Lovetta Conto: Turning Bullets into Beauty

When she was just 18 months old, Lovetta Conto and her father fled Liberia's Civil War, forced to leave her mother behind. But as fate would have it, a symbol of the very thing that deeply traumatized Lovetta, would become the thing to eventually lead her down the path of freedom to a life beyond her wildest dreams. With the help of the The Strongheart Fellowship, the 17-year-old brilliantly transforms bullet-casings into jewelry, worn by Hollywood stars like Angelina Jolie and Halle Berry — and she's just getting started.

Nurturing a Shaken Strong Heart

By the time Conto turned five, she and her father took refuge in Ghana, where they would spend the next nine years among 50,000 other refugees. Although education and food were often hard to come by, somehow Conto and her father were never short on hope.

"I always try to imagine myself in the higher place. I don't sit down and think about all the bad things that have happened to me, because I know that when I think about that, the universe will bring that back to me. I try to think about the light," Conto tells Tonic. "I understand what happened, but I'm not going to hold on to that forever. I'm gonna work hard to make my life better and be a strong person inside. My father brought me up in that way, to be a strong person no matter what. You always have to feel happy inside, feel good inside and tell yourself to be better and to go further in life."

You need only a few short minutes with Conto to be certain she's an old soul wise beyond her years.

In 2005, when Conto was 12, she met a woman who would forever change the course of her life. Cori Stern, co-founder of The Strongheart Fellowship, visited the camp in Ghana. Through her nonprofit, Stern hoped to help gifted and resilient children displaced by conflict by offering them the opportunity to heal, learn and fully realize their talents and dreams. After Stern and other members of the Strongheart team spent time with Conto, they chose the 15-year-old as Strongheart's first fellow.

Currently, Conto lives in Liberia at the Strongheart House. This newly opened residence provides a safe, nurturing environment, which is a critical element of the Strongheart program. She explains that five other kids also live there now, and five more will arrive the coming months, each staying for the amount of time they need to before taking next steps. More than simply an orphanage, the program focuses on teaching exceptional children how to move forward with life after trauma by giving them tools they likely never received while living in a refugee camp, and nurturing them though a healing process. The hope is that with such specialized care and education, these bright children will become the best versions of themselves and go on to live productive lives.

It was during a Strongheart healing activity that Conto would create her now famous jewelry, which has been worn by the likes of Angelina Jolie. Akawelle, which means "also known as love," holds deep significance for Conto. She tells Tonic: "I wanted to express myself by making jewelry. But I also wanted to show people the things that happen to the people in my country, because as you may know, Liberia has had 15 years of civil war. So many people have died." Conto believes that turning a bullet into something beautiful represents a powerful transformation. "I just wanted to tell the world that something bad happened to my country, but we can change, and we can go forward in life and build the country over. And the people who have died from that bullet, we can use the money to help other people to do what they can for the world and the country."

Liberia's New Faces

Conto stays close to the belief that being anything other than yourself is a waste of time, and it's clear she wants to share the knowledge and growth she's gained through Strongheart with others. Her latest endeavor is called New Faces and it will be the first teen magazine in West Africa. "I looked around in Liberia and there's not a teen magazine," says Conto. "My cousins always tell me, 'when you come back to Africa, please bring one of the magazines from America that the pretty girls are on.' I'm like, 'you can be as beautiful as these girls — it's just make-up and things. It's like 'they're better than us.' No, they're not better than anybody; every human being is the same, they just have more opportunities. I want to show African teenagers you can work hard and make your nation a better place to be. We're the next generation of Africa, and we need to be involved in our country."

If Conto has it her way, her peers will also have a shot at living a life that allows them to reach their highest potential. "It's [New Faces] giving African teenagers opportunities to know what is out there in the world. You can express yourself through art. You don't just have to be the traditional culture, 'oh, when I grow up I have to become a lawyer or doctor,' but that you have a right to experience things true to what you want in life. If you want to be an artist, if you want to be a musician, the world is full of big things and you can be creative about what you really want."

New Faces, which Conto hopes to launch in September, will address a range of issues that teenagers go through, from sexual abuse to teen pregnancy. But, Conto let's it be known that it won't be all business, saying, "The important thing is, that it's not just a boring magazine. It's actually a fashion magazine, but we brought more meaning to it."

At the young age of 17, Conto's courage and spirit has already touched so many lives, including her own. She has even been reunited with her mother. Just thinking about the possibilities her future holds inspires hope. At the moment, she plans to one day own a fashion company that will allow her to express her African culture, and an NGO that will stop violence against women. There is little doubt she will go continue doing great things. As we finish our conversation, she leaves me with this: "For your readers I just want them to know that in this world, it's always gonna be hard, but the best gift is if you can rise above all that and still be yourself. You know that life is not gonna come on an easy ride, you're not going to get everything you want, but just be lucky and thankful that you have the strength. Because if you have the strength, you can do so much. Be strong and be yourself."

Conto met the Dalai Lama at the Connecting for Change Conference. Watch their moving exchange.

Lovetta Conto & His Holiness the Dalai Lama by Cori Stern.

Photos courtesy of The Strongheart Fellowship.