet sometimes the important moments get lost in the process. Take for example these child visionaries—boys and girls who have changed our world through their good actions or examples. Some have mobilized millions for a good cause. Others have moved us simply by their generous and hopeful view of humanity. Here are the stories about some amazing kids and their supportive parents who have made an impressive mark on our world.
Ryan Hreljac
In 1998, 6-year-old Ryan Hreljac was shocked to learn that children in Africa had to walk many Kilometers every day just to fetch water. Ryan decided he needed to build a well for a village in Africa. By doing household chores and public speaking on clean water issues, Ryan’s first well was built in 1999 at the Angolo Primary School in a northern Ugandan village. Ryan’s determination led to Ryan’s Well Foundation, which has completed 667 projects in 16 countries, bringing access to clean water and sanitation to more than 714,000 people.
Katie Stagliano
In 2008, 9-yearold Katie Stagliano brought a tiny cabbage seedling home from school as part of the Bonnie Plants Third Grade Cabbage Program. As she cared for her cabbage, it grew to 40 pounds. Katie donated her cabbage to a soup kitchen where it helped to feed more than 275 people. Moved by the experience of seeing how many people could benefit from the donation of fresh produce to soup kitchens, Katie decided to start vegetable gardens and donate the harvest to help feed people in need. Today, Katie’s Krops donates thousands of pounds of fresh produce from numerous gardens to organizations that help people in need.
Louis Braille
In 1809 in Coupvray, France Louis was born. At the age of 3, an eye injury left him blind. Studying at the Royal Institute for Blind Youth in Paris, Louis invented a system of reading and writing for the blind involving raised dots, which today is known as Braille. At age 19, Louis became a full-time teacher at the Royal Institute, where he remained until his death at age 43. Today, Braille is a universally used tactile method of writing and reading for the blind. Studies have shown that congenitally legally blind adults “who learned to read using Braille had higher employment rates and educational levels, were more financially self-sufficient, and spent more time reading than did those who learned to read using print.”