We Can Change The World

Presenter Isy Suttie speaks to Freya Lewis, who was a victim of the Manchester Arena attack in 2017 after attending the Ariana Grande concert. Freya spent five and a half weeks in hospital and suffered 29 separate injuries from the attack.With her Dad’s help, they started a fundraising page to give something back to the hospital that helped save her life. During her recovery Freya learned to walk again and went on to run the Manchester Children’s Run, then completed the full Manchester 10K in 2019, all to help raise even more money for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.Freya talks about the obstacles she overcame during recovery, a visit from Ariana Grande, her love for Harry Styles and her fundraising mission.This is how Freya is changing the world…

Presenter Isy Suttie speaks to the incredible Salvador Gómez-Colón from Puerto Rico, who at just 15 years old took it upon himself to launch a crowdfunding campaign to help those in desperate need.The unprecedented disaster completely devastated the island, but through Light and Hope for Puerto Rico, Salvador helped to raise around $175,000 for portable solar lamps and hand-operated washing machines for the residents.Since the hurricane, Salvador has been recognised as one of Time Magazine’s Most Influential Teens and has been awarded the President's Environmental Youth Award for his social-humanitarian work as well as continuing to spread the message to always do the best we can for others.This is how Salvador is changing the world…

Presenter Isy Suttie talks to Bea and Georgia, two members of the campaign group Girls Against, who have used their experiences of unwanted sexual advances at music gigs to challenge attitudes in the music industry and help make going to watch music a safer experience for everyone.When Bea bonded over a love of indie music with a group of girls online, she was shocked to discover that they had all shared experiences of being groped at gigs and other unwanted sexual advances. They decided to start an anti-groping campaign group called Girls Against, and having experienced groping herself, Georgia soon joined the group as well.After using social media to highlight unwanted sexual advances at a music gig for the band Peace, Girls Against blew up overnight with a wave of support from bands including Wolf Alice and Slaves as well as mainstream press coverage. Girls Against have used that exposure to create a discussion in the music industry about sexual assault, taken their platform to the Reading and Leeds festival and educated security staff on how to spot unwanted advances. They have even started running their own music gigs that encourage sexual assault prevention and include dedicated safe space areas.This is how Bea and Georgia are changing the world…

Presenter Isy Suttie speaks to the brilliant Krtin Nithiyanandam whose fascination in science and research lead him to develop a ground breaking idea to help diagnose the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.Krtin has always had a curious mind and it was that curiosity which led him to develop a ground breaking idea that has not only changed his life but has the potential to change thousands of lives.Through sheer determination his work has not gone unnoticed; being recognised internationally when he won the Scientific American Innovative Awards in 2015, being listed as one of Time Magazine's Most Influential Teens in 2017 and fast forward to 2020 where he continues to study at Stanford University, California.This is how Krtin is changing the world…

Presenter Isy Suttie talks to the inspirational Brooke Taylor who has raised over £50,000 for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital who have treated her since birth. Brooke was born with a spinal condition called spondylolisthesis and has had more operations than she’s had birthdays. Despite this Brooke has courageously campaigned to give back to the hospital charity to make life easier for other young patients. She has organised countless fundraising events, which she talks about in this podcast, from the ‘Forbidden Mile’ to ‘Brooke’s Barmy Army’, and was presented with JustGiving’s coveted Fundraiser of the Year award. She’s even an accredited para-cyclist and has trained at the Manchester Velodrome. She’s absolutely unstoppable and is determined to help others as well as pursuing her dreams no matter what! This is how Brooke is changing the world…

Presenter Isy Suttie talks to Oxford University students Alex and Martha, who turned their love of literature into a charity where books are donated to homeless people.Alex and Martha were shocked at the contrast of university life compared to those sleeping rough in the city and wanted to do something to help. They started their journey entirely through social media and word of mouth, getting local students and colleges involved who would donate the books and make sure they reached the people who would welcome them for much-needed entertainment and respite.Now Alex and Martha are looking at growing their charity, teaming up with local organisations in the hope of creating a mobile library to get more people involved with the work they do.This is how Alex and Martha are changing the world…

Presenter Isy Suttie speaks to the amazing Jemima Browning, who started a swimming club especially for young people with disabilities and has since travelled across the world and set up her own campaign to spread her message of inclusivity.Growing up in Tadcaster, Jemima loved swimming with her brother Will who has Downs Syndrome but when she learned that there were no swimming clubs he could join as he got older she decided with the help of her local swimming pool to set up her own club which she called Stingrays.Through Stingrays, Jemima has been able to help not just Will but many young people with physical and intellectual disabilities find a passion and freedom in swimming. Her work has led her to join forces with the Special Olympics and put together a campaign called #UnifiedRocks where people paint rocks with inclusive messages across the world for people to find.This is how Jemima is changing the world…

Presenter Isy Suttie talks to the inspiring Mercy Shibemba who decided to start challenging stigmas around HIV after she found out that she was born with the virus. It’s a journey that has taken her across the world, resulting in her receiving a Diana Award and much more.When Mercy was told by her Doctor that she was born with HIV, she was confused about the virus she didn’t then know much about. After meeting other young people with HIV at an event in London, she started working with the Children’s HIV Association to challenge stigmas attached to the virus and show that when treated properly HIV doesn’t stop anyone from living a normal life.After meeting Prince Harry at the International AIDS Conference in 2016, she came out publicly as HIV positive a year later when he presented her with a Diana Award. Since then Mercy has continued to campaign on HIV Awareness and she’s now involved in a commission aiming to end HIV transmissions in England by 2030.This is how Mercy is changing the world…

Presenter Isy Suttie talks to the extraordinarily talented Trisha Prabhu in Boston. Having experienced bullying herself and being fed up of seeing others bullied online, Trisha decided she had to do something to help. At the age of 13 she carried out her own scientific research to find out what could help prevent young people from taking part in bullying on the internet. By the time she was 14 Trisha’s research had led to the creation of a software she now calls ‘Rethink’, which has gained the thumbs up from tech heavyweights MIT and Google. What started off as a school project has now been introduced to over 5 million students around the world as a solution to help prevent online hate.This is how Trisha is changing the world...

Presenter Isy Suttie talks to the brilliant Alvin Owusu who decided to use his ten step plan to make a positive change not only to his life but to those around him. Having lived most of his life in Hackney, Alvin has seen first-hand the effects a low income and being from a BAME background can impact your chances.Alvin started working as a Lead Mentor with Debate Mate, whose main aim is to improve young people’s communication skills. After just two years with the charity he became the founder of ‘The Advantage Group’ a social enterprise that aims to raise the attainment and employability of students from diverse backgrounds.Alvin’s hard work and determination has not gone unnoticed, being recognised as one of Time Magazine’s Most Influential Teens, he’s received the Prime Minister’s Points of Light Award and was recently selected as an #iWill Ambassador.This is how Alvin is changing the world…