Kimmie Weeks

Kimmie Weeks
  • Founder and Executive Director
    Youth Action International (YAI)

Degree, Amherst College; Master's, Univ. of Pennsylvania. Civil war survivor. Experience in forming partnerships and leading organizations providing education to thousands of students in West Africa; lobbied for disarmament of over 20,000 child soldiers; provided healthcare and recreation supplies to children; since 1995, from age 14, has worked to alleviate poverty and human suffering in Africa and the world; 1998, investigated and released report on Liberian government's involvement in training child soldiers; featured in Peace in Our Lifetime; Founder, Youth Action Int'l, to support needs of families living in post-war countries; 2011, Head, Water and Sewer Corp., Liberia, to bring water to 1 million people. Strategist, Cellcom GSM, Liberia. Recipient: Golden Brick Award; Humane Order of African Redemption. As a child, Kimmie Weeks came face to face with civil war, suffering and death. He has formed partnerships and led organizations providing education in West Africa, lobbied the disarmament of child soldiers and provided healthcare and recreation supplies to children. In 1998, he released a report on the Liberian government's involvement in training child soldiers. As a result of several attempts to assassinate him, he was granted political asylum in the US, where he established Youth Action International to support families in post-war countries. In 2008, it benefited almost 150,000 people in Africa. He was awarded the 2007 Golden Brick Award, and became the youngest recipient of Liberia's highest honour, Knight Grand Commander in the Humane Order of African Redemption. He is featured in Peace in Our Lifetime as an international peacemaker. In 2008, his work was profiled as part of a series called 4REAL. In 2009, CNN's African Voices series featured his life and work. He holds a Bachelor's from Amherst College and Master's from the University of Pennsylvania. He is Executive Director of Youth Action International, and on the Board of Directors of DoSomething.