Decatur, GA
About Me: My name is Kourtlynn Johnson. I'm 17 years old and I attend the Lovett School in Atlanta, Georgia. I am currently involved with the CARE Future Leaders program, which focuses on fighting poverty and empowing women and children as well. This summer, I, along with several others, will be traveling to Ecuador; and I am extremely excited to assist people there in any way that I can.
EDUCAPODER is an intensive education, training and community empowerment program that works to help marginalized youth in Ecuador develop the critical leadership skills to improve their lives. Educapoder targets marginalized indigenous adolescent girls, the most vulnerable members of the community, by enabling them to complete general education while strengthening their cultural identity, self-esteem and inclusion in decision-making forums in an active way. In effort to affect comprehensive and sustainable change, Educapoder also works with families, teachers and the local government to further prevent gender-based violence and child abuse. Funds raised will be used to support Educapoder trainings and peer tutoring for adolescents. During the training, adolescents will learn how to develop dialogue about their rights, participate in decision-making in the community, and advocate for issues affecting their daily lives such as violence against women, child labor and reproductive health. By completing the 6-month Educapoder program, they will be better equipped to deal with child labor, sexual exploitation, teenage pregnancy and gender-based violence and fight for the improvement of living conditions in their own communities.