Cape Town - A Manenberg teenager is heading for the Big Apple where she will hear an address by Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban.
Cherlene Thomasso, a Grade 11 pupil at Manenberg Secondary, was invited to take part in the Malala Day Youth Session, which will be held at the UN headquarters this week.
She has never been outside the Western Cape and is over the moon about her trip to the US.
The main event will be a youth assembly where Malala will celebrate her 16th birthday by addressing hundreds of young people.
Malala made headlines around the world last year when she was shot by Taliban gunmen while on a school bus.
She was shot for campaigning for the right for girls to be educated. Malala was taken to Britain for medical treatment and has since been nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.
The events will take place on Thursday and Friday. Cherlene will have the opportunity to interact with young people from all over the world.
According to the letter of invitation from the office of the president of the general assembly of the UN in New York, Cherlene was nominated based on her “demonstration of active and committed advocacy for education”.
Cherlene said her school had told her that she had been selected because of her dedication to her schoolwork and the fact that she was articulate.
She said Malala was an inspiration.
“She wanted to further her studies. In South Africa we have education at our fingertips.
“People say knowledge is power but I believe that knowledge applied is power.”
Cherlene, who is scheduled to depart on Monday, will spend a few days in Washington DC before departing for New York.
She said that while she was nervous about the trip, she was looking forward to meeting young people from elsewhere and to meeting Malala.
Jonavon Rustin, provincial secretary of the SA Democratic Teachers’ Union, said the American Federation of Teachers had been asked to nominate two young people for the event.
He said Sadtu and the federation had been working together for three years and as a result this had led to a partnership between Manenberg Secondary and Artesia High School in Los Angeles.
The federation decided to select one of the Manenberg pupils and one LA pupil for the youth session. The US union will be paying for her accommodation and flight while Sadtu, her school, and others have also provided financial support.
Cape Argus