Shirah Mansaray is the CEO and founding trustee of the international charity, I Am Somebody’s Child Soldier, which provides mental health support to former child victims of war in Uganda. Shirah has over 15 years’ experience working in the humanitarian field, with organisations ranging from the United Nations and the Human Rights and Economic Affairs Department at the Council of Europe, Strasbourg. Shirah is a Non-Executive Director and Trustee of Amnesty International UK.
Shirah is passionate about advocating for mental health as a fundamental human right for populations in the Global South and worldwide.
Shirah is currently a PhD scholar at University College London (UCL) conducting academic and industry research on healthcare policies and architectures that promote mental health through design responsibility and sustainable environmental design. She has a Master’s degree in Development, Technology and Innovation Policy from UCL, where her thesis interrogated the efficacy of the World Food Program’s Blockchain based digital identification system and the data privacy rights of refugees.
Shirah is a trained lawyer and is currently seconded to Bates Wells LLP where she advises charities, non-profits and civil society organisations in the UK and internationally on governance matters, commercial agreements, charity law and human rights law.
From child soldier to mental health advocate, Shirah shares her journey of compassion and change. Raised between the UK and Uganda, she founded I Am Somebody’s Child Soldier to support former child soldiers. Now a vice chair at Amnesty International and a PhD researcher, she champions mental health as a human rights issue.
In this conversation, Shirah discusses trauma, advocacy, and global injustices while balancing leadership and academia. Learn how she transforms personal experience into impact—and get a glimpse of her upcoming book!
CHAPTERS:
00:00 - Intro
00:30 - Shiro’s Background
05:15 - Mental Health as a Human Right
07:50 - Child Soldiers and Conflict
13:09 - The Impact of War on Children
17:34 - Funding Challenges in Advocacy
20:18 - Role at Amnesty International
22:14 - Balancing Activism and Personal Life
27:03 - Your Book and Its Message
https://www.themiscrown.com/
https://iamsomebodyschildsoldier.org/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/shirah-z-mansaray/
ABOUT OUR HOST:
Ken Eslick is an Entrepreneur, Author, Podcaster, Tony Robbins Trainer, Life Coach, Husband of 35+ Years, and Grandfather. Ken currently spends his time as the President & Founder of The Leaders Lab where he and his team focus on Leadership Talent Acquisition. They get founders the next level C-Suite Leaders they need to go from being an Inc. Magazine 5000 fastest growing company to $100,000,000 + in revenue.
You can learn more about Ken and his team at
theleaderslab.co
Listen to more episodes on Mission Matters:
https://missionmatters.com/author/ken-eslick/
#education #socialjusticeeducation #mentalhealthadvocacy #socialjusticeactivism #internationallaw
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