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.
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.”
"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.
Picture credit : Statues for Equility
Sources: www.OkayAfrica.com , www.pluse.ng, www.theherald.co.zw, @TereraiTrent