Hannah Godefa leading the fight for girls’ rights

Born in Canada to Ethiopian parents, Hannah Godefa never let age get in the way of her activism. At the age of seven she founded Pencil Mountain, a project which has seen over half a million pencils, school supplies and medical supplies distributed throughout Ethiopia to date. At age nine, she started advocating for child’s rights and at age 15 she became a UNICEF National Ambassador to Ethiopia, a position she continues to hold today.

Over the past 10 years Hannah has been an unfaltering voice for vulnerable Ethiopian children on the international stage, with girls’ rights often being a major focus. She has spoken at a number of prominent events including the World Economic Forum, International Day of the Girl Child, UN Global Compact Leaders Summit and Fifth Replenishment Conference of the Global Fund.  

Hannah has also moderated events all over the globe with key figures including Ban Ki-moon, United Nations Secretary-General, Anthony Lake, UNICEF Executive Director, Paul Kagame, President of Rwanda and MDG Advocacy Group Co-Chair, a plethora of world leaders and other humanitarians such as Melinda Gates and Katy Perry. She also co-wrote an article with the Prime Minister of Norway, Erna Solberg, for CNN entitled Teach a Girl, Enrich the World.  

The new projects Hannah is working on are translating these words into actions.

Read more at: The Reporter