DEF Scholar: Nkhululeko (Zigi) Yeni
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Home country: Durban, South Africa
Activities: Basketball, football, movies and music
Zigi has a long-term interest in economics and government and wants to combine his passion for economics, leadership and African studies to make a meaningful imapct on the African continent.
Zigi’s Dream:
Do not ask me to define leadership for you. It is a question too great for me to answer. This is not because leadership is an elusive, abstract concept but because there are too many definitions. Six billion to be exact. Yes, six billion definitions that breathe and grow in the souls of every human being on the face of the earth. It is a definition that is shaped by our own unique experiences.
Growing up in Umlazi in South Africa, I was surrounded by poverty. I was fortunate to be born in a family that was relatively better off than many other families in the township. Still, I felt the scorch of inequality from a young age. Through a scholarship, I was able to attend a private school, and every morning commuting to and from school, the transition from the haves to the have-nots was appalling.
Was this the South Africa that was Africa’s beacon of economic hope? Was this the democratic land in which all are given equal opportunity? Was this the vision of the heroes who had laid down their lives for a better future for all South Africans?
The answer is no, not yet anyway. And the same can be heard across the African continent: a resounding no. This is my personal definition of leadership, the refusal to accept no. My positivity and conviction in a better future for all of Africa is what makes me a leader. To make this happen I hope to become a policy-maker at the government level so that Africa’s advancement is strikingly different to that of the rest of the world – a development that elevates the lives of the entire community, in the spirit of ubuntu.
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- 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 9 hrs ago
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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.
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