Luleka Mhlanzi

Nominee's Province:
Kwazulu-natal

Age:
29

Project Name/Description:
author, poet and youth facilitator

More info:
https://m.facebook.com/lulekamhlanzi

Luleka Mhlanzi (29) from Pietermaritzburg KZN is a woman of many who still finds time to develop the youth in her area. She is the author of ‘Confiscated Identity’, is a published and performing poet, actress, creative writer and a youth facilitator. She is an agent for change and her footprint is spotted in various African youth change programs such as Gold Peer Education, Enke Youth Forum, and Activate Change Drivers. She works with organisations such as The Institute of Africology. She is currently a youth programmes facilitator at Heartnet where she also curates poetry sessions. Her talent and interest was unearthed at a tender age of about 14 at high school where she was a peer educator. She organises sessions at schools where guides the teenagers in self-development as well as social and emotional intelligence issues. “Each time I facilitate I make sure the answers to these issues come from the group because with self-development we look into strength, mental and spiritual causes and effects ,”says Mhlanzi. Luleka established a project called Beauty Revised that responds to a stereotype about beauty standards set by society. Growing up she was bullied about her dark skin colour and was deemed ugly thereof. This project seeks a return of confidence to little girls and women excluded by society.