Heman Bekele was Time Magazine’s Kid of the Year in 2024. Born in Addis Ababa before emigrating to the U.S. with his family when he was 4, Heman recalls that some of his earliest memories were of seeing laborers working in the blistering sun, usually with no protection for their skin. His parents taught him and his sisters—Hasset, now 16, and Liya, now 7—to cover up, and explained the dangers of too much time outdoors without sunscreen or proper clothing. This led to his experiment. His goal is to create a soap that could treat skin cancer, and to make it affordable for everyone who needs it. His work won him the grand prize in the 3M Young Scientist's Challenge, a competition that encourages kids to think of unique ways to solve everyday problems. He’s quoted as saying: “I've always been really passionate about science and how things work. Then, slowly, as I grew up, that curiosity started to develop into something more. Growing up in Ethiopia, I always thought people were always getting hit by the hot sun working outside. I didn't think much of it when I was really little, but as I grew up I realized how big of an issue [skin cancer] really is. Not only in Ethiopia but everywhere around the world. And when [people] do end up getting skin cancer, it's crazy expensive [to treat] and not affordable in the slightest. Skin cancer does have cures and skin cancer is treatable in most cases. However, the average price of skin cancer treatment globally is almost $40,000. When I heard those really shocking statistics it really inspired me to create a more affordable and accessible solution. I started doing experiments and working on different things, then that turned into my bar of soap as a project.” RIGHT ON! PEACE KING!