Li's idea to provide solar equipment to the poverty-stricken Ethiopian village of Mojoo-where rural clinics are forced to put medical emergencies on hold in the absence of an uninterrupted electricity supply-made it to the finals of the Public Benefit International Challenge for Youth on Aug 14. She is now inching closer to her dream of becoming a field volunteer.

"We rise by lifting others. Every time I heard about life in refugee camps, where hygiene is questionable, food is always in short supply and drinking water is probably contaminated, I groaned in anguish. I was determined to help," says the feisty teenager.