From hostage in Sierra Leone to human rights advocate

As an 18-year-old, Aminata Conteh-Biger was kidnapped by anti-government rebels in Sierra Leone. She was held captive and brutally treated for months before being released as part of a negotiated prisoner exchange. Aminata was resettled as a refugee in Australia, rebuilding her life there. Years later a near-death experience when giving birth to her first child sparked a light-bulb moment for Aminata - that women in her homeland are 200 more likely to die in childbirth than in Australia. She founded the Aminata Maternal Foundation to improve the health of mothers and babies in Sierra Leone. Her memoir is called Rising Heart.