Read the Stories of 40 Incredible Kids Who Have Changed the World

Melati and Isabel Wijsen were only 10 and 12, respectively, when they started on a course of activism that has drastically decreased the global usage of single-use plastic. The young women were inspired by the country of Rwanda's ban of polyethylene bags in 2008, and decided to try to get their native Bali to do the same. Their homegrown initiative of beach cleanups and government petitions graduated to an organizations advocating for reduced plastic use in 15 different countries. Bali is officially plastic bag free, and Indonesia will be by 2021, with the Wijsen to thank.

One of Sierra Leone's most famous inventors got started when he began looking for ways to fix local problems with technology as an 11-year-old, just five years after the country's volatile civil war ended. By 13, he was powering neighborhood houses with batteries made out of acid, soda and metal in a tin cup. He went on to build a community radio station out of recycled parts that he powered with a generator also made out of reused material. David Sengeh, a PhD student at the MIT media lab and Kelvin's mentor, said: "In Sierra Leone, other young people suddenly feel they can be like Kelvin."

Marley is the activist behind the #1000BlackGirlBooks twitter phenomenon. The hashtag was born out of the avid reader's frustration that she couldn't find any stories where the main characters looked like her. The book drive resulted in more than 11,000 books catalogued with black female protagonists, and counting. Marley also wrote the book Marley Dias Gets It Done: And So Can You as a guide to positive change through activism.

You've probably heard of this environmental activist after her passionate speech at the UN Climate Summit, but this 16-year-old student has been advocating for sustainability for years now. Greta began by protesting Swedish parliament in an effort to get them to do more to prevent climate change. She went on to organize Fridays for Future, a school climate strike movement. As of 2019, more than one million students around the world participated in a multi-city coordinated protest for stronger action against climate change.

After surviving a school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida, a group of a teen activists formed to fight for an end of gun violence. Emma González was one of those students, in addition to David Hogg, Alex Wind, Jaclyn Corin, Cameron Kasky, and many others. She co-founded Never Again MSD, a group for gun control, and gave a moving speech at the March for Lives Rally in which she read the names of her classmates who died in the shooting. After the work of Emma and her fellow activists, the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act was passed by Florida lawmakers in March 2018.

When Nicolas was a tween, he met a brother and sister experiencing homelessness. The pair took turns going to school because they shared a pair of shoes. Nicolas gave the boy a pair of basketball sneakers, and thus kicked off an organization that would come to be known as Gotta Have Sole, through which footwear has been donated to over 99,000 children in homeless shelters.

After being diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome, Asperger's and OCD, Jaylen was bullied by peers for being different. He found that the anxiety he suffered as result of the bullying worsened the symptoms of his disabilities. That's what led Jaylen to found the Jaylen Challenge Foundation, which has educated more than 100,000 kids on recognizing bullying behavior and understanding each others differences.

After 9-year-old Jahkil helped his aunt distribute food at a local homeless shelter in his native Chicago, Jahkil decided he wanted to do more to help his community. This is how Project Am I was founded. Here, Jakhil distributes "Blessing Bags" full of snacks, toiletries, a towel, and socks to people experiencing homelessness. Over 3,000 Blessing Bags have been given out in Chicago communities.

At 17, Yousafzai became the youngest Nobel Prize laureate for her humanitarian efforts. She captured the world's attention after being shot by the Taliban in Pakistan on her way to school because she was an advocate for women pursuing education. She is currently working towards her bachelor's degree at Oxford's Lady Margaret Hall while continuing her charity work through her organization, The Malala Fund.

When Ryan Hickman was 3, he took a visit to the rePlanet recycling center in California. Here, he found his calling. At 7, Ryan started Ryan’s Recycling. What started out as collecting cans and bottles from his neighbors as recycling has risen to over 50 customers and over 200,000 bottles and cans."It's because bottles get to the ocean and then animals get sick and die," he told CNN.

