2021 Humanitarians

Mike Kane "The Kindness"

Incredibly hard-working, kind, and loves to visit with everyone. Loves to share his thoughts on autism and spelling with others in the community to help other non-speaking or unreliably speaking people.

Liya Buwa "The Braveness"

A wise seven-year-old unreliable speaker who has been spelling for 3 years. With so many health challenges in the past few months, so many doctors visits and tests done. Yet she remains brave, cheerful, loyal and sassy.

Lesedi Masalesa "The Convincer"

Selfless, loving, funny, kind, and stubborn. "I’m most proud of myself because I finally found my voice after so many years of being trapped without a meaningful form of communication."

Tarun Paul "The Deep Thinker"

Calm, soft, a happy person, smiling always. "I am proud of having lived life like other people on my own terms. I love poetry, math, music, and art because they always have patterns. Perfection is all about patterns."

Tejas Rao Sankar "The Traveler"

Described as stubborn but in a nice way, with a strong personality, self-willed, a determined mind with a dark sense of humor. A love for travel, which helps him to meet new people and experience adventurous opportunities.

Tanaka Dhliwayo "The Good See-er"

Described as playful and headstrong, as someone who does not let life keep him down too long, with energy and tenacity. His goal is to become a forensic auditor and advocate for nonspeakers.