Ishmael Beah was living a happy childhood until a brutal conflict ravaged his homeland.
"When the war started in my country I was eleven," he said.
"And then when I was 12 it came to my part of the country and at 13 I had been recruited to fight in the war so I fought until I was close to 16 years old."
He was then rescued by UNICEF and adopted out to a United States family - he then went on to complete university and become a successful writer.
He said his childhood experience of upheaval and displacement was sadly not unique.
"The reality is around the world is still where young people, for whatever reason find themselves in difficult circumstances and violence becomes the way to live or to survive."
The 37-year-old LA resident is in Australia to welcome new fellow UNICEF ambassadors.
According to UNICEF director Megan Quinn, the selected nine come from diverse backgrounds and ages.
"They are going to be talking to other children throughout Australia about things that impact them and affect their lives and how we can actually improve, She said.
"Things like disability, sexuality, indigenous children, immigrants, children who are suffering mental health issues and just what will actually improve the lives of children in Australia."
Meet the ambassadors
Lachlan Arthur is a fourth-year medical student who hopes to use his skills to help the young.
"My long-term plan is to become a reconstructive facial surgeon so I am really interested in children's health... a lot of that work I will probably do through South-East Asia and rural parts of the South Pacific," he said.
"So it's working with UNICEF and other NGOs and charities is something that will be a big part of my career so I see this as an opportunity to really get involved in that earlier than my graduation date to be active while I am still at university engaging with young people and the issues that matter to them."
Steve Myan Vung Sian and his family fled Myanmar and its military rule.
"We don't have any political freedom of expression. The Myanmar Government is not caring for its citizens, " he said.
"Young people do not really have a say in anything that the government does and whenever there are student protests the military will crack down on them. They don't really want to give young people a voice and don't want to get them involved in the decision-making process.
Sixteen-year-old Indiana Hehir has been inspired to help the Rohingya.
"My ultimate goal is to help at least one person or just have a positive effect and change on at least one person and I would love to impact more people or do something to influence change, whether it be information I have or knowledge I learn from other students," she said.
"To me it's a lot about learning and listening and understanding other people and their stories."
Fellow school student Atosha Birongo is a Democratic Republic of Congo refugee who was reunited with her eight brothers and sisters after being separated by war.
"And we used to assume my family was no more but when we settled in Australia, the Australian Red Cross relocated our missing siblings," she said.
The ambassadors will join Ishmael Beah, in telling their inspiring stories while also helping to humanise experiences of loss of innocence.
"That's one of the reasons why I wanted to write, to put a human face to the experience, " he said.
"Also to explain how the life of a child is shattered during war (and) how it can be repaired with the right support and care."
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