I Share Hope: Chris Williams

Moses Owen Browne, Jr., is Global Youth Ambassador, A World at School, United Nations Secretary General’s Global Education First Initiative. He’s advocating for Education for all. He holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Mass Communications and English with emphasis in Telecommunications Management and Broadcasting (Cum Laude) from the United Methodist University in Liberia and a prospective student of International Relations, Graduate School of Arts and Science, New York University.

Moses is originally from Liberia and has worked around the United Nations in New York advocating for global education at the United Nations General Assembly. He is currently the Media and Communications Manager for Plan, the international children charity organization, www.plan-internationa.org.

Moses is 29 years old, born May 15, 1986 unto the blessed union of Moses Owen Browne, Sr. (deceased) and Mother Beatrice Johnny, a peasant agri-business family from Grand Bassa County, one of the first three Counties that founded the Republic of Liberia.

Moses is a devout Christian, happily married and blessed with four children. Moses Browne is a professional career development practitioner with idea-range of experience in the related fields of mass communications, telecommunications management, broadcast management, policy formulation and implementation and agribusiness farm radio program.

As part of the Global Youth Ambassadors program, A World at School has launched several Global Education initiatives and campaigns drawing world leader’s attention to the plights of the 59 million children out of school. The #UpForSchool campaign was launched in September 2014 to galvanize support in promoting quality education and ensuring every child is in school and learning before the MGDs expires. Moses used his negotiating skills to pursue several businesses in Liberia and the World to support the #UpForSchool campaign.

Moses believes with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in place, the World is in a great position to use its strengths and the external context to be a powerful force to help improve children's lives through the delivery of quality education for all. He’s also excited about introducing and sharing his own leadership values, which include trust, problem-solving, empowerment, transparency and collaboration amongst students of the World.

Moses is executive director and founder of Browne Global Leadership Foundation (BGLF), a not-for-profit, non-governmental organization, registered in Liberia and is independent of any government or corporate interest founded in September 2015 as a response to the global call to intensify efforts for youth development and Education.

Its founder draw experience from the historic 70thUnited Nations General Assembly where he had gone to New York from Liberia to create awareness for global education and leadership for young people. As a Global Youth Ambassador for Education, Moses Owen Browne, Jr. decided to establish the Browne Global Leadership Foundation to promote full participation of youth in national and global development processes. Moses believes for any global goals to be achieved it would require the active participation and involvement of young people, but advance that education is that platform that would engender the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Moses Owen Browne, Jr. is a well-known and household name in the Republic of Liberia, especially in the field of Media, Communications and Advocacy. He has worked for several media outlets in Liberia and Civil Society Organizations at least for a period of 15-years.

He has used his skills to engage thousands of young people in the world to pursue and advocate for quality education encouraging them to see education as the only way to a leading a successful life and contributing the growth and development of their respective countries.

Moses’ achievements would not have been possible without a cordial, interconnected, good working relationship and networking with other international organizations across the world. He is very passionate about education and has cultivated a positive habit to deliver impactful projects to students across the world.

He has gained the respect of many young people in Liberia, at his job and across the different networks across the world. Moses has strong values and ability to deliver. He does this with a positive attitude and in a spirit of cooperation. He uses humor along the way which softens the path and gets people along.

Blair Glencorse is Founder and Executive Director of the Accountability Lab, an incubator for creative, youth-driven ideas for accountability and transparency around the world. Blair is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Agenda Council on Anti-Corruption and Transparency and a Social Impact Fellow at the Center for High Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania. Previously, Blair was an advisor to the now President of Afghanistan, Ashraf Ghani, and worked for the World Bank on issues of governance and development. He is an Echoing Green Fellow and winner of the World Technology Award.

Tafadzwa Nyamuzihwa, founder of the organization Shine on Africa, grew up in an orphanage since the age of one. He attained primary and secondary education in Harare, Zimbabwe, and went to study in South Africa towards a Diploma in Sports Management in 2006. Tafadzwa, at the age of 25, became totally blind in 2009 due to a retinal detachment that resulted from cataracts. Consequently, he found life tough and felt his window to the world had been shattered.

As a Christian, he never gave up on the Lord and he received grace and strength. He went for rehabilitation in unaided mobility and brail in 2010 and proceeded to obtain a Certificate in Counselling from Connect Zimbabwe. Later that year, he featured in a local national television drama series that ran from September 15, 2010 to March, 2011. In the same year, he received a one-year scholarship to study at the International Institute for Social Entrepreneurs in Trivandrum, Kerala, India (Southern India) in 2011. Through such opportunities availed to him, he embarked on a path to change the lives of blind people in Zimbabwe.

He was a delegate at the UN African Youth Conference in Nairobi, Kenya in December 2012.

