Africa the young continent, teaming with 200 million people between the ages of 15-24. With so many youth, we are at a cross roads where the rapid growth rate can either be an asset or harm to the continent’s success.
On that note, we have seen powerful young people strive to make a change in their communities. Uganda for example, saw a change in political climate when a 19 year old girl stood on a podium and advocated to represent the constituency of her area in parliament.
Proscovia Alengot Oromait, daughter of late MP Michael Oromait is the youngest member of parliament in Uganda, and Africa’s youngest MP member, who is only 22 years old this year.
Juggling her studies with parliamentary work, she advocates mostly for education, health, gender and environmental issues in her region. Although she lacks experience and exposure, as was extremely highlighted by her peers in parliament, she took note of that and forged a close mentoring relationship with Jessica Alupo, Uganda’s education minister.
She is an iconic example of what we as Africa need to change our perspective on: ageism. Being young does not make you a fool or uninformed. However, with guidance through mentorship activities, we can bridge the gap of communication between elders and youth and foster growth and development in Africa.
