Youth Month: Meet United Nations brand ambassador who hails from Brakpan
"A girl from a small town has become a soft power holder to foreign affairs."
June is Youth Month and for young Brakpan people looking for inspiration about their futures, they need look no further than Sallies Village resident Lerato Maris.
Lerato is a United Nations brand ambassador and influencer.
The 25-year-old has a degree in International Relations which she acquired from the University of Pretoria.
She graduated in 2018.
Throughout her school years, Lerato was always a hard worker and managed to succeed.
The reality came when she had to go to university and that became the biggest challenge of her life at the time.
“You are basically forced to grow up, take responsibility of your life and actions, see all your end goals through, without anyone holding your hand,” she said.
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The pressure can lead any person astray and cause them to lose focus, but that became an obstacle she was yet to overcome.
Through all those changes she was introduced to the United Nations Society, which would change her life forever.
“With the United Nations being the epicentre of who I am now, it has groomed, moulded and also helped me through my studies to fully know what international relations is, what diplomacy and what my role in all that would be,” said Lerato.
“Being an activist, a diplomat, an ambassador is just a title until one is practically in the game of international relations.”
Her first encounter was through an embassy of another country.
Lerato was thrown in the deep end with no basic training and had to navigate and find her way through trials and error till it moulded her to be strong and take her position, not just as an employee but in building her own brand at the same time.
Once that was established she figured what the next best move would be and what better stance than the one she was accustomed to – the United Nations.
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The skills and training Lerato acquired in varsity about the United Nations became what she now calls her identity.
The work she does for the United nations is to lead, be a young activist, empower and teach, influence holders and policies, publicise and interact, bringing the people close to the United Nations arena as a mediator.
“A girl from a small town has become a soft power holder to foreign affairs,” she said.
Her advice to all people across the nation is to finish what they start no matter how dark things are.
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