Florence’s Climb against Sexual Abuse

It has been three years since West Rand resident Florence Masetla was introduced to the One Young World Summit which was held in Maropeng. For two years, Florence tried, without any success, to either raise funds or secure some form of sponsorship to attend one of the Summits. Last year, she was finally able to attend the Summit after being chosen as a Barclays delegate to attend the 2015 One Young World (OYW) Summit which took place in Bangkok.

She was chosen to be a delegate because she founded the Florence Masetla Foundation, which initially focused on research into and championing the use of technology in education. The Foundation’s intention was to eradicate poverty by providing access to quality education and information for decision-making and active citizenship. The Foundation has since expanded to include youth educational programmes, mentorships and sponsorships.

“Through the Foundation, we pioneered an initiative called Climb Against Sexual Abuse. The purpose of this initiative is to focus on breaking the silence surrounding sexual violence, celebrating the triumphs of survivors, and empowering others to heal from their own experiences of sexual abuse. As part of this drive, we arranged for a group of hikers, comprising sexual abuse survivors and their supporters, to climb the Drakensberg-Maluti Mountains.

The One Young World is a UK-based not-for-profit organisation that was founded in 2009 by David Jones and Kate Robertson. It gathers the brightest young people from around the world, empowering them to make lasting connections to create positive change.

“It might sound like a cliché – but my life has never been the same again. I felt validated as a young leader and empowered through the network I was now part of.

I was encouraged to soldier on and continue on my journey which consists of impacting young minds through education, mentoring, and as an activist, climbing mountains to raise awareness about sexual violence,” she said.

Last year, Florence attended the One Young World Summit in Bangkok, hoping to form lifelong partnership with like-minded young people from different parts of the world. After returning from Bangkok, Florence was voted the 2016 One Young World Coordinating Ambassador for the Africa 1 region. This region consists of One Young World ambassadors from South Africa as well as Lesotho and Swaziland.

Florence’s hard work did not stop there – some of her highlights for the year include the 2nd Commonwealth Conference in Youth Work held in Pretoria in March, and exhibiting at the International Truth Be Told: Speaking out against Gender-based Violence Conference, which was held in Johannesburg last month. She was also nominated for the Nelson Mandela and Graça Machel Innovation Award as well as the Bill and Melinda Gates Institute for Population and Reproductive Health’s 120 under 40 Youth Leaders Award. And late last month, Florence once again jetted off to the Young World Summit, which took place in Ottowa, Canada from 28 September to 1 October.

“I have learned from and connected with so many young people who are passionate about leaving the world a better place than we found it. I believe that in order to solve the very serious, at times dark and complex, issues we face, we have to collaborate – not only locally, but globally too. There is a need for a multi-disciplinary approach to solve these issues. Educating communities and investing in the future of children and society, especially in respect of tolerance, love and peace is of the utmost importance. In order to make change happen, young people, with the support of the policy makers, civil society and the private sector, need to drive these initiatives to solve the world’s most pressing socio-economic and political ills,” she said.

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