Activist and model Avery McCall has been a fierce champion for human rights since reading Half the Sky at age 12. Through partnering with various organizations, working to support refugees and displaced person and raise awareness of their plight, and using her modeling career and global platform to amplify her message even further; McCall has been much more than a fresh face: She’s a fresh voice calling for social awareness, courage, compassion and change.
McCall wrote an article for Teen Vogue discussing her work helping vulnerable people–both displaced persons and refugees–as well as how many people are faced with such a challenge worldwide. As she works as a human rights activist and encourages others to do the same, she says the biggest effect on her has been the personal time spent with refugees.
Click through to read the rest of McCall’s article, and visit RefugeeOne and the Girl Up to learn more about the organizations she mentions.
teenvogue.com – What is the one item you would grab if your house went up in flames? Would it be your dog? A sentimental photograph? Your favorite T-shirt? Or would you fear so greatly for your life that you would just run? These may seem like hypothetical questions, but if you’re one of the more than 60 million people who have fled their homes due to war, natural disasters, or persecution, you may have already answered them.
Refugees and internally displaced persons are among the most vulnerable in the world. Whether they have crossed international borders (and are considered refugees) or have been forced to relocate within their homeland (and are considered displaced), they may have witnessed or experienced torture, rape, mass murder, and the destruction of their homes. The Syrian refugee crisis that has dominated headlines and political discourse is one example of how millions of individuals can be forced to flee for their lives due to an ongoing armed struggle. But ordinary citizens in places like the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan have been ravaged as well in the wake of varying conflicts verging on genocide.
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