DEF Scholar: Catherine Misigaro
Age: 17
Gender: Female
Home country: Dar-Es-Salaam, Tanzania
Activities: Design, art, writing, entrepreneurship
With a strong interest in art, Catherine hopes to conquer the world with her talents in animation and painting.
Catherine’s Dream:
I do not think I am a leader because I was born or aspire to be one, but simply because I made a choice to be one. A leader is the one who chooses not to ignore the problems facing society. A leader chooses to see opportunities where others see nothing but the impossible. A leader chooses to understand people and help them think or act in the right manner. A leader chooses to be innovative and create new solutions to help his or her community.
Notice the use of the word ‘choose’. It is powerful. This can be a conscious or unconscious decision that may be driven out of a certain experience or experiences. As for me, I made this decision the minute I received my mock exam results in 2007. I realized that I had a duty to help my fellow classmates pass the national exam that we had to sit for at the end of the year. I helped them and they passed the exam. I later realized that passing an exam is not enough to guarantee a good future. The educational system in my country did not preparing me to be an independent thinker or to be proactive. It rather made me memorize the ideas and thoughts of other people while neglecting my own.
Therefore, I plan to use the skills and knowledge I have developed at African Leadership Academy to inspire and enlighten young people in my country to step out of their box and start making changes in the country through the media and animation.
news & upcoming events
follow us on twitter def_africa
- wow...wow...wow! NBA rising star and Houston player Rockets Hasheem Thabeet is up for auction! http://t.co/rgFza1Xu http://t.co/oT7FDkCG 9 hrs ago
- @HasheemTheDream is up for auction...wow!!! talk about Athletes doing good and empowering youth. http://t.co/rgFza1Xu 10 hrs ago
- More updates...
def blog
I’ve been in the beautiful city of Hong Kong for almost a week now. I am here to raise money for the Diamond Empowerment Fund (DEF), my non-profit organization which is dedicated to supporting the empowerment of African youth.
get involved
Help DEF further our mission of EMPOWERMENT!
