Led by Lakshan Seneviratne, the "Be The Change" community was founded in 2014 to foster a more accepting society, where differences are embraced and individuality is celebrated.

The foundation is dedicated to creating a safe community that helps connect young people with the skills and opportunities they need to build a kinder, braver world.

I believe that everyone has the right to feel safe, to be empowered and to make a difference in the world. Together, we will move towards acceptance, bravery and love.

I always wanted to start up a foundation to help out the people who need a voice, I am a human being filled with positive thoughts towards people who need my help.. And I am glad to be there

Ever since I was little I had a sensitive problem. I would cry over the smallest things in the world. Kids would always laugh at me, call me a big baby, push me around. I would always be called ugly, tiny, weak, and I was pointless in life. I've never loved being alive and sometimes I still don't. After 6th grade I killed all my emotions and didn't care about life anymore. I joined physical sports because I grew the love for pain. Since I was the tiniest teammate on my jr. high basketball team, it was easy for the other teams players to throw me down and hurt me because that's all I felt. In the 9th grade I started cutting myself and I also started having suicidal dreams. I started smoking and not caring about anybody not even myself. I have attempted suicide 10+ times and glad it never worked. I am now in the 11th grade in a high school/college. At the end I get an associates degree in Science of Architecture and a high school diploma. I have a boyfriend that loves me for me and not because of my awful past. I am so glad that I am still alive because I would have never met someone so wonderful and nice to me.

I'm 21 now. Living life and in a good and stable relationship, but I'm not myself anymore. I started being bullied in 5th grade (I'm Norwegian and we have 13 years of mandatory school before uni). It was harsh and I was bullied every day both in school and online. I dont know what triggered the whole school to notice me at once. I was nobody special, but at least I had a personality. Until my bullies took that away from me with every hit, every word, every humiliation and every targeted ball in the gym. Even my own team targeted me because I was picked out, not by them, but by the teachers to be on their team. They hated me because I sucked at every sport. As I said, I am now 21, but I still look over my shoulder wherever I go, still feel stares judging me, still feel terrible when I hear laughter because in my head they're laughing at me and so many times have I been planning my own faithful last hour. I am not myself anymore and that is because of bullying. Thankfully the thought of ending everything is but a thought. Without my boyfriend and my family it might have been more than a thought.

I'm 21 now. Living life and in a good and stable relationship, but I'm not myself anymore. I started being bullied in 5th grade (I'm Norwegian and we have 13 years of mandatory school before uni). It was harsh and I was bullied every day both in school and online. I dont know what triggered the whole school to notice me at once. I was nobody special, but at least I had a personality. Until my bullies took that away from me with every hit, every word, every humiliation and every targeted ball in the gym. Even my own team targeted me because I was picked out, not by them, but by the teachers to be on their team. They hated me because I sucked at every sport. As I said, I am now 21, but I still look over my shoulder wherever I go, still feel stares judging me, still feel terrible when I hear laughter because in my head they're laughing at me and so many times have I been planning my own faithful last hour. I am not myself anymore and that is because of bullying. Thankfully the thought of ending everything is but a thought. Without my boyfriend and my family it might have been more than a thoight.

I have never been bullied, but I can still rememberer how much it hurt when my class was talking about how small and tiny I was. They talked about it like it was a crime. I got very insecure about myself, but as I got older I learned to stand up for my self. Then I had this other girl in my class. The boys in my class were so mean to her. They told her that hey could be friends if she borrowed them money, of course she gave them money, and the boys never gave her any back. They called her mean names, kicked her and stuff like that. Since I had experienced being teased I stood up for her. I told the boys to go away and really tried to help her. She talked to me about suicidal thoughts, I talked her away from it. It was hard for a 13 years old girl to hear about. We were never best friends or anything, but I hated seeing her getting hurt like that.

My third experience with bullying is with my own little brother. He has an syndrome called Klinefelter syndrome.
It all started when he was 6 and I 12, we just started at the same school. I did not know at that time that he had an syndrome, almost no one knew, only my parents, doctors and teachers. I noticed that he was a bit different from the other kids in his class. He was bigger, did weird stuff and so on. Kids at my school laughed at him. I always stood up for him, since I wanted to be a good sister, but at the same time I was embarrassed. Everyone knew he was my little brother. We were at the same school only for one year, but that was all it took for me to understand that he was different. 1-2 years later my parents told me and my older sister about his syndrome. They told us because I began to freak out because of him and asking questions about why he was so weird. After telling us, my parents asked us if it was a shock for us, if we had any idea before, my sister said no, I said yes.

