Mamosa Educational Institute founder wins African award

Kwa-Thema – Duduza’s finest, Mamsi Mashinini-Ndlalani, was crowned the girl child education champion in Africa at the Coalition for Women in Africa for Peace and Development Awards held in Cape Town recently.

As the institute’s founder, she has dedicated her life to motivating and grooming young women.

She said she was awed that her work had received recognition from people in South Africa and the rest of the continent.

“I competed with women in government, politicians and leaders across the continent, and I won. This motivates me to work harder at bringing change to the lives of young girls.

“It was through the motivational letters written by the learners that I convinced the judges,” she said.

Last year, Mamsi was the second runner-up in the South African Heroes Awards.

“For me, this award is a sign to every girl raised from a poor background that it is possible. All they have to do is continue pushing harder.

“I never gave up when I was abused and became a young mother. I picked up the pieces and started rebuilding,” she added.

She plans to host young mothers and give them the support she needed when society shunned her for being a young mum.

“I always use education as a tool to escape poverty because it has worked for me and other successful women,” she continued.

Though many of her programmes focus on empowering young women, she also hosts monthly sessions with young boys.

These monthly ‘Conversations with my son’ are where she interacts with boys, some from her school, to identify the challenges they face.

“We have the challenges of bullying and peer pressure and others that, as adults, we often overlook. Through these sessions, we can identify them and find lasting solutions.”

As part of her role, she will visit Egypt in August to motivate girls and young women.

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