VOICE TWO:

Our next individual who is making a difference has come a long way from living in homeless shelters and the streets of Newark, New Jersey. Twenty-five year old Rahfeal Gordon was honored this year by the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. He was recognized for giving speeches that urge young people to improve their lives.

Mister Gordon tells people: "If nobody ever says that you're brilliant, say it to yourself every day. Look yourself in the mirror. If you have survived something, I don't care how small, how big, you've survived it."

VOICE ONE:

Rahfeal Gordon

Rahfeal Gordon's message is simple: He tells the story of his own life in three parts. Each begins with words from hip-hop songs that he knows will be meaningful to young people.

Mister Gordon uses words from hip-hop songs to help young people, especially those who grew up with poverty and abuse, as he did. His speech is called "Hip-Hop Saved My Life."

Mister Gordon says he listened to performers like Jay-Z, Tupac Shakur and Kanya West during hard times in his life. He says their songs helped him.

VOICE TWO:

Mister Gordon says he had a happy childhood until his parents became dependent on drugs. Then his father began to beat his wife and sons. So they left home, and lived on the streets and in homeless shelters. He says his grandparents helped him survive.

After his brother was murdered, Rahfeal Gordon decided he wanted to help people. "I can't be Superman," he says. "I can't save the world, but I think if I can help an individual, I am saving the world."

Mister Gordon says he hopes to speak to young people across the United States and in other countries. This year, he received an award for social entrepreneurship from the National Foundation for Teaching Entrepreneurship. The award recognizes young people who start businesses that help people or communities.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

Lolan Sipan

Our next individual making a difference is Lolan Sipan, a Kurdish anthropologist in northern Iraq. Anthropologists study human cultures and societies. Mister Sipan is working to save the traditions of Kurdistan's nomadic shepherds.

The nomadic tribes live in the mountains of Iraqi Kurdistan as they have for thousands of years. The shepherds travel from place to place and raise sheep. For months at a time, they live in temporary shelters in the highlands, caring for the animals. Not much is known about the lives of the shepherds. But Lolan Sipan wants to change that.

VOICE TWO:

Lolan Sipan is attempting to gather information about the number of tribes and the number of families. He also wants to learn about the lives of the women and children, and the tribes' struggle for survival.

Each summer, Mister Sipan travels to where the shepherds live. Life is not as peaceful as it appears because of Turkish and Iranian military threats. For example, Mister Sipan found an unexploded bomb in one area.

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