We Can Change The World BBC Sounds

Presenter Isy Suttie speaks to Freya Lewis, who was a victim of the Manchester Arena attack in 2017 after attending the Ariana Grande concert. Freya spent five and a half weeks in hospital and suffered 29 separate injuries from the attack.
With her Dad’s help, they started a fundraising page to give something back to the hospital that helped save her life. During her recovery Freya learned to walk again and went on to run the Manchester Children’s Run, then completed the full Manchester 10K in 2019, all to help raise even more money for Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital.
Freya talks about the obstacles she overcame during recovery, a visit from Ariana Grande, her love for Harry Styles and her fundraising mission.
This is how Freya is changing the world…

Presenter Isy Suttie speaks to the incredible Salvador Gómez-Colón from Puerto Rico, who at just 15 years old took it upon himself to launch a crowdfunding campaign to help those in desperate need.
The unprecedented disaster completely devastated the island, but through Light and Hope for Puerto Rico, Salvador helped to raise around $175,000 for portable solar lamps and hand-operated washing machines for the residents.
Since the hurricane, Salvador has been recognised as one of Time Magazine’s Most Influential Teens and has been awarded the President's Environmental Youth Award for his social-humanitarian work as well as continuing to spread the message to always do the best we can for others.
This is how Salvador is changing the world…

Presenter Isy Suttie talks to Bea and Georgia, two members of the campaign group Girls Against, who have used their experiences of unwanted sexual advances at music gigs to challenge attitudes in the music industry and help make going to watch music a safer experience for everyone.
When Bea bonded over a love of indie music with a group of girls online, she was shocked to discover that they had all shared experiences of being groped at gigs and other unwanted sexual advances. They decided to start an anti-groping campaign group called Girls Against, and having experienced groping herself, Georgia soon joined the group as well.
After using social media to highlight unwanted sexual advances at a music gig for the band Peace, Girls Against blew up overnight with a wave of support from bands including Wolf Alice and Slaves as well as mainstream press coverage. Girls Against have used that exposure to create a discussion in the music industry about sexual assault, taken their platform to the Reading and Leeds festival and educated security staff on how to spot unwanted advances. They have even started running their own music gigs that encourage sexual assault prevention and include dedicated safe space areas.
This is how Bea and Georgia are changing the world…

Presenter Isy Suttie speaks to the brilliant Krtin Nithiyanandam whose fascination in science and research lead him to develop a ground breaking idea to help diagnose the early signs of Alzheimer’s disease.
Krtin has always had a curious mind and it was that curiosity which led him to develop a ground breaking idea that has not only changed his life but has the potential to change thousands of lives.
Through sheer determination his work has not gone unnoticed; being recognised internationally when he won the Scientific American Innovative Awards in 2015, being listed as one of Time Magazine's Most Influential Teens in 2017 and fast forward to 2020 where he continues to study at Stanford University, California.
This is how Krtin is changing the world…

Presenter Isy Suttie talks to the inspirational Brooke Taylor who has raised over £50,000 for the Royal Manchester Children’s Hospital who have treated her since birth. Brooke was born with a spinal condition called spondylolisthesis and has had more operations than she’s had birthdays.

Despite this Brooke has courageously campaigned to give back to the hospital charity to make life easier for other young patients. She has organised countless fundraising events, which she talks about in this podcast, from the ‘Forbidden Mile’ to ‘Brooke’s Barmy Army’, and was presented with JustGiving’s coveted Fundraiser of the Year award. She’s even an accredited para-cyclist and has trained at the Manchester Velodrome. She’s absolutely unstoppable and is determined to help others as well as pursuing her dreams no matter what!

This is how Brooke is changing the world…

Presenter Isy Suttie talks to Oxford University students Alex and Martha, who turned their love of literature into a charity where books are donated to homeless people.
Alex and Martha were shocked at the contrast of university life compared to those sleeping rough in the city and wanted to do something to help. They started their journey entirely through social media and word of mouth, getting local students and colleges involved who would donate the books and make sure they reached the people who would welcome them for much-needed entertainment and respite.
Now Alex and Martha are looking at growing their charity, teaming up with local organisations in the hope of creating a mobile library to get more people involved with the work they do.
This is how Alex and Martha are changing the world…