March 8th is International Women’s Day, and this week we are celebrating all our female changemakers.
In the last seven years, 1,800 women and girls have joined the global community of Pollination Project changemakers. Coming from different countries and cultures, with different experiences and backgrounds, they all share a strong spirit of service and a firm will to make their communities and the world more just, equitable and sustainable places.
They are activists, journalists, educators, mothers and daughters, unsung heroes with stories of courage, determination, empathy and deep love.
Vegan activists like Michelle Carrera who started “Chili on Wheels” in 2014, making veganism accessible to communities in need through services such as meal shares, food demos, clothing drives, and mentorship. In the last 7 years she has distributed more than 100,000 hot meals in 8 different areas.
Young heroes like 14-year-old Isabella Hanson who created the “I Matter” national poetry competition to amplify young voices raising awareness about racial injustices and civil unrest in the U.S.
Activists like Mona Yadav, founder of Sahas Foundation, a youth run organization in India working towards creating a gender inclusive society by educating young people on the issues of Gender, Sexuality and Reproductive Health.
Doctors like Umra Omar, who founded Safari Doctors, a group of volunteers in Kenya bringing free medical care by boat to the islands’ increasingly isolated people. Each month, her team sets sail in a vessel loaded with medicine and conducts mobile clinics across at least 15 remote villages, reaching over 1,000 patients.
Animal rights activists such as Poli Sotomayor in Mexico, who created Polifacética, a YouTube Channel about health, empathy and daily activism; or Fernanda Ellwanger de Lima from The Animal Voice Sanctuary, a non-profit institution in Brazil hosting more than 300 non-human animal victims of the livestock industry, abandonment, or abuse.
Journalists like Stefania Prandi in Italy, whose award winning project, The Consequences, looks at the aftermath of domestic violence through stories, words, and photographs of the lives victims leave behind.
Filmmakers like Carly Wilson in Australia, working on wildlife conservation issues. Her documentary “Rubber Jellyfish” about marine debris has been screened more than 60 times all around the world and has directly resulted in improvements to litter legislation in both Australia and the United States.
These are just a few examples of a large community of extraordinary women whose work we have had the privilege and honor in playing even a small part.
Their actions and authentic voices are making a vital and positive difference for so many; our heartfelt gratitude to them today and every day.
