In the heart of a bustling city, Rana looks through the second-story window of her cluttered home onto the dusty streets crowded with people. Taking a shaky breath, she rolls up her pant legs so they won’t get dirty on her way to school. She dreams of the day she lives in a house, not a crumbling slum. She dreams of the day she gets to be a doctor. Those dreams feel far away. And hard.
Across the world, Ali peers out of the tattered tent where his family of five has lived since the bombings. In the six months since they fled, the camp has almost doubled in size and grows more congested by the day. Like many other young people in the refugee camp, he can’t go to school; it seems suffocating to never get to learn beyond third grade.
In the inner-city, Jayden struggles to keep up in school. He’s been passed from grade to grade, but he knows he hasn’t learned enough. He’s confused most days at school, and the kids around him seem like life is going so much better for them. They never talk to him. The hard thoughts come fast— I’m never going to understand. I’m not good at anything. Something’s wrong with me. There’s nothing about me to like.
These are the realities youth face. Every day.
There are 1.8 billion young people worldwide. On a daily basis, they experience poverty, displacement, learning loss, lack of resources, absence of support, and poor mental health. As these weighty struggles grow, young people easily lose hope for their futures.
1 out of every 2 young people are born into poverty, and 3 out of every 4 of these young people will never break free from the cycle of poverty.
Every 2 seconds, someone is forced to leave their home due to war, persecution, or natural disaster. Leaving behind everything they know, youth face constant uncertainty and lack of opportunities in make-shift living situations that they often live in for years or even lifetimes.
In every circumstance— from extreme poverty to suburban wealth— young people are growing up in what is considered the worst mental health crisis in history. Globally, 1 in 7 young people experience a mental disorder, and every 11 minutes a young person will commit suicide.
Without access to education, a stable environment, or caring, dedicated systems of support, young people will not survive. We will lose their lives and the potential innovations, solutions, and contributions they were made for.
We don’t have to lose their lives. Boy With a Ball is on a mission to reach every young person. By developing teams like leagues of superheroes, we go out into the world’s hardest to reach neighborhoods. We find young people and fight for them. We launch them as changemakers who will lead their own communities into transformation.
By 2030, we are working to establish 30 of these teams. Will you be a part of it? Join by giving or going and gather with others who are taking part in changing the realities for young people by attending the Love Your City Conference 2025 in Metro-Atlanta, GA.
