Rebeca Gyumi

Rebeca Gyumi
Gyumi in 2018
Born (1986-12-03) 3 December 1986
Dodoma Tanzania
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Founder, executive director, activist, lawyer, television host
Websitemsichana.or.tz

Rebeca Z. Gyumi is the Founder & Executive Director at Msichana Initiative, a Tanzanian NGO which aims to empower girls through education, and address key challenges which limit girls' right to education. She has worked for over 8 years with Femina, a youth-focused organisation, as a TV personality and youth advocate.[1][2]

Early life and education

She was born in Dodoma, Tanzania, where she began her education at Mazengo Primary School. She continued her secondary studies at Kikuyu Day Secondary School in Dodoma, before advancing to Kilakala High School in Morogoro. She later pursued a law degree at the University of Dar es Salaam, from which she graduated.

Career

Rebeca Gyumi is the founder and executive director at Msichana Initiative, a local NGO which aims to empower a girl child through education, and address key challenges which limit girl’s right to education. She has worked for over 8 years with Femina, a youth focused organisation, as a TV personality and youth advocate. [3] A lawyer by profession, Rebeca won a landmark case on child marriages, through the petition she filed at the High Court of Tanzania to challenge the Tanzania Marriage Act, 1971 which allowed girls as young as 14 to get married. The decision which raised the minimum age of marriage to 18 for both boys and girls.[4][5][6]

Rebeca engages in youth advocacy through her work with organizations and her volunteer efforts.[7]

She has travelled across Tanzania to engage young people on civic participation, sexual and reproductive health, and economic empowerment. Her advocacy has led her to speak and facilitate at national and international forums focused on youth and girls.

Rebeca has held roles as chair, moderator, and board member in several youth initiatives. She served as Vice-President of the Tanzania Association of U.S. State Alumni (TUSSAA), was the Trek4Mandela Tanzania leg ambassador, and is a board member of SNV-Netherlands' Opportunity for Youth Employment (OYE) project.[1] In July 2013, she chaired and moderated the National Youth Constitution Forum, where youth from mainland Tanzania and Zanzibar reviewed the draft Constitution and developed recommendations for the reform commission.[1]

She chaired the National Consortium of Youth CSOs in advocating for the enactment of the National Youth Council, which led to the inclusion of the National Youth Council in the proposed Constitution and the passing of the Bill by the Parliament of the United Republic of Tanzania.[8] In 2015, she led a girl-centred election campaign promoting youth and girls’ participation in the general election, collaborating with the Global Peace Foundation to advocate for peaceful and inclusive electoral processes.[9] In January 2017, she participated and contributed to the 28th AU Summit with a focus on youths, "Harnessing the Demographic Dividend by Investments in Youth".[10] She spoke at the Aflatoun Global Meeting in Nairobi on using social media to integrate social and financial education in youth initiatives focused on technology.[11]

In November 2013, she was selected by the US embassy in Tanzania under the US Department of state to attend International Visitors Leadership Program (IVLP) for youth with leadership potential. She won the 2017 inaugural IVLP alumni award for social innovation and change for her landmark win at the High Court.[12][13]

In 2012, she was the ambassador and coordinator for the national campaign under the government through the Tanzania Education Authority (TEA). The campaign aimed to raise funds for the construction of girls’ hostels in 8 regions in Tanzania and rescue girls who had to walk long distance to school, or drop out completely. [14]

In October 2016, she spoke at UNICEF’s Global commemoration of the International Day of the Girl Child in New York and received the Social Change Award for her role in ending legal provisions allowing child marriage in Tanzania. [15]

In 2016, she joined Melinda Gates in a panel discussion on young women's involvement in small-scale farming, addressing challenges and solutions.[16]

In November 2016, she supported Girls Not Brides in global fundraising efforts to end child marriage. She is one of nine global members of the UNICEF–UNFPA advisory committee for the program to end child marriage. She also volunteers and serves as an ambassador for campaigns promoting safe schools and quality education in Tanzania. [10]

