Every Thursday on our Global Activism series, we hear about an individual who’s decided to work to make the world a better place.

This week we talk with the group Heshima Kenya. The organization is devoted to identifying, protecting and empowering unaccompanied refugee children and youth living in Nairobi. According to the UNHCR, the United Nation’s refugee agency, there are about 340,000 refugees in Kenya. Many are confined to designated camps but about 100,000 are now living in Nairobi.

The Kenyan government focuses its services on the camps, which leaves many refugees without the support they need. This is particularly true for young children, many of whom are young girls who have no family.  Heshima Kenya was created to serve this population.

Anne Sweeney is the  co-founder of Heshima Kenya. Anne’s been working with refugees for nearly 20 years.