Shiny Star: Shannon McNamara, SHARE founder

Photo from Forbes.com

Most 15-year-olds are thinking about shopping, boys, music and school, but Shannon McNamara (now 19) was thinking about her trip to Tanzania and the girls' lack of educational opportunities.  What makes Shannon a shiny star is the next step: she acted, and founded SHARE... and it's still going strong after her fifth trip to Africa.  According to a story in Forbes.com, this remarkable young woman has:

1) Donated 33,000 children’s books to girls in Africa.

2) Impacted 8,000 students and teachers.

3) Signed on 1,500 SHARE volunteers.

4) Created four libraries and three after-school reading programs for girls.

5) Launched SHARE Scholars Program, a scholarship program for girls. Only 5% of all Tanzanian girls graduate from secondary school because unlike primary school, secondary schools charge fees that are unaffordable to the families of the SHARE girls. SHARE provides scholarships so bright and deserving primary school students can attend the Hekima Girls’ Secondary School, the best all-girls boarding school in the region.

6) Launching Tech Tanzania Project: design, build and support a sustainable technology center and system at Hekima Girls’ Secondary School.

What a rock star. Be the change!

Video clip from the Nate Berkus show - worth a watch to see this poised young woman at 17 describe her love for the girls in Africa.