UP students on mission to empower, uplift African women
“African women empower communities through servanthood that ensures that each person reaches their full potential."
Seven University of Pretoria students are on a mission to empower and uplift African women to take up their leadership roles.
The campaign has been dubbed, #TalkAboutHer and aims to encourage and uplift female leadership on the continent.
Sarah Kandolo, Ruth Kasanga, Cherene Short, Paulah Mothotoane, Nkateko Hlongwane, Oritlite Makweja and Tshelofelo Magagula will drive from Pretoria to the Equator visiting various universities in seven countries from July 1 to 24 .
The group plans to visit the universities of Gaborone in Botswana, Lusaka in Zambia, Nairobi in Kenya, Dodoma in Tanzania, Lilongwe in Malawi, Harare in Zimbabwe and the Institute of Medical Studies in Nakuru in Kenya.
“We are passionate about the project because we believe that African female leadership is authentic and unique… in the way our grandmothers, mothers, aunties, and sisters have all aided in the empowerment of their communities,” the group said.
They said that this kind of leadership is demonstrated through serving others.
“Women play a big role in the sustainability of any community,” they said adding that they wanted their campaign to be the epitome of placing African women among Africa’s key gamechangers.
“African women empower communities through servanthood that ensures that each person reaches their full potential.
“Our project aims to challenge the world’s perspective on African women’s leadership, inspire other African women to take up their leadership roles within their context and share untold stories of African women leadership through film and documentation.”
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They said that in all facets of life where women have taken the lead have done exceptional work.
“We want to document and film these women sharing their untold narratives of their leadership journey.
This will be an opportunity not only to give exposure to the great work that African women do but also an opportunity for us to learn from their stories and see life from their perspective.
“Their stories will inspire us and other students to take up space in our leadership roles and context. The African mother doesn’t just mother her children, but her community. It’s the sense of community in the way we do things that we want the world to see, this is the story we want to share. We want to show that leadership is not just a position but the impact that women make in their communities.”
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