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Africa Matters Spotlight: Keaoleboga Motlhankane
- Africa Matters
- Mar 25
- 3 min read
Our first 2025 instalment of Africa Matters Spotlights features Keaoleboga Motlhankane, a 2024 participant of the Africa Matters Ambassadors Program (AMAP) from South Africa. Keaolebog’s dedication to empowering Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW), she focuses on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR), tackling issues like teenage pregnancy through awareness and education.
Read her inspiring story below!
What is your story? What defines you?
My name is Keaoleboga Motlhankane, I am 24 years of age and a qualified social worker. I grew up in a small town where everyone knew each other and well, I was always the child of interest.
Only because I wasn’t a typical girl child, I was either too sensitive or aggressive or peculiar. Which I think is okay to be misunderstood because people are not meant to be put in boxes and my personality is not predominantly dependent on my gender.
Over the years, I’ve developed a passion for solving problems through creating awareness, whether through workshops in schools and NGOs or social media activism.
I’m always seeking new knowledge, and I don’t give up easily when faced with challenges. What defines me is my curiosity, resilience, and a deep commitment to lifelong learning. I’m constantly seeking ways to grow and contribute to society in a positive way.
What is a pressing issue/challenge happening in your community right now that you are advocating for and that readers should be paying attention to?
The cause I have identified is the lack of information surrounding issues affecting Adolescent Girls and Young Women(AGYW).
Most of them fall victim to things that could have been prevented by simply having the right information. Knowing what to do, what not to do and where to go can protect AGYW from falling victim to issues like teenage pregnancy.
In my CEP I will specifically focus on Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR). This is close to my heart because most people denote womanhood to reproductive work, stress its importance and still look down on reproductive work as compared to productive work.
How does (or will) your work help resolve this pressing issue/challenge affecting your community?
Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights’ issues affecting AGYW have shown the deficit in the socialisation of girls from a young age, the need to eliminate ignorance and increase proper awareness.
The purpose of my CEP: Project Dignity using the community education model is to empower AGYW with the relevant knowledge, attitudes and skills to have some form of control of their lives and how they interact with their environment(community).
In essence, Project Dignity aims to produce more resilient AGYW consequently having resilient communities through raising awareness on SRHR.
What are some key takeaways from the Africa Matters Ambassadors Program that have reshaped the way you will execute your work for your community?
Being part of AMAP made me realise that we all start somewhere and sometimes when it comes to community work and advocacy we delay our progress by choosing to do things alone, collaboration and mentorship are key in community work.
Owing to this, I also learned the importance of research, this involves observing and engaging with the community you are trying to help to have a clear picture of the impediment.
Moreover, AMAP taught me that leadership can be taught if the person has the heart for advocacy because if they have the passion they will most likely keep trying.
In essence, my biggest takeaway is that a leader listens and learns from the community, because you are human, you can make mistakes. You are in that position because of other people so your work in its nature is dependent on people for you to evaluate its success.
What are you most looking forward to in the next couple of months in the Africa Matters Ambassadors Program?
I am looking forward to implementing my CEP, I had to adjust it a bit due to unforeseeable constraints but other than that I am excited to see how everything will unfold because it’s going to take place within 4 weeks instead of 6. Lastly, I am looking forward to seeing how everyone’s programmes come to life when they present them.
What would you like people to remember about you? (This can be personally or professionally)
It definitely has to be my heart, no matter the circumstances I always act with kindness and mercy. My mother once told me a story about my ability to empathise with everyone without effort.
According to her story, when I was 9 years old I was playing “teacher” with my friends and other kids from the neighbourhood in the backyard. So it happened that one of them didn’t understand what I was teaching and other kids made fun of her. Instead of her crying, I apparently was the one crying because I felt bad as the other kids kept laughing at her.
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