Luiza Villanova

Luiza

Nominated by: Latin American Leadership Academy 

All 2019 Children’s Peace Prize Nominees

Luiza had to move away from home after her parents faced severe financial difficulties. Luiza suffered physical and psychological aggression from her peers, but continued to give her best inside and outside classroom, believing that it was possible to build a better school environment. All her effort was paid off when a gigantic poster with her name was placed on the school’s mural celebrating her first general place in the school ranking. However, she kept on being bullied by her peers. Her suffering was put in a book, where she wrote about her experience with the hope that other people could identify themselves with her and heal their wounds. She founded an organization called “Gotinhas do Bem”, which has the mission to develop social emotional skills and cognitive skills in children. The organization has impacted more than 300 children all over Brazil, engaging more than 20 volunteers in the project. After a few months of teaching the children, Luiza and the professors were able to notice differences in their behaviours Gotinhas do Bem is impacting more and more people and by the end of 2019 it plans to impact 7600 children.