Young South African author BhasweLihle Zilwa made her mark at the NextGen Africa Awards, walking away with two as the Youth Empowerment Champion of the Year and the overall winner of NextGen Africa Innovator.
The awards were recognition for a children's book she wrote and a leadership club she runs.
The Next Gen Africa awards are known for honouring trailblazers shaping the future of the continent.
The 17-year-old grade 12 pupil told TimesLIVE Premium this week that the win was a surprise and she was honoured to see that her work is being recognised.
“I see this as a privilege from Jehovah for which I am very grateful. My deeper wish is that these awards can benefit other teens,” she said.
Future Global Leaders Club aims to be internationally recognised as the most effective club that nurtures ambition, instils excellence and inspires greatness that will position its members consistently in life
— BhasweLihle Zilwa
She won the award for a children's book she penned, titled Lihle’s Collection of Motivational Quotes for Teens. She said she wrote the book to inspire, motivate and provide support for her peers through the selection of quotes.
It impressed the judges because of the impact it has had on teens in South Africa and around the world.
The book includes 300 motivational and inspirational quotes from global icons. It also contains a guide to navigating success, a workbook and an educator guide translated into French and Kiswahili.
Her book also tackles challenging issues teenagers face such as dropping out of school, depression, suicide and feeling hopeless about the future.
So far her book has reached thousands of young people, with 6,300 orders from South African schools and 12,000 orders from Cote d’Ivoire, but she highlighted that a lack of sponsorship remains a challenge. She said she believes sponsorships would make the book accessible to many more young people.
Her other award was for recognition for her work at Zilwa Future Global Leaders Club .
The club helps pupils to take their studies seriously, improve study skills, while serving as a networking platform for top achievers.
“Future Global Leaders Club aims to be internationally recognised as the most effective club that nurtures ambition, instils excellence and inspires greatness that will position its members consistently in life,” she said.
With a desire to find a cure for new diseases, Zilwa said she wants to be a biomedical scientist after completing her grade 12 at Beaulieu College in Johannesburg.
Her advice to young people is anchored in Zig Ziglar's quote which is included in her book, “You don’t have to be good to start, but you have to start to be good.” She said young people should not fear starting something new — they just have to take the first step.
Tantaswa Fubu, chairperson of Sinayo Capital, said the awards honour the heart of Africa’s economic and social evolution, entrepreneurs, leaders and young changemakers.
Another South African youth, Dipuo Phakathi was recognised for building sustainable business models with long-term impact. She won the Youth Business Continuity award.
The awards were hosted by Sinayo Global in partnership with Kagiso Trust.
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.