Youth Ambassador Program

The 2006 HERO Youth Ambassadors and staff with David Rattray at
Fugitives Drift in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

In the summer of 2006 HERO launched a new student initiative, the HERO Youth Ambassador Program. This program was developed in response to the growing interest of American teens to embrace their role as global citizens. The idea behind the HERO Youth Ambassador Program is a simple one: to allow students from diverse racial, religious and economic backgrounds the opportunity to spend their summer vacation volunteering in HIV/AIDS-affected communities and HERO supported schools in Africa. This journey challenges students to work together with local African communities to physically get involved and help work to solve some of the basic problems such as lack of access to water, crumbling school infrastructure and food security.

In its first year the program gave 11 teenagers the chance to go to South Africa and Namibia to work in HERO-sponsored schools and see firsthand the effects of the HIV/AIDS epidemic. While working in HERO schools the Youth Ambassadors helped make a difference in the lives of many children, teachers and community members by building a kitchen for an in-school feeding program, installing security fencing, digging holes for toilets, installing playground equipment and spending time teaching classes.

2007 Youth Ambassadors and counselors in Namibia

The trip was so successful that HERO decided to run the program again in the summer of 2007 with a total of 24 teenagers selected from 18 states around the country from a national search, sponsored by beinggirl.com and CosmoGIRL! Magazine. The 2007 Ambassadors were split into two groups that worked simultaneously for four weeks in two countries.

Now in its 3rd year, HERO partnered once again with CosmoGIRL! and beinggirl.com and selected 21 teens from the US and Canada to travel to southern Africa as official 2008 Youth Ambassadors. The group returned home from their six week journey in August to find a renewed sense of accomplishment, new friendships and a better understanding of their role as global citizens. They ended up volunteering their time by building homes for school children and their families in Namibia as well as installing security fencing and playground equipment, painting classrooms and offering hands-on creative and recreational programs in South Africa. 

2008 Youth Ambassadors in Eenhana, Namibia with local
officials and members of the construction crew