In 2014, Tafadzwa was amongst the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders. He was at Northwestern University, Illinois, Chicago, USA, where he was studying Business and Entrepreneurship. His highlight was when he attended a 3 day presidential summit were he shook hands with President of the United States of America Barak Obama and first lady Michele Obama in Washington DC.

The Junior Chamber International (JCI) awarded Tafadzwa in the 2015 Top 10 outstanding young Zimbabweans for his Humanitarian and voluntary work he has done with people with disabilities.

I was born on the 20th of February in 1975 and at my birth there was something visibly wrong with me. My legs were large and my feet very large and deformed (for want of a better word to use).It wasn't until a few weeks later that i was actually allowed home with my parents as the doctors did not know if i would live or die, but hey I'm still here at 39 having fun!

On reaching school age I attended a special school being there we all had physical problems so we knew that we had limitations, but we accepted that.

On reaching 14 I was enrolled part-time in a comprehensive school to do my GCSE's came away with 4 GCSE's.

• After school i started college to do an Art course and more GCSE's. I made good friends and along with studying enjoyed some weekends away with plenty of booze and drunken nights.
•   After leaving college i went to study a degree in Graphic Design away from home. However I had mobility difficulties and didn't find it easy so deferred my course and came home to have an operation to reduce the weight of my legs.
• Soon after i wanted my independence and found my own home and lived it up by spending weekends drinking and dancing the night away!
• At the same time i did courses in Sociology, Psychology and Criminology.
• I then went on to do a degree in Psychology, a long 3 years, but enjoyable and I met some lovely people and one person, Amanda, who is now one of my best friends.

    After taking a quiet year of study and doing a course in Sign Language, i followed that with a desire to be a counsellor. 3 long years of the course lay ahead.

• However, 2 years into it i suffered a Deep Vein Thrombosis (DVT) and was paralysed for 6 weeks. Once the feeling returned I had to learn to walk again, which i did and got back on the counselling course and caught up with the work.
• During my counselling course i did lots of voluntary work in various fields, and found that it gave me a lot of confidence.
•    Living on my own and looking for some type of work i've spent lots of time on the internet and have met some lovely people. One person, who is now a best friend, is Sue she has been there for me when ive needed someone, especially after my long stay in hospital.  
•   Then again, after another short course in mediation, i was admitted to hospital this time for 5 months. Developing blood infections, kidney and stomach problems, urine infections, severe anemia, and MRSA and foot drop. Again i had to learn to walk, it took a while but i'm at least now back to myself, walking is a little harder but it won't stop me!

•      The beginning of the year (2006) i was still getting back on my feet, walking was slowly getting easier.
• At the same time i was in touch with Tracey Whitewood-Neal, founder of the Proteus Syndrome Foundation UK (PSF  UK) who put me in touch with the top doctor in the world who knows as much as there is to know about PS.
• Following a consultation with him in May i was finally told that i possibly do have Proteus Syndrome. It wasn't a definite diagnosis, but its the nearest i have ever to come to knowing.
•   After the help i received from the PSF i wanted to give something back and do some fundraising, so after a few weeks of organising the £ for PSF Day was born.

So after this the media wheel started to turn and the rest as they say is history. See media appearances section for how life changed in 2006/7 and beyond.

So after all the media coverage I have had, 2010 brought a year of big change, after living with infection after infection for up to 12 years, my ulcer on my left foot developed blood poisoning. This meant that it had to be amputated or it would have killed me.

I was very ill at the time and it took 6 months for me to be discharged from hospital and then I had to start all over again to gain my independence and get my life back on track. It is now 2012 and I am still on the road of recovery, but I have belief in myself that one day I will achieve what I need to have a full and independent life.

Here we are in 2014:

    So here we are in 2014 & I am still striving for independence and I will get there, I am due to get a new vehicle soon that will mean I can drive from my wheelchair. This will make a huge difference to my life and will mean that I can actually leave my home on my own for the first time in 4 and half years! I still need a new wheelchair that I can get in and out of without hurting myself, but that will hopefully be in the pipeline soon, so watch this space for pics of me whizzing around in my WAV (wheelchair Accessible Vehicle)

  So here he is, Walter, my new Wheelchair Accessible vehicle. There have been a few ups and downs since we met, mainly due to problems with the adaptations, but he certainly making my life easier.

Izzy is a former middle school teacher who quit his job to follow his childhood dream: to become a ninja. That lead Izzy to Japan where he intensively studied Aikido for 4 years. Presently, he is on a journey to train 1,000 hours in the best dojos in the world.

Beth Steinberg is the executive director and co-founder of Shutaf Inclusion Programs, offering year-round, informal-education programs for children, teens and young people with disabilities in Jerusalem. Shutaf is committed to an inclusive teaching model that welcomes all participants - with and without disabilities - regardless of religious, cultural and socioeconomic differences.

