"In Africa, everywhere you turn you are told, 'It ain't gonna happen.' But my dad would always say 'Keep walking. Press on. It's going to happen.' My life is proof he was right."

- Lovetta Conto, 17, Liberian civil war refugee

When Lovetta Conto was 4 years old, she fled with her father from their Liberian home to Ghana, an escape from the civil war devastating their West African nation. For nine years young Lovetta lived in the Buduburam refugee camp, until a chance meeting that changed her life.

On Nov. 12, Conto came to Mount Madonna School, nestled in the hills northwest of Gilroy, to share her experiences as a refugee and ambassador for world peace. Articulating a message of hope and individual responsibility, the vibrant young woman spoke with confidence and warmth to the high school students and adults in the "Values in World Thought" class.

She also talked about her participation in the recent "Connecting for Change" peace conference in Vancouver, Canada, where she shared the stage with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, and world-renowned authors and leaders.

"Lovetta's been plucked out by fate and propelled into very unusual circumstances," said Ward Mailliard, a longtime Mount Madonna social studies teacher and developer of the "Values in World Thought" curriculum. It was during the September "Connecting for Change" conference that Mailliard - creator of "The Learning Journey" framework used at the conference - met Conto and was struck by her experiences.

Canadian producer and director Jess Fraser flew in to film the interview with the Mount Madonna students, and will incorporate it into a documentary underway about the conference. Mailliard is co-directing the film.

In the Mount Madonna classroom, Conto sat with some 30 juniors and seniors. As the students asked questions and listened to each other, an array of emotions flickered across their faces.

Conto told the students of her first-hand experiences with the hundreds of child soldiers scarred by war, children forced into sex slavery, and a society plagued by poverty and hunger. Some students looked away, finding the raw content difficult.

At age 12 Conto met Cori Stern, an American woman who was at Buduburam teaching refugee community health care workers how to administer a medication that prevents mother-to-child transmission of HIV. Stern first recognized Conto's resiliance, and that contributed to selection as the first Fellow of the Strongheart program. During those years in Ghana, Conto worked with U.S. aid volunteers to help a build a school - the first tuition-free elementary school at Buduburam - and served as an advocate for children with special needs.

"When I was growing up in the refugee camp," Conto has written, "life didn't look like it was going anywhere for me or anybody else. But going through the war gave me my strength, and I knew it was not the end of my life. I envisioned myself as a tree growing up, growing fruit and giving my fruit to other people who needed help. My imagination saw me as more than I was. I knew I had to create a future for myself."

In 2008, Conto was chosen as a finalist for the 2008 International Peace Prize. The prize, an initiative of the KidsRights Foundation has the support of the Nobel Peace Prize Laureates and presented by Desmond Tutu. It is awarded annually to exceptional children who have demonstrated great courage or remarkable actions to help protect and improve the lives of children who face great risks or injustices.

"I am happy to have all of these opportunities," Conto told the Mount Madonna students, "but I cannot be a normal teenager. I'm blessed and I'm grateful, but sometimes I feel alone inside."

As part of her Strongheart Fellowship, Conto was charged to create a project that would benefit her and the world. She's created a necklace made from recovered casings from the thousands of bullets left behind following the end of Liberia's civil war in 2003.

"Some people may say, 'Why should a girl who comes from a place where people struggle to get food care about fashion or jewelry?' But I believe that your spirit wants beauty no matter your conditions. Even something as ugly as a bullet that was fired in a war can be made beautiful if you are willing to work to change it into something else."

Proceeds from the necklace sales help Strongheart House, a home and school for children who've come from challenging life experiences. Strongheart volunteers are renovating a 10,000-square-foot former hotel, used as a rebel headquarters during the war, and the project is about 50 percent complete.

Learn more about Conto's necklace at www.akawelle.com.

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