In celebration of Youth Month, we draw inspiration from six remarkable young leaders from around the globe.
MALALA YOUSAFZI
“I truly believe the only way we can create global peace is through not only educating our minds, but our hearts and our souls.”
Rather than defeating her, the 15-year-old Pakistani activist’s power only grew after she survived a gunshot to the head from a Taliban terrorist. The world was rocked by her story, and this defender of education for women, who began her activism at age 11, went on to become a warrior for equality.
“I don’t want to be the girl who was shot by the Taliban – I want to be the girl who fought for the rights of every child, whether girl or boy, the right of education and the right of equality.”
Related article: The Ndlovu Youth Choir inspires the nation
NKOSI JOHNSON
“Care for us and accept us – we are all human beings. We are normal. We have hands. We have feet. We can walk, we can talk, we have needs just like everyone else – don't be afraid of us – we are all the same!”
Despite being born with HIV, this tiny hero touched the hearts of our nation with his tenacious will to live, to destigmatise the disease and raise awareness around HIV and Aids. Sadly, he passed away at the tender age of 12, but he left his words behind to inspire us: “Do all you can with what you have in the time you have in the place you are.”
ZULAIKHA PATEL
“Asking me to change my hair is like asking me to erase my blackness.”
At 13, Zulaikha Patel lead a march in 2016 at her high school to protest its racist hair policy, which did not allow afros. The action sparked protests at other schools, and eventually the Gauteng Department of Education suspended the hair policy. "Our hair is a reflection of our soul as African people, it's a reflection of our identity and who we are,” she told Allure magazine. “… It's the one thing that we have the power to express ourselves over because so much has been taken from us culturally."
GRETA THUNBERG
“You must take action. You must do the impossible. Because giving up is never an option.”
The now-19-year-old Swedish climate activist rose to fame in 2016, when her protests and speeches admonishing the world’s leaders for failing to act on climate change began to make waves. At just 16, she met with the European Parliament's Environment Committee to talk about European Climate Law. She has taught us that “you are never too small to make a difference", and that "Together and united, we are unstoppable."
AMANDA GORMAN
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house when 22-year-old Amanda Gorman read her poem “The Hill We Climb” at US President Joe Biden’s inauguration. The National Youth Laureate poet published her first book of poems at 17, and her work mainly addresses feminism, racism and oppression.
JENNA LOWE
“I am going to die soon, what do I want to do with my time now?”
Diagnosed with a lung disease at 17, Jenna became an outspoken campaigner for the importance of organ donation with her Get Me to 21 campaign: everyone was invited to her 21st birthday, but only if registered as an organ donor. Tragically, she only made it to 20 before passing away, but not before more than 20 000 new organ donors signed up in just three months.
“I don’t want to be a victim. Every time I am sad or feel sorry for myself, I ask myself: ‘Why are you playing the victim?’ Of course, there are difficult days. But there is a difference between being realistic about what is going on and being self-indulgent.”
Related article: Life lessons we can learn from 3 inspiring women
INSPIRING QUOTES FROM YOUNG PEOPLE WHO ARE ‘WISE BEYOND THEIR YEARS’
Reviewed by Michelle Pienaar
on
June 06, 2022
Rating:
Reviewed by Michelle Pienaar
on
June 06, 2022
Rating:
