A round-up of young activists who are using their voices and platforms for the good fight – making a positive impact on society
Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg is a household name all around the globe, but there are activists from other movements and countries too – including Africa. We highlight some of these changemakers and their worthy causes
Kim Windvogel
Kim Wingvogel (they/them) is a non-binary South African and advocate for LGBTQ+ rights and representation. They are the co-founder of FemmeProjects – an organisation that focuses on sexual and reproductive health and rights. The organisation has created supplementary resource toolkits and workshops for comprehensive sexual ed in schools.
Kim also writes poetry for queer people under the pseudonym Blazing Non-binary. They’ve released two poetry anthologies – Resist the Paradox of Love and Other Social Disorders and Closet Conversations: A Cause for Chaos.
And they are passionate about giving other queer people a voice and has published a book of essays by queer people titled They Called Me Queer (2019). They were also the presenter of ‘Sunday Sex Service with Kim’ not so long ago.
FOLLOW HER
Instagram: @blazingnonbinary
Elizabeth Wathuthi
Elizabeth Wathuti had the opportunity to attend the 2021 COP26 Climate Conference and deliver a speech on sub-Saharan Africa’s environmental issues. The Kenyan called on delegates to consider the impact of their inaction on Africa and its people.
She raised attention to the fact that Sub-Saharan Africans bear the brunt of toxic emissions, despite being responsible for less than 1% of them. Elizabeth is the founder of Kenya’s Green Generation Initiative which plants trees and food forests to help the environment recover from the damage it’s experienced thus far, and to combat hunger.
FOLLOW HER
Instagram: @lizwathuti
Twitter: @lizwathuti
Emmanuel Cosmas Msoka
Emmanuel Cosmas Msoka is a Tanzanian children’s rights activist. He’s a UNICEF Youth Advocate pushing for equal access to water, good sanitation and hygiene. Born at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro, |the only place in Tanzania where water turns to snow and ice, he always worried about the less fortunate and shared the little he had with others.
In 2020, Emmanuel created a pedal-powered hand washing machine to combat COVID-19 and, with help, supplied 400 in a year. He believes those his age have the potential to develop solutions to similar issues.
FOLLOW HIM
Instagram: @emmanuelmsoka
Twitter: @MsokaEmmanuel
Zolani Methu
Zolani Metu is an advocate for the decolonisation of mental health services, to make them accessible and comprehendible to all South Africans. The 28-year-old psychotherapist established Decolonial Mental Health, a consultancy company that works with educational institutes, corporations and non-profit organisations.
Based in Joburg, some of the organisations they have worked with include Old Mutual, Rays of Hope and Unakho Children’s Home Care. Metu was named one of Mail & Guardian’s Top 200 Young South Africans for 2021. He also makes sure that the mental health space is welcoming for black and queer people.
FOLLOW HIM
Instagram: @zolanimetu
Twitter: @HealthDmh
Alaa Salah
Alaa Salah, dubbed Sudan’s “Nubian Queen,” went viral in 2020 after videos of her reciting a poem, dressed in white, on top of a car circulated on social media. She is an avid advocate for women’s rights in her country. The image of her dressed in white has become a universal symbol of freedom for Sudanese citizens.
This is highly significant, because, despite the efforts of Sudanese women to create a democracy, the transitional government was dissolved in a military coup at the end of 2021. The beginning of last year saw a struggle to establish a fully functioning government. Alaa’s impact has, thus far, helped Sudanese women persevere in the face of injustice.
FOLLOW HER
Instagram: @alaa_salah39
Dimpho Lekgeu
Dimpho Lekgeu is a South African media producer and community manager at Youth Lab. She is an advocate for youth participation and mainstreaming youth voices in policy and decision-making. Young people are the largest demographic in South Africa and the continent, but the average African leader is 65 years old – the general retirement age.
In other words, those making critical decisions about our future will likely kick the bucket soon. Young people should be more involved in such decision-making because we’ll be alive to witness them play out.
FOLLOW HER
Twitter: @DimphoLekgeu
Stacy Owino
Stacy Owino is a well-known Kenyan advocate fighting for the abolition of female genital mutilation (FGM), which 1 in 5 women are at risk of. She co-created a ground-breaking app – iCut – to protect women and girls in her country. She is also a woman in STEM and works tirelessly to encourage other women across the world to join the industry.
Stacy is also an African representative on the Youth Sounding Board for the European Commission. And, in 2021, she was honoured at the Young Activists Summit held at the UN in Geneva.
FOLLOW HER
App Store: iCut
Words by Sahrah Enous
Photography: Courtesy Images
