Young Anza encourages youth to follow the sciences

Young Anza Tshipetane has loved the sciences since her high school years. In 2017, she became the best Grade 12 learner in Vhembe, and she is now in her second year of study in medicine at the University of Cape Town.

In her quest to share her knowledge and encourage learners, especially in the rural areas, to be innovative in the sciences, she founded the Bright Young Leaders Initiative (BYLI).

Tshipetane said the organisation was one of empowerment to help young people realise their hidden qualities and abilities to become changemakers within their community. "Our vision is to bring together innovation and social responsibility within young people. We create a platform of exposure to different areas in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, where young leaders acquire skills that they can use to solve social problems.”

She added that they had already started and recently hosted the BYLI Science and Innovation Challenge competition in Vhembe East region, where learners between Grade 10 and 12 fought it out for the Young Scientist of the Year award.

As a prize, the winner will attend the London International Youth Science Forum on a full scholarship later this year. The Young Scientist of the Year award was won by 18-year-old Edzani Rakwambo from Gondeni, a Grade 12 learner of Tshivhase Secondary School.

"We are excited about the way things went and we hope it was a good start. The level of participation is encouraging, and we hope that it will be better with time," Tshipetane said.

News - Date: 20 May 2019

Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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