Beth moved, with her family, to Israel in 2006 from Brooklyn, NY. She regularly writes on parenting issues for Times of Israel, and is also the artistic director of Theater in the Rough, offering engaging and affordable theatrical opportunities for Jerusalem audiences.

Ben Kubassek was born and raised in a religious commune founded by his grandfather near Kitchener, ON. Canada. However Ben chose a different path for his life. He left the security of the commune at the age of 21 and started his own electrical contracting business. Ben quickly became a serial entrepreneur and started numerous other companies in the home building/land development, construction, retail, and speaking/training arenas.

He is also the founder of Missionary Ventures Canada, Hands for Humanity and Life Legacy Foundation.

Ben now lives in Romania and calls himself a mission entrepreneur. He believes entrepreneurs and not traditional missionaries and relief workers are the key to providing the long-term to poverty and hunger in the world.

May 2012 – Present

Humanitarian (founder/Pres.) - Life legacy Foundation – Working in Romania, development of many social, cultural and educational projects

May 2001 - Present

Humanitarian (founder/Pres.) - Hands For Humanity. - Working in Romania on relief, community development and business development projects. Building churches and community centres. Developing project for street kids. Developing agriculture projects including 10 chicken barns, a feed mill, and a hatchery.

1992 - 2000

Humanitarian (founder/Pres.) – Missionary Ventures Canada. - Built 12 schools for poor children in the country of Guatemala. Developed feeding centres for starving children and built housing for poor families.

1986 - 1996

Mechanical Contractor (founder/Pres.) – Kubassek Mechanical Ltd - Plumbing and heating contractor on commercial, industrial and residential projects.

1984 - Present

Real Estate Developer (founder/Pres.), – Kubassek Holdings Ltd. - Developer and builder of residential communities completing over 700 homes, www.3ehouse.ro, www.canadianvillage.ro

1981 - 1996

Electrical contractor (founder/Pres.), – Kubassek Electrical Ltd. - Electrical contractor on commercial, industrial and residential projects.

1972-1981

Farmer – Community Farm of the Brethren - Managed a flock of 7000 laying hens. Set up a new slaughter house. In charge of electrical maintenance for the farm. Setup new feed mill.

Publication(s)

Succeed Without Burnout (book, 1995)

Five F-Words That will Energize Your Life (book, 1998)

Achieving Real Balance (training manual, 2001)

Accomplishments

Finalist – Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year Award, 1994

Listed – Who’s Who in Canadian Business, 1995

Listed – Who’s Who in Ontario, 1996

On November 3, 2014, Ms. Nicole M. Forrester became the President & Chief Executive Officer of Pacific Resources for Education and Learning (PREL), an independent, nonprofit corporation that serves the educational community in the U.S.-affiliated Pacific islands, including American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap), Guam, Hawai‘i, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau.

Ms. Forrester has over a decade of cross-cultural, global leadership experience in the education, community, business, think-tank and government sectors. Throughout her career, Ms. Forrester has built enduring relationships and created partnerships across diverse disciplines to lead innovative and complex initiatives which address multifaceted global, regional, and local challenges by implementing holistic, culturally responsive, stakeholder-owned programs.

Most recently, Ms. Forrester served as director of the Young Leaders Program at Pacific Forum Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Her deep roots in the Pacific underscored her career as an associate lecturer at her alma mater, Queensland University of Technology’s (QUT) Oodgeroo Noonuccal Indigenous Studies Unit, where she focused on health promotion and advancing educational outcomes for Indigenous students.

Following her time at QUT, Ms. Forrester joined the Australian diplomatic service and was appointed Consul in Los Angeles and later, Acting Director of the United Nations and Commonwealth Section. She subsequently accepted the role of Senior International and Government Relations Advisor for the Australian Industry Group. In 2011, she moved to Hawai’i to become a fellow at the East-West Center’s Asia-Pacific Leadership Program and was awarded the Amanda and Natalie Ellis Women Leaders Scholarship. At Pacific Forum CSIS, she concurrently held a WSD-Handa Fellowship for her research on the impact of social media on Next-Generation attitudes toward international issues.

She has been published on Australian foreign policy, Australia-U.S. relations, and modernizing the U.S. alliance system in the Asia-Pacific region. In February 2014, the U.S. Congress recognized her leadership of the Young Leaders Program and its contribution to cross-cultural interaction, education in policy making, and facilitation of inter-generational dialogues.

Ms. Forrester is of Wiradjuri Australian decent, a heritage that serves as the foundation of her life-long personal and professional commitment to Indigenous communities in Australia and across the Pacific. She is a sought after thought-leader with U.S., with extensive international media exposure.

About PREL

PREL envisions a world where all children and communities are literate and healthy, global participants grounded in and enriched by their cultures. Throughout the Pacific, a region of diverse languages and cultures, PREL collaborates with clients and partners using the proven results of research to improve schooling and promote community change. For more information about PREL, visit www.prel.org.

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