Xa is only 14 years old, but for years, she knew what her future holds: early marriage. Where she lives in Vietnam, arranged marriages are prevalent and most girls are married as teenagers. Both of Xa’s grandmothers married at 15. Her mother married at 17. Her sister married at 19. In her culture, women are the breadwinners of the family. Once, Xa’s mother had to go to the forest to chop down a tree even though she was heavily pregnant.

From a young age, Semira was in charge of the chores around the house. She would fetch water, cook, and collect firewood for her family while her three brothers would spend their time leisurely. None of them thought anything of it – it was just how things had always been in their community in rural Ethiopia.

Just 21, Andreea is one of hundreds of World Vision volunteers working on rotation day and night to support people fleeing Ukraine. Andreea grew up in a small, rural area in eastern Romania. Many children in her community did not have the chance to attend school so they spent their days in the fields caring for animals.

Answering a distress call from a 13-year-old girl, Mousumi jumps into action. The young girl is in tears, having overheard her parents discussing a wedding – hers. She had been taken to another village in hopes of being quietly forced into marriage.

A teenager, dreamer and now youth mayor of her community -- meet Nahomy of Yamaranguila in western Honduras! At 13 years old, Nahomy was recently elected youth mayor of her community and has wasted no time tackling the issues on the ground.

Samira* was 14 years old when everything changed. From a simple and idyllic life in rural West Bengal, the young girl travelled to Mumbai to find work as a domestic helper and support her family. Her brother-in-law was supposed to find her a job, but he had other plans. Instead of finding work as a help, he sold Samira into the sex trade.