Memunatu Magazine’s back-to-school series features the team’s summer reading pick, “I Am a Girl From Africa.”
Elizabeth Nyamayaro’s memoir, “I Am a Girl from Africa” is a feel-good story of achievement against all odds. In 261 pages, she teaches us that the label of ‘African girl’ should be a source of empowerment and not shame. We learn that as a young girl in rural Zimbabwe, Elizabeth couldn’t always imagine where her next full meal would come from, let alone that she would one day share accounts of her suffering, alongside tales of triumph, as one of Africa’s most notable female humanitarians- Yet here she is, having done just that!
The memoir takes us on a journey of strife and success. We see how an ordinary African girl from an ordinary African village went on to found the extraordinary gender equality movement that is HeForShe. Elizabeth’s story is one of steely determination and sacrifice that will make you proud of your African womanhood. It’s proof that you don’t need to be superhuman or immune to setbacks to achieve your wildest dreams and that anything is possible with principle and determination.
Her own personal driving forces include the memory of the United Nations aid worker who had saved her in her hour of need and the African philosophies of Mwana whevu (being a child of the African soil), Ubuntu (that we are united in humanity) and Shinga (that there is honor in bravery) instilled in her by her GoGo (her grandmother).
Through flashbacks between Elizabeth’s childhood and her journey to make strides in her career, the book reminds us that success and progress are rarely linear. After each achievement, Elizabeth is met with a new challenge that she somehow always overcomes. “I believe that with passion and energy we all can drive small things into big things”- a quote which perfectly encapsulates both the essence of the author and the book.
Memuna Konteh
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