Three subthemes explain threats to empowerment: "grown-ups run everything" (they had no actual decision-making power), "we're just kids" (they were low in the social hierarchy), and "they don't trust us" (they felt mutual mistrust of and by adults). Boys showed some evidence of feeling more empowered than girls. Boys and girls identified that they perceived they could make a difference, particularly in their school. Five themes of empowerment help to explain this perception, including, "adults who know us, trust us" (they were trusted by some adults), in school "they ask us what should we do" (they had some participation in decision making), "we can make a difference" (they felt self-efficacy), "we can do it as a group" (they had a belief in group action), and they could "get someone big so they would listen" (they demonstrated political efficacy). Implications for community health practitioners are discussed.