Bhaswelihle Zilwa champions youth empowerment
By the age of eight, she had already launched an initiative that provided educational materials such as timetables, charts and school uniforms, benefiting 594 learners.
Youth motivational speaker, author and founder of the Future Global Leaders Club NPC, Bhaswelihle Zilwa (18), is on a mission to empower young people across Africa through self-belief, education and mentorship.
Born and raised in Johannesburg, Zilwa said her passion for helping others was evident from a young age.
She recalls saving money as a child with the intention of donating it to an orphanage to provide breakfast for children.
By the age of eight, she had already launched an initiative that provided educational materials such as timetables, charts and school uniforms, benefiting 594 learners.
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Her commitment to youth empowerment has grown over the years.
At 13, she founded the Future Global Leaders Club NPC, which rewards academic excellence and motivates high school learners.
At 14, she published a motivational book for teenagers titled Lihle’s Collection of Motivational Quotes for Teens.
Written by a teenager for teenagers, the book was published in English, French, Kiswahili and Braille to ensure wider accessibility and inclusivity across Africa.
Zilwa said the book received overwhelming feedback from peers, with some readers crediting it for helping them change their outlook on life, overcome suicidal thoughts and improve their academic motivation.
As a result of its impact, she was awarded Youth Empowerment Champion and NextGen Innovator of the Year at the Africa Continent Awards in 2025.
“Although I was privileged and proud to receive these personal achievements, I saw them as a responsibility and a call to serve,” she said.
Central to her message is the importance of self-belief, which she says must come before opportunity.
“Before the world can believe in you, you must first believe in yourself,” said Zilwa.
“Without self-belief, an opportunity could be right in front of you and you will walk right past it because you don’t think you are capable. You won’t set big goals because you don’t believe you have it in you.”
Zilwa is now launching the #Lihles100kTeensChallenge, a youth empowerment initiative aimed at inspiring 100 000 teenagers across Africa.
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The campaign will include school visits, motivational talks, mentorship programmes, self-belief conferences and distribution of her book.
The first teen self-belief conference will take place on June 19 in Mthatha, Eastern Cape, bringing together top achievers, role models, and young professionals from disadvantaged backgrounds to share motivational messages.
She encourages young people not to wait until adulthood to pursue their dreams, urges them to actively protect their self-belief despite external challenges, and calls on parents and communities to invest in building young people’s confidence.
She concluded with an anonymous quote from her book:
“The road to success is not straight. There is a curve called failure, a loop called confusion, speed bumps called friends, red lights called enemies, caution lights called family and you will have flat tyres called jobs.
“But if you have a spare called determination, an engine called perseverance and a driver called willpower, you will make it to the place called success.”
