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When Thandiwe was eight years old, her school was forced to close because there were not enough teachers. Many of the teachers at the school had become sick with a disease called AIDS and were no longer able to teach. Disappointed that she could no longer go to school to learn and see her friends, Thandiwe decided to research how she could change this.
Thandiwe learnt that it was a human right to have an education. To get an education, Thandiwe gathered the other 60 students from her school together and led them in a march to another local school. Thandiwe spoke to the head teacher and begged that they would welcome Thandiwe and her classmates into the school. The school agreed to accept them, but their building was not big enough, so they had to sit outside.
Before long, Thandiwe found that learning was difficult in the burning sun and the children could not concentrate. She contacted the government to ask them to help expand the school and they said yes! By Thandiwe urging schools to be built, more children will receive a quality education, setting them up to be the inventors and change-makers of the future.
Thandiwe now lectures at the school, educating children about AIDS and how they can avoid catching it so that no future school children miss out on an education because their teachers are sick. Thandiwe’s determination and pro-active actions changed the lives of so many people who did not feel able to speak up.
Her actions were then recognised when she won the International Children’s Peace Prize in 2007. Thandiwe’s advice to other young change-makers is to ‘Speak out and let yourself be heard, be strong and do not stop.’
