All the effort is worth it at the end of the day. After months of meeting over the weekend and spending many hours on different projects, it was initially difficult to visualize how what I was doing would make an impact. But when Yona sent me videos of the kids watching my videos on television that we had fundraised for or the booklets we had made, they seemed genuinely interested and excited, letting me realize that I was really doing a good thing.
I had the pleasure of interviewing Henry Nielson Koch. Henry is a senior attending Newport Harbor High School, where he plans on studying Biology in college. In high school, Henry founded a non-profit organization in 2023 that works to help enhance educational opportunities for underprivileged children in Uganda and Oaxaca, Mexico. Henry is proficient in three languages: Mandarin Chinese, Spanish, and English, and he uses these skills in the nonprofit and science YouTube videos he has been publishing for the last five years.
Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we dig in, our readers would like to get to know you a bit. Can you tell us a bit about how you grew up?
I grew up like most kids, playing baseball and basketball out in the street. The only thing that was different was that I was always busy with activities outside of school that allowed me to try almost every sport under the sun, learn the piano, and attend many summer camps. There was also the addition that I attended an immersion trilingual school since elementary, which had me taking math and science classes entirely in Chinese on top of a Chinese and Spanish-specific class.
You are currently leading an organization that aims to make a social impact. Can you tell us a bit about what you and your organization are trying to change in our world today?
The significant change we are trying to make everywhere is the access to education and resources that allow us kids in the US to succeed. We are giving those same resources to areas that need them. Most of the children that we help are in the younger elementary years, the time to build a solid educational foundation. As such, we use the information we know and make videos and curricula to supplement their learning in the classroom.
Can you tell us the backstory about what inspired you to originally feel passionate about this cause?
Before Empower Education existed, Green Hill Primary School held lessons under the shade of a tree, where many students had to walk far distances barefoot to the school and receive their singular meal a day. Once I learned of this situation, I knew there was a lot that I could do to help these kids, but even more than a large organization would have been able to achieve. Additionally, with my already existing passion for science, once I saw the limited science information being shared, I felt even more motivated to create and lead the STEM committee so these children could learn about all these great things that I get so excited about in the classroom.
Many of us have ideas, dreams, and passions, but never manifest it. They don’t get up and just do it. But you did. Was there an “Aha Moment” that made you decide that you were actually going to step up and do it? What was that final trigger?
I’m not sure if it was anything specific, but I know that wherever I set my mind to something, it gets done, and I decided that I wanted to help this great cause.
Many young people don’t know the steps to take to start a new organization. But you did. What are some of the things or steps you took to get your project started?
There were undoubtedly many hurdles that we had to overcome when starting the project, but most of the steps that we took fell into place as they needed to happen. We had a cause that we felt we needed to support. By word of mouth, we recruited volunteers from local high schools that started to expand to all sorts of people from across the country, and we always focused on making specific and measurable goals that we could stick to to make a real impact. Additionally, having a resource where you could get many people connected was incredibly helpful, and thanks to “Zoom school,” we are all plenty familiar with using Zoom. Fundraising is the final step after securing everything else, and we use many, many different ways to fundraise, from word of mouth to bake sales to contacting larger businesses.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began leading your company or organization?
The best story from the organization happened last year when we had a significant food packing event, where many of the members finally met one another for the first time after only seeing each other over Zoom for the past few years. It was simply a blast to all come together and contribute to a significant cause of getting these children the food they need to fuel their learning. Many of the students worked on packing the food into individual bags, illustrating boxes shipping the food, or working on social media for the event so we could share our project with more kids to get involved.
It has been said that our mistakes can be our greatest teachers. Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?
The funniest mistake we somehow continue to make is related to daylight savings, as the whole world doesn’t abide by that, one place, particularly Uganda. As such, Yona, who lives in Uganda, sometimes joins the meetings an hour early or just as we’re ending the meeting because we forget to update him when the time changes. I suppose it reinforces how vital communication is to a functioning group.
None of us can be successful without some help along the way. Did you have mentors or cheerleaders who helped you to succeed? Can you tell us a story about their influence?
We created a smaller executive group in the group consisting of the President, Vice president, Secretary, and Treasurer, among many other positions. As we continued to work on these larger projects or even when nothing new or great was happening, we held each other accountable and encouraged one another to keep going and produce the best and most helpful work that we possibly could.
Can you tell us a story about a particular individual who was impacted or helped by your cause?
Yona, a local Ugandan, is the director of Green Hill Primary School in the Kaliro district of Uganda. Yona was originally a lawyer but turned to education when he realized the need for quality education in his area. With the help of establishing Empower Education, we have fundraised over $50,000, built classrooms, purchased the land to build a high school, and built a large garden, among many other items they use on the daily to help the learning process. At every meeting that Yona joins, he expresses his gratitude for all that every single one of the volunteers does for their school and the real, visible impact we make every day.
Are there three things the community/society/politicians can do to help you address the root of the problem you are trying to solve?
Getting resources for schools all over could consist of donations, getting Uganda Starlink, or remapping the core curriculum so these children have better and more excellent opportunities when they grow up to do whatever they dream of.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started” and why? Please share a story or example for each.
1. Nonprofits are no easy feat. I thought it was going to be incredibly easy — “ just signing some papers,” I thought. Instead, it took months of back-and-forth documents, clarifications, and confused bankers for everything to finally be settled.
2. You need everybody to be excited and engaged to make a lasting impact. When we first started the meetings, there were very limited engagements, and consistently, only 2 or 3 people talked the entire time. However, when we started asking icebreaker questions at the beginning of each meeting and breaking up into small groups every meeting, suddenly, everybody started to get to know one another, making all the work much easier and more collaborative.
3. Make a plan and stick to it. Those specific and measurable goals were and continue to be incredibly important to the success of each project that we take on, either as individuals or as a group.
4. Consistency is key. No matter how often you’ve heard the phrase, it’s the best. What we’ve learned as a group is that even if it’s finals week, spring or winter break, or a random month during the summer, having the meetings every Sunday at 5 p.m. establishes a routine that makes all of the volunteers more inclined to join. We also have a similar weekly itinerary because we’ve learned what everybody enjoys and doesn’t and fit it all within an hour.
5. All the effort is worth it at the end of the day. After months of meeting over the weekend and spending many hours on different projects, it was initially difficult to visualize how what I was doing would make an impact. But when Yona sent me videos of the kids watching my videos on television that we had fundraised for or the booklets we had made, they seemed genuinely interested and excited, letting me realize that I was really doing a good thing.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
There’s nothing that feels better than helping other people and knowing that you made a positive difference and a larger impact where it’s really needed.
Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would like to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this, especially if we tag them. 🙂
Bill Gates, because he’s had lots of success with much larger projects similar to this one, it also seems like he’d be a fun person to talk to.
How can our readers follow you online?
Subscribe to Henry Nielson on YouTube!
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success in your great work!
Young Social Impact Heroes: Why & How Henry Nielson Koch Is Helping To Change Our World was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.