Zuriel is an education advocate for girls in Africa and filmmaker (self-taught no less!) She has interviewed 30 heads of state, created 7 documentaries, and continues to advocate for young women, all by the ripe old age of 17.

Cruz made a name for herself at five years old when she visited Washington D.C. with her family. As representatives of an L.A.-based immigration advocacy group, they were there to deliver a letter to Pope Francis urging him to speak out on behalf of undocumented workers and support the Deferred Action for Parents of Americans Act. The Pope discussed the issue in a meeting with Congress the following day. Cruz's activism earned her an invitation to meet President Obama in 2016 even though her parents couldn't accompany her because of their undocumented status. She took part in the Women's March in D.C. where, as the featured speaker, she spoke in both Spanish and English saying, "We are here together making a chain of love to protect our families. Let us fight with love, faith and courage so that our families will not be destroyed."

Further proof that the words of a child can make a huge impact, Smith was only 10 when she eased Cold War tensions between the United States and Russia with a single letter. She wrote a note to CPSU General Secretary Yuri Andropov suggesting that both countries could co-exist peacefully, which ended up getting published in a Soviet newspaper. Andropov responded with an invitation for Smith and her family to visit his country. This experience earned her the role of "America's Youngest Ambassador," and she later brought her message of peace to Japan. She also pursued a television career as an actress and as a special correspondent for the Disney Channel covering the 1984 presidential election. Following her untimely death at 13 in a plane crash, her achievements were celebrated in her Maine hometown and in Russia where a monument was built in her honor.

Masih was Pakistani boy who escaped child slavery at 10 years old and became a leader in the movement to put an end to it once and for all. He helped over 3,000 children escape bondage and traveled the globe speaking out against the issue. Masih was assassinated when he was 12 and roughly 800 people attended his funeral service. However, his legacy lives on well beyond his death. In 2009, Congress started an annual award in his name given to activists fighting to end child labor.

Colvin was 15 when she became a major player in the Civil Rights Movement by refusing to give up her bus seat to a caucasian rider. This was nine months before Rosa Parks was arrested for the same thing. She was one of the four plaintiffs involved in the Supreme Court case that ultimately outlawed segregation on Alabama buses. Colvin has said about her experience, "I feel very, very proud of what I did. I do feel like what I did was a spark and it caught on."

At five years old, Jennings made headlines as one of the youngest publicly documented people to identify as transgender. She has used her platform to advocate for LGBTQIA issues, specifically regarding trans rights. With the assistance of her parents, she founded the TransKids Purple Rainbow Foundation to help transgender youth. Jennings also wrote a children's book and a memoir about her experience in addition to starring in a TLC reality show documenting her journey. She has been honored by GLAAD, Out magazine, Advocate, Logo TV, and the Human Rights Campaign.

Young people using social media may not seem life-changing, but one look at Abed's Twitter page will change your mind. At just seven years old, she documented her life in war-torn Syria to call attention to the atrocities happening there. With some assistance from her mother, Abed has called upon world leaders to take action.

At 12 years old, Khatun was a victim of child trafficking until she was rescued by Save the Children. She returned to West Bengal and committed her life to putting an end to the exploitation and trafficking of children. Anoyara has rescued hundreds of children through her efforts and prevented many others from being forced into marriage.

Johnson put a face to the HIV/AIDS crisis in Africa in the 1990s. Born HIV-positive, he gained public attention when he was refused admittance to a public school in Johannesburg because of the disease. He shared his story when he was invited to be the keynote speaker at the 13th International AIDS Conference in 2000 when he was 11 years old. Johnson lost his battle the following year but not before working with his foster mother to create Nkosi's Haven, a refuge for HIV positive mothers and their children. He was posthumously awarded the International Children's Peace Prize in 2005.

Chama received the 2007 International Children's Peace Prize when she was 16 for her work as an educational rights activist in Zambia. She has also been a crusader for the rights of people living with HIV/AIDS in Africa.