In her TEDxFulbright Talk at the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington, DC, Rebecca Davis outlined how she transitioned from a high school student who loved literature to founding an organization that teaches dance to street children in Africa.

Would you believe it if you found a Russian-trained ballet dancer running an education program for street children in Guinea? What if you received an email from a homeless child in Rwanda who has never gone to school? What about meeting Bosniaks and Croats from the divided city of Mostar who wait for the chance to dance together each year? These are stories of children who discovered they “matter” through RDDC programs; they are fighting against the obstacles of their circumstances because they believe they can change their lives.

Rebecca Davis is the founder of RDDC, a NGO that creates dance and educational programs for street children and underserved youth in post-conflict and developing countries. Rebecca grew up planning a career as a dancer in Canada until she discovered her love of dance could break the poverty cycle for children in Rwanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Guinea.

In this TEDx Talk, titled “Discovering You Matter”, Rebecca explains how she ended up becoming a social entrepreneur.