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Obama pays tribute to Zimbabwean girl
29 Jul 2014 at 08:26hrs | Views
US President Barack Obama on Monday paid tribute to Abbigail Muleya, a young woman from Binga who is part of the 2014 Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) fellows who are in Washington DC.
Obama singled out the great spirit of Muleya whom he said had several bus rides from Binga to Harare to attend the YALI fellowship interviews that culminated in her being selected as part of the 30 recipients who travelled to the US.
"We want to help you give these women and girls the future they want and the dignity every woman deserves.
"One of the best measures of whether a country succeeds or not is how it treats its women," Obama said.
Muleya, who spent six weeks at Tulane University in New Orleans as part of the fellowship program is an African Language and Culture graduate at Midlands State University.
She has worked as a community volunteer in Binga before her formal employment as Projects Officer at Zubo Trust, a women's empowerment organization working with Tonga speaking women.
Speaking about Gender Based Violence (GBV), Obama said the US is committed to end violence against women through various empowerment programs running in Zimbabwe.
"Violence against women is a tradition not worth hanging onto. Strong men are not threatened by strong women. If you are a strong man, you should not be threatened by a strong woman.
"If you educate and empower and respect a mother, then you are educating the children." Obama said.
Obama was speaking at the official opening of the three-day YALI summit in Washington DC being attended by 500 African youths who are part of the 2014 Washington Fellowship.
The program was Monday renamed to Mandela Washington Fellowship as a tribute to the late South African President Nelson Mandela.
The three-day Presidential conference will see the Sub-Saharan most promising leaders meet with entrepreneurs, government officials and civil society representatives.
The Presidential Summit follows six weeks of academic study at 20 institutions across the United States as part of the fellowship.
Five of the Zimbabwean participants will remain in the United States for an additional eight weeks after their university program to participate in internships in private and non-profit sectors.
Obama singled out the great spirit of Muleya whom he said had several bus rides from Binga to Harare to attend the YALI fellowship interviews that culminated in her being selected as part of the 30 recipients who travelled to the US.
"We want to help you give these women and girls the future they want and the dignity every woman deserves.
"One of the best measures of whether a country succeeds or not is how it treats its women," Obama said.
Muleya, who spent six weeks at Tulane University in New Orleans as part of the fellowship program is an African Language and Culture graduate at Midlands State University.
She has worked as a community volunteer in Binga before her formal employment as Projects Officer at Zubo Trust, a women's empowerment organization working with Tonga speaking women.
Speaking about Gender Based Violence (GBV), Obama said the US is committed to end violence against women through various empowerment programs running in Zimbabwe.
"Violence against women is a tradition not worth hanging onto. Strong men are not threatened by strong women. If you are a strong man, you should not be threatened by a strong woman.
"If you educate and empower and respect a mother, then you are educating the children." Obama said.
Obama was speaking at the official opening of the three-day YALI summit in Washington DC being attended by 500 African youths who are part of the 2014 Washington Fellowship.
The program was Monday renamed to Mandela Washington Fellowship as a tribute to the late South African President Nelson Mandela.
The three-day Presidential conference will see the Sub-Saharan most promising leaders meet with entrepreneurs, government officials and civil society representatives.
The Presidential Summit follows six weeks of academic study at 20 institutions across the United States as part of the fellowship.
Five of the Zimbabwean participants will remain in the United States for an additional eight weeks after their university program to participate in internships in private and non-profit sectors.
Source - Zim Mail