Because of this syndrome by brother gets bullied almost every day. I have seen him cry, get angry and frustrated because of this. He has told me hundred times about his suicidal thoughts. It hurts a lot to hear my baby brother talk about that. He is now 13, I am 19. He still gets bullied, but not as much, since he is the tallest and biggest boy in his class. I have had days where I have cried because of how hard it is to have a brother who gets bullied. I had to go to a psychologist to get it all out. Not only does classmates bully him, but people at my age talks about him to me, telling me how strange he is, how "nasty" he is and stuff likes that. It always hurts. I still cry sometimes. I love him.

Started school at the age of 5, bursting with energy and confidence and flaming red hair! Left school at 10, emotionally crippled and self loathing. Kids can be cruel. Hair colour? Really? I'm fabulous.

As a senior in college now, I have come out of my shell and made a group of really great friends who love me for who I am and a boyfriend who would do anything to see me smile...but it wasn't always so easy.  Even in college, I still have gotten bullied, but nothing is as bad as it was in high school.  In high school I had friends but they were in the same boat as me...we were quiet, in the marching band, and were art students...the "outcasts" as you would call it.  The name calling behind my back was bad, but when all of your "friends" take after the hurtfulness everyone else is doing and turn it on you, it's even worse.  It makes you feel so alone when these "friends" (in quotes because in reality, they weren't real friends at all) call you names and stop talking to you for no reason, especially when everyone else is doing it too.  At one point it got so bad that I would cry myself to sleep every night because I dreaded going to school the next day.  I got cornered at my locker by all of my "friends" and got screamed at and called derogatory names while I held back the tears, kept my mouth shut, and realized that everyone in the entire school was watching.  Later that night, the same "friends" targeted me and harassed me through text message and Facebook...

It was after I went to college that I realized I had to put all of the hurt behind me and move forward, and it has been the best decision of my life.  The friends I have now are just genuine and caring about those around them.  I will forever be searching for an answer to the question of how someone can hurt someone else so bad and not feel any sort of guilt from it.  But for now, I am happy with myself and I know that the experience I had has pushed me even harder to accomplish my dreams and turn the "weird girl" I once was into the "successful girl" I am today.  One that is happy with her life, her body, and proud that I am confident enough that I don't have to be hurtful to others to feel power in myself. ♥

To everyone out there dealing with bullying now, don't ever give up and don't ever lose hope.  Life gets so much better and life is worth living.  Believe me when I tell you that you are not alone in what you are feeling and there are people out there who want to listen, who want to help, and want to care.  xoxo ♥

Society as it stands revel in the downfall of "bad guys", "celebs" and people we deem "had it coming"...but we are also suckers for an underdog.  We thrive on stories of someone who fell down and got back up again.  Trust me, I have tried to understand this, but I do not. 

The story I am about to tell you, is the reason why I embarked on my journey with bullying - my cousin who got bullied.  I am now going to tell you his story, and what has since happened.  For the sake of privacy, I am not mentioning any names, as the parties involved are minors.

When he was in Grade 2 (about 8 years of age), a new kid came into his school.  This kid was physically big and very strong.  At first they were friends, but then this kid became nasty and my cousin did not want to be his friend any longer.  The kid would hide my cousin's belongings at first, but it escalated to him pushing and shoving and ultimately pushing my cousin off of steps and other objects. He would also grab my cousin's book-bag and shove it in the garbage bin.  My cousin had physical bruising caused by this kid pushing him off the walkway.  It had also happened that he slammed my cousin's head into a wall so hard that my cousin had a concussion. 

Their teacher made it worse by reprimanding my cousin, telling him it must be his fault, he is the one looking for trouble with this child.  The kid was labelled as a bully but nothing was ever done because "he's just a bully". 

My aunt moved him to a private school to give him self confidence and moved him to another public school in Grade 4.  Everything went well for the first term, until this specific kid was also transferred there.  He was expelled from the previous school due to his bullying behaviour and thus him and my cousin were in the same school yet again.  According to my aunt, it was a rough year, but somehow, they made it through.

