Co-ordinator: Community Leadership Programme, Equal Education

At age 14 Ntshadi Mofokeng got a rare opportunity to attend high school in New York. It was a life-changing experience that led to a BA in Political Science from Bryn Mawr College and a passion for education. “I’ve always felt a commitment towards paying forward what I’d gained,” she says. She got the opportunity to do so in 2012 when she joined Equal Education — a non-governmental organisation that promotes activism around education. Today the 24-year-old co-ordinates the Community Leadership Programme, which helps post-school youth to become active citizens within their communities and within South Africa. This means equipping them with the communication, organisational and political skills needed to find their voice and make it heard. “I’m tired of being fed the tired story that young people in South Africa are disengaged, apolitical, apathetic. I work with fellow young people to show that we care and that we will be part of the solutions to the problems that affect us,” says Mofokeng.

— Cat Pritchard

Website: equaleducation.org.za