Tererai Trent: Zimbabwean-born scholar, humanitarian and author.

Zimbabwean-born scholar, humanitarian and author Tererai Trent has dedicated her life to promoting equal rights for girls and women, and for her efforts she has been selected for recognition in the United States of America. The academic will have a statue erected in her honor at the Rockefeller Centre in New York City on August 26 2019, as part of an initiative called "Statues for Equality." Other honorees include Oprah Winfrey, Gabby Douglas- US Olympic gold, Pink- three time Grammy award winner musician, Conservationist Jane Goodall, Janet Mock and others.

Early Life

Trent was born in the Zvipani, a rural village in Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) in 1965 at a time when poverty, war, and traditional women’s roles denied women the opportunity to attend school. Despite marrying young and having three children by the time she was eighteen, Trent never lost sight of her dreams.

In 1991, Jo Luck from Heifer International visited her village and asked every woman about her greatest dream. Dr. Trent said she wanted to go to America and get a bachelor’s degree, followed by a master’s and eventually a PhD. After teaching herself to read and write, she wrote her dreams, placed them in a tin can and buried them. She was encouraged by her mother and Jo Luck, president and CEO of Heifer International, who told Tererai, “If you believe in your dreams, they are achievable.”

Moving to USA

She achieved her dream later in life when she moved to Oklahoma with her husband and five children in 1998 and earned her bachelors in agricultural education in 2001 and a masters in 2003, before going on to complete her PhD at Western Michigan University in 2009. Her thesis looked at HIV/AIDS prevention programs for women and girls in sub-Saharan Africa. Her life story was featured in the book Half the Sky, and in an excerpt of that book published by The New York Times Magazine.

Philanthropy & Equity Champion

After the PhD, in 2009, she founded Tererai Trent International. The aim - to build schools and promote quality education for all children irrespective of their gender or financial background. To date, her foundation has built eleven schools and provided education for over 5,000 children. Winfrey granted Trent 1.5 million to rebuild an elementary school in her hometown.

"We now have seven girls that graduated and are now going to university in Zimbabwe," Trent said at a public lecture in March 2019. "It's all about tapping into the energy within you”

In addition to her work with her foundation; Trent is also an adjunct professor in Monitoring and Evaluation in Global Health at Drexel University, an author and motivational speaker. She has authored many books including a biographical children's book, "The Girl who Buried her Dreams in a Can", and her most recent- a self-help book "The Awakened Woman: Remembering & Igniting Our Sacred Dreams." which won an NCAAP award for Outstanding Literary Work.

On the Award

"I am incredibly honored to be standing among the World's Top 10 Most Inspiring Women”. A true inspiration, Trent’s motto is “Tinogona”, which means, “It is achievable!”

Picture credit : Statues for Equility

Sources: www.OkayAfrica.com , www.pluse.ng, www.theherald.co.zw, @TereraiTrent