My name is Rutendo Machanzi, i am 20 years old from Dzivarasekwa. Having been part of the Lehms 10 day bootcamp program, i feel so motivated and enlightened recognizing the power that is within me as a young woman.

The program helped me question my path and broadened my eyes into different fields. My dormant potentialities were activated as i was empowered and enlightened in areas of self awareness and personal leadership. Having been taught about leadership, it has given me positive attitude to be the leader the world wants, respects and understands.So i realised that i have the power to change the world and be who ever i ever dreamt to be. The thematic area of advocacy has rekindled my passion towards issues of young women which includes our inclusion in political, social and economic spheres. My wish now is to empower other young girls and women and help them grow to be the best versions of themselves. I would like to thank the program coodinators for realizing the support the young women need to fill in the gaps of inequalities and to break the biases in the society.

Having dwelt on different thematic areas, it is now part of my personal leadership plan to go into my community and educate a group of young women and a few boys on the issues of environment. It is of my view that the issues of climate change have been ignored for a long time so i will also assert my voice on how climate change has negatively impacted the lives of young women. I’m planning to reach out to a lot of youths using social media. Together with the group of young women we shall plant trees in my community as a way of advocating and educating the community on ways to mitigate environmental degradation and climate.