The Little Things | Mary Maker | TEDxStOlafCollege

The small little things in life end up not being the so little things in life. Mary Makers talks about
the power of coming together to give back to our community. She highlights her work at Elimisha
Kakuma, a non profit that helps refugees in Kakuma Refugee Camp access tertiary education.
Started in April of 2021 the success was made possible by all the co-founders, the community
that chimed in, the interns that volunteered, and the students that showed up for themselves.
The small sparks became many sparks, a fire, and that’s the power of the small little things. Mary Maker is a South Sudanese refugee who has supported the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) since 2018 and was appointed a Goodwill Ambassador in March 2023. After fleeing her war-torn country as a child, Mary found safety in the Kakuma refugee camp in Kenya. Mary overcame many challenges to graduate secondary school; she then became a teacher of young refugees in her community while fighting for opportunities to further her own education. Mary is currently studying Literature and Theatre as part of a scholarship program at St. Olaf College in the United States. She sees education as an essential tool for rebuilding lives and empowering a generation of refugee children - particularly girls - who are too often denied entrance into the classroom. Mary has said: "For the child of war, an education can turn their tears of loss into a passion for peace". This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at www.ted.com/tedx

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