How a Young Aussie "Won the Life Lottery" and Is Giving Back

"If I'm born in a place that gives me quite a few privileges, how could I not do what I do?"

Like many young people looking for a job to pay the bills, Levi Fernandez started out in hospitality. 

He landed a job at Feast of Merit, a chic café by day and a trendy restaurant at night in Melbourne's inner east. At first, it was just another waiting job but slowly, he came to realise the philanthropic nature of the joint. 

It was run by a charity called ygap, who empower local leaders to enact local change, and 100 per cent of the profits from the restaurant were being used to fund some of these important initiatives.

"I had a lot of experience in hospitality but for the first time, I felt like my job had true meaning," Levi tells Student Edge.

"It sparked my interest in the social impact space."

After leaving Feast of Merit, he ended up in ygap as an intern and went on to work in a few other social charities around Melbourne.

But last year, the 24-year-old returned to ygap to help forge relations with their supporters.

"I find socially-minded individuals or organisations that align with our values and want to support our work," Levi says.

"Catching up with our current donors and relaying information about where their money has been going, the impact of their work [as well as] me telling them a few stories about of our entrepreneurs."

One of those entrepreneurs is Phyllis Kyomuhendo, a young medicine student in Uganda. During her studies, she had to undertake a few rounds in rural Uganda, where she encountered a frighteningly common scenario.

"She was seeing a lot of mothers and children die during childbirth," Levi explains.

"She attributed that to one thing; there are no ultrasounds."

That's because of two key factors; one, ultrasounds are very expensive to purchase and two, the amount of electricity needed to power an ultrasound machine just doesn't exist in these rural towns.

So, she devised an ultrasound device that plugs into your regular smartphone and can display and send data to a doctor in real-time. She pitched the prototype to ygap who decided to take on the idea and help her make it a reality. Now, she's got five prototypes, which she's trialling around rural Uganda.

And it's already saving countless lives.

"That's really the crux of what we do," Levi explains.

"This young lady is a local leader and [already] has the solution to a local problem.

"We really just facilitated the growth of her idea so that she can help as many people as she can."

It's because of these seemingly simple things that Levi has decided to go from waiting tables to enacting real change in some of the world's most disadvantaged places.

"I think for me, it's understanding that I have won the life lottery growing up in Melbourne," Levi explains.

"We live in a time of pretty unreal inequity and inequality and so, if I'm born in a place that gives me quite a few privileges, how could I not do what I do?

"I think we have a moral obligation to help others," he adds.

"I'm fortunate that I've found work that gives me that feeling."

Header Image: Supplied