Emme Morin
I’m a 15-year-old student from Dartmouth – Cole Harbour as well as a swimmer, cyclist, runner, triathlete, and proud member of the IRACELIKEAGIRL endurance team. Being involved with sport has given me so much; therefore, I’m committed to promoting girls’ participation in physical activity. I’m the director of the IRACELIKEAGIRL Youth Team, a coach with START2FINISH, a running and reading club, a junior coach with Girls Gone Gazelle, a confidence and running club for girls, and an ambassador for the 2019 Keji Multisport Festival.
Last year, I fulfilled my dream of swimming across the Northumberland Strait in support of Brigadoon Village. Through my participation in The BIG SWIM and my involvement with GIVETOLIVE, I became inspired to lead a purposeful life.
I believe in GIVETOLIVE’s mission of living a happy and healthy life through “generosity, fitness, and achievement of the extraordinary.” So, this year, I’m attempting The BIG CHILL, a 5 km snowshoe event in support of the Lawrencetown Education Centre, The BIG RIDE, a 500+ km cycle over 5 days in support of the Beatrice Hunter Cancer Research Institute, and The BIG SWIM, a 15+ km swim from New Brunswick to Prince Edward Island in support of Brigadoon Village.
I had an amazing time at the Rise and Lead Girls Conference, and I’m excited to work with the Network for the Empowerment of Women. I believe girls have grit and can do incredible things.
Foluke Akinkunmi
With a strong love for the arts, Foluke is the lead bass for the school band as well as the CPA jazz band, mastering the upright bass and electric bass. She is an active member of the School Advisory Council and she is the assistant media director of the CPA students council. she enjoys being able to advocate as a grade rep on those platforms. She enjoys being a U16/18 BMBA athlete. She demonstrates her love for the sport by being a student volunteer for the BMBA tots.
Her love for kids is evidenced by being a Sunday School teacher with the DUPC. Foluke runs her own business with her creative nature designing home wall prints and event posters for clients around Halifax. Her most important activity that she participates in is her nonprofit organization, of G Inspire 360. The nonprofit came about by Foluke’s conviction that girls around the world irrespective of their social economic status or where they come from should have the opportunity to dream like anyone else and achieve those dreams to help in gaining momentum to demystify the stereotypes placed on girls and especially girls of other heritage. Her tagline is, Dream it, Be it! Her belief is if you shot for the sky, you will atleast land amongst the stars. She believes the fear of aiming high should be dispelled. Headed by Foluke, the nonprofit has 5 other leaders from CPA with diverse backgrounds looking to carry the message onward.
Her aim is to spread positivity, inspire, motivate, and start the conversation to dispell the narratives that the girl child is only suitable for certain roles in society.
G Inspire
G Inspire is a group of teenage girls striving to inspire other teenage girls around the world to persevere despite adversity. G Inspire is a safe place where girls can come together to collaborate and try to make a change in the world. Outside of G Inspire’s online presence, we also do service projects where we make a global impact to help contribute to the elimination of sexism.
We created G Inspire because we know that equality remains an issue all over the world. We feel like as global citizen we cannot simply stand by and watch from a distance and that we must be the ones to speak up for others and help people discover their voice. We want to inspire girls and show them that age, race nor gender should not be a barrier for creating change or achieving your goals.
Fatima Alzaabi
Fatima Alzaabi is a 17 year old, third year Bachelor of Sciences student at Dalhousie University. She is studying for a double major in Microbiology and Immunology.
Fatima has been involved in two humanitarian trips to Kenya and Ecuador respectively, where she worked alongside other volunteers to build dorms for girl’s schools.
Her humanitarian trips to Africa opened her to a new perspective of the world. She witnessed firsthand, the lack of clean water for girls and other children her age.
Upon her return to Canada, Fatima made a firm decision to raise $10,000 in order to provide portable drinking water for a girls’ secondary school in Kenya. Fatima believes that access to clean water will empower women and girls in Kenya. These women and girls walk long distances on foot every day to access drinking water.
She has since started her fundraiser, and she is almost at her goal. Fatima believes that hard work can get you to anywhere you want to be, and that nothing can stop you from doing what you want in life except you.
She aspires to become a cardiothoracic surgeon, and to travel around the world learning about different cultures and ways of life.
Fatima will be speaking at the Girls Inspire Girls Summit celebrating UN International Day of the Girl Child on October 12th at the Canada Games Center.
Ugonma Olugu
Mercy Ugonma (The Eagle) Olugu is originally from Nigeria. She goes to Citadel High School and in grade 10. She loves school, and it comes first in everything she does.
Mercy loves sports, and in 2018, she held the record as the best in the Atlantic Region for the vertical jump, jumping 73.7cm. And also broke the record with 10m and 30m sprint times. She was adjudged “the top female performer at the RBC Training Ground talent scout in 2018. She broke the Atlantic region record at 13. Mercy holds a total of 46 medals and awards from sports and academics combined.
She wants to become a medical doctor, specializing in paediatrics. She wants to find out why malaria killed her twin sister at 16 months, and continues to kill children in Africa every 30 seconds. She also wants to become famous in sports, using sports to create awareness about malaria while using her medical knowledge to put a stop to this poverty disease, and needless deaths called malaria.
Mercy’s life is driven by pain, even when she doesn’t feel the urge to keep going, her pain is what keeps her going.
She loves African drumming. Mercy came from a family of 5 who love African drumming. She relaxes with African drums, and plays along with my family. Mercy drums with a purpose: To drum up support, to drum up hope and to drum up smiles for the children who are dying of malaria needlessly.
“We cannot forget the children we left behind. These children are not dying of the disease, they are dying of poverty and neglect. One life lost to malaria is one too many.”
Mercy is from a wonderful Christian family. Her parents and faith in God keeps her going and she will eternally remain grateful for her family for always drumming up support for her; especially her Dad.
Mercy believes that Canada is beautiful and she loves Canada so much.
“It’s a land of opportunity but you would have work your way up because nobody can take you there except yourself.”
Her dad reminds her always that everything in life is painful. Now after 11 years of playin the drum, she can drum non-stop for hours without feeling any pain. Her dad was right. Pain cannot stop her except her. She has learned through drumming that no pain is permanent. Losing her twin sister was painful but that has inspired her to go for the best.
“Never waste your pain because God has a purpose for your pain.”
Mercy will be speaking at the Girls Inspire Girls Summit celebrating UN International Day of the Girl Child on October 12th at the Canada Games Center.