She was named 2016 UNICEF global goals award winner for her work in advancing girls’ rights in Tanzania. [17] She was named among the 2016 African Women of the Year by New African Woman magazine. [18] Rebeca is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community and a Young Leaders Fellow at the University of Cape Town.[19]

Awards and nominations

Year Event Prize Result
2013 Tanzania Under 30 Youth Awards Social Impact Category Nominated
2016 United Nations Global Goals Awards Social Change Award Won[20]
2017 International Visitors Leadership Program Alumni Awards Social Innovation and Change Award Won[13]
New Africa Woman Awards New Africa Woman On The Rise Nominated[18]
Clouds Fm Malkia Wa Nguvu Awards Inspirational Icon Won[21]
2018 Tanzania Women of Achievement Young Achiever Award Won[22]
2018 United Nations Headquarters New York Awards United Nations Human Rights Prize Won[23]
  • Gyumi was on the list of the BBC's 100 Women announced on 23 November 2020.[24]

References

  1. ^ a b c "Rebecca Gyumi – Global Shapers Community". Globalshapers.org.
  2. ^ "Meet the young woman who helped end child marriage in Tanzania". Weforum.org.
  3. ^ "Rebeca Gyumi « AISA-GISS 2016". Aisagiss.org.
  4. ^ "Rebeca Gyumi « AISA-GISS 2016". Aisagiss.org.
  5. ^ "Meet the young woman who helped end child marriage in Tanzania | World Economic Forum". Weforum.org. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  6. ^ "The woman who fought to stop child marriages, and won – CNN Video". CNN. 4 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  7. ^ "Mamlaka ya elimu Tanzania kuandaa mbio za hisani kuchangisha fedha za ujenzi wa mabweni". Bongo5.com. 2 August 2012. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  8. ^ "Bunge la Pitisha Sheria ya Kuanzishwa Baraza La Vijana – Magazeti ya leo- Tanzania News -Tanzania Today". Tanzaniatoday.co.tz. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  9. ^ "FEMA TV SHOW NGUVU YA BINTI YATARAJIWA KUANZA RASMI – Magazeti ya leo". Tanzaniatoday.co.tz. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  10. ^ a b "Passion behind Gyumi's struggle for girls' rights". Thecitizen.co.tz. 7 March 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  11. ^ [1]
  12. ^ "Global Ties U.S. on Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  13. ^ a b "IVLP Alumni Award for Social Innovation and Change". Global Ties U.S. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  14. ^ "MABALOZI WA HARAMBEE YA UJENZI WA HOSTELI ZA WASICHANA WA SEKONDARI WAZINDUA KAMPENI YA "ELIMU YAO, WAJIBU WETU"". Issamichuzi.blogspot.com. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  15. ^ "UN Women commemorates International Day of the Girl Child". Unwomen.org. 11 October 2016. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  16. ^ "Maria Sarungi-Tsehai". Facebook.com. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  17. ^ "Global Goals Awards honour champions for women's and girls' rights". Unicef.org. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  18. ^ a b "Who Is Changing The Game? Here are the 2017 New African Woman Awards Nominees". Nawmagazine.com. 7 April 2017. Archived from the original on 16 September 2018. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  19. ^ "Rebecca Gyumi | Global Shapers Community". Archived from the original on 6 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  20. ^ "Rebeca Gyumi wins United Nations Global Goals Award on Social Change – Campuslane". Archived from the original on 6 November 2016. Retrieved 6 November 2016.
  21. ^ "HAWA NDIO MALKIA WA NGUVU WA MWAKA 2017". YouTube. 20 March 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2018.
  22. ^ "The Women of Achievement on Instagram: "#GetToKnowTWAAwardWinners2018 Young Achiever Award won by @RebecaGyumi . Rebeca Gyumi is a Founder & Executive Director at Msichana…"". Instagram. Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  23. ^ "Mtanzania Rebeca Gyumi ashinda tuzo ya Umoja wa Mataifa". BBC News Swahili (in Swahili). Retrieved 1 December 2018.
  24. ^ "BBC 100 Women 2020: Who is on the list this year?". BBC News. 23 November 2020. Retrieved 23 November 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.