Yedesdes Sintayehu is a human rights advocate who is passionate about gender equality and women’s rights. She was born in a small town in Ethiopia which made her especially aware of the struggles girls go through in their lives. In the pursuit of her passion, she decided to study law and received a law degree from Hawassa University. In her university years, she was able to continue her work on gender-related issues by joining and creating various clubs and initiatives. As a volunteer in different youth-led initiatives and civil societies over the years, she has instigated, planned and organized various projects and events that bring to focus the problems she and majority of the girls in Ethiopia face. As a young girl living in a developing country, she believes engaging the youth in important issues can bring an impactful and sustainable change. Currently, she works at CARE Ethiopia on a project, Livelihood for Resilience, with the goal to reduce food insecurity and increase resilience for households as well as working towards alleviating the gender gap found within the rural part of her country. She is also a volunteer counselor for girls aged 15-19 at World Wide Orphanage. She is a Young African Leadership Initiative alumnus, a very selective intense leadership training held in Nairobi, Kenya. She believes that a positive change never comes easy nor fast. Thus she persistently pushes gender equality issues through volunteering, debating, and keeping active. As her first name which translates to happy, optimistic and energetic in her native language, Yedesdes is a very energetic and compassionate person.