In Grade 5 (where he is now about 10-11 years old), my cousin developed an intense school phobia.  He refused to go to school.  Another child in his school had a physical disability (something to do with his hands and feet), but he is fiercely strong [he hit another learner so hard that he had to get stitches in his mouth].  This kid surrounded himself with a gang of friends who made my cousin's life a misery.  The teachers refused to address the matter and said: "Yes, this child is a problem, but he has a disability, what can we do?"  After which the principal decided my cousin is the actual problem because he doesn't have enough life skills.  My cousin was then sent to an educational psychologist.  He was then put on anti-depressants and after 6 months of therapy my aunt could get him to go to school.

In Grade 6 (11-12 years old) the teachers decided that my cousin was the instigator and bully all along and treated him as such, giving him a lot of problems.

Due to the fact that my aunt and uncle were constantly in the principal's office trying to address these problems, the teachers took it upon themselves to administer very strict discipline upon my cousin, giving him demerits for things like walking into the class last, looking around in class, work not done fast enough, anything they deemed fit.  The teachers also refused to listen to any of his problems.

One day during break time, my cousin phoned my aunt, exasperated because nobody wanted to help him and because there was a child following him, wanting to beat him.  He subsequently got caught and my aunt was asked to the principal's office.  My aunt notes that she totally lost her temper that day and finally got some results.  The teacher had to apologize to my cousin.  What happened was, one boy and his friend cornered my cousin and my cousin defended himself, the two boys got a bit of a beating because my cousin had a lot of pent up anger.

In another instance, a kid slapped my cousin because he wanted to break up a fight.  He then returned the slap and the school allowed the child who slapped's father to reprimand my cousin without my aunt's knowledge or her being present. 

With many emotional and physical scars - he made it through primary school.

Then, they moved to a new town.  He started over.  In a new high school.

Four months into his high school career (he is turning 14 in a week or so), and he is a totally changed person.  My aunt says that he has his teenager tantrums and normal boyish things, however; he is so much more alive and so grown up. Of the boy of about 10/11 that wanted to commit suicide, because life was too much and too hard and too bad to handle, there is no trace.

He has a large group of friends who stand up for him when others try to break him down and he himself is not afraid to stand up for himself, or others.  His principal has also mentioned that it takes guts to walk into a principal's office, asking for help (which my cousin has done).  He doesn't ask my aunt and uncle for help in solving his school problems - he solves them himself.

Funny enough, there was a guy who wanted to beat him because he is popular among the lady folk at school, and very calmly, my cousin sat him down, and told him, that they really could be friends, if it weren't for this guy's bad attitude - and he shouldn't blame it on his bad circumstances at home, it is his choice to rise above it.  They shook hands after parting ways.

My aunt notes that he has so much self-confidence that she can almost not believe it is the same boy that suffered for 6 years.  He now has more life skills than many adults will ever have.  For the first time ever, my cousin is proud of his school.

Yes, it can get better - the only way out, is through.  Cuz, I am SO SO very proud of you - because of YOU, No More Bullies came to be.  I knew you would stand up.  You are a perfect example of courage, perseverance  and inner strength, even at the age of almost 14.  You make me proud, young man.  Great things await you.

In 2nd grad I switched schools I got teased at my new school every day and by every person.... slowly I started to add friends, but I was so depressed I started to contemplate suicide. By 6th grade I had already attempted (not very hard because I kept chickening out) suicide so many times I lost count. In 6th grade I finally made enough friends to start feeling good about myself and so we moved. I started over again this time all the girls in my new class liked me, but the boys were awful! Between the end of 6th grade and my senior year in high school I had had live animals thrown down my shirt, my noise broken, dead animals left on my car repeatedly, my car messed with so I couldn't leave school property, and again I started to try to commit suicide but this time I got caught and stopped. It was very hard to get though it all I was teased for everything from how I dressed to how I walked, read, spoke, laughed, etc... Junior year I was diagnosed with Dyslexia. I finished school with marginally good grades and went on to college. This is what I want people to remember LIFE after Elementary school, Middle school, High school IS SO MUCH BETTER!!! I am now 26 I own my own house, successful business, I have a wonderful husband, 3 rambunctious cats, and 1 spunky dog. Life is amazing and I am so happy to be alive!! To anyone going though this now I am sorry, but keep going its worth it to later go back and show everyone that your so much better then they gave you credit for. I am looking foreword to my 10 year reunion in 2016 I have some great friends to go back and see and some people who weren't friends who have messaged me since high school to apologize for everything they put me though that I would like to get to know!