#REFILWEMUSTGOTODUBAI. This is the call to fundraise about R30 000 for Wits fourth year LLB student Refilwe Mpusi Mathloko who is set to attend the annual International Youth Leadership Conference in Dubai in November.
Mathloko says it is important for her to attend this conference because it will enable her to, “inspire and represent young girls and women who are hopeless, abandoned, and neglected,” mostly from rural remote areas like herself.
The 23-year-old will be presenting a paper on the Role of Women in Economic Transformation specifically in Africa.
“Presenting the paper is actually dear to my heart. Hence I am so adamant about the trip and just instilling hope and voice to the voiceless that we too can be heard on a global scale,” she said.
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Mathloko says she has approached a few organisations at Wits with no success. She says the Wits community can support her by spreading the word and directing her to the right channels where she can get help.
In an attempt to raise funds Mathloko appeared on SABC2’s Morning Live Show on Tuesday. She will also get interviewed on on SAFM, on April 29 to boost her fundraising campaign. She has so far raised R3 000 in total.
Mathloko comes from the Magopa Pachesdraai rural area in the North West Province, where she and her five siblings stayed in a one-room-shack for 15 years. She added that, “my only hope was getting good results during high school to take me out of my miserable life. I know that if I could do it, someone else from a similar background or worse can do even better. Attending this conference will afford me the opportunity to pass on this message”.
The International Youth Leadership Conference (IYLC) is a platform for candidates from around the world to meet and sharpen their leadership skills to tackle global issues. This year, the IYLC will be held in four different regions namely Cape Town, Dubai, Prague, and Kuala Lumpur.
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED ON witsvuvuzela.com, 22 April 2017. Student calls for fundraising support to attend Leadership Conference in Dubai.
Nonkululeko Njilo 