For Thembile Nonhle Ndlovu, receiving a bursary in 2010 from Monash South Africa was a dream come true. However, the 21 year old from Durban, Kwa Zulu Natal could never have comprehended that it would also lead to her having the opportunity to meet former American President, Bill Clinton.
Thembile was selected to attend the Clinton Global Initiative conference and in just a few weeks she will be heading to the United States.
“I am thrilled at the opportunity”, she says. It was Thembile’s dedication to making the world around her a better place that caught the attention of Monash leadership. Thembile got involved with a community engagement programme where she volunteered at the Monash Saturday School and the uLwazi Tutoring programme which provides academic support to high school students. She was also a dedicated member of MonChrist, the campuse’s, student organisation that undertakes community projects.
Since completing her undergraduate studies in 2013, Thembile has taken up a position as Monash South Africa’s community engagement project assistant. She is also the co-founder of Authentic Chicks Talk (A.C.T) an NGO that focuses on empowering young women by focusing on building their self – esteem.
Thembile says that working in the community engagement department gave her the privilege of meeting a number of renowned individuals. She believes it has also encouraged her to think of ideas and how they can impact the campus and the surrounding communities. She says that her involvement in the Clinton Global Initiative will enable her to do what she is passionate about on a global scale.
“Being at an international university has really widened my world,” says Thembile. She adds that this will be her first time travelling out of Africa and also an opportunity to take ACT abroad. “ACT is still a baby; still a mere idea and already I have a chance to share with it the world.
The Clinton Global Initiative aims to address the world’s challenges by bringing together leaders around the world. Its annual meetings have been attended by more than 150 heads of state, 20 Nobel Prize laureates, and hundreds of leading CEOs, heads of foundations and NGOs, major philanthropists, and members of the media.