I Am A Girl From Africa

​Author: Elizabeth Nyamayaro
Publisher: Jonathan Ball
Reviewer: Nancy Richards
‘We desire to bequeath two things to our children: the first one is roots, the other one is wings’. This proverb, one of a series attributed to different African countries and used as chapter openers, seems to me to epitomize Elizabeth Nyamayaro’s spirit. She is hopeful, she is well-grounded, she has vision and motivation – she has both roots and wings. She is Mwana Wevhu – a child of African soil. And she has a story.
At the age of eight, on the verge of dying 

​from hunger she was rescued by ‘the girl in the blue uniform’. The girl that she dreams one day to become. The ‘girl’ worked for the United Nations. It was a long and difficult journey but Elizabeth eventually realized that dream, and went on to become senior advisor on gender equality to the United Nations. In that role she was also head of the global, ground-breaking HeForShe movement designed to encourage men to play an active role in achieving gender quality.
But in these days where so many seek self-enrichment, hers is a truly inspiring story of a genuine commitment to uplifting others by first uplifting yourself.
In this book, which she dedicates to her ‘dearest Gogo’ and her indomitable spirit as well as to Africa, her ‘beloved continent’, she moves between her childhood and adult journeys. So she begins in the rural, famine and HIV-ravaged village of Goromonzi in Zimbabwe where she lives with her grandmother who teaches her all the values of the African soil. She later meets her own Amai and Baba (mother and father) and goes to live with Uncle Sam and Aunt Jane, a childless couple who educate, elevate and cherish her.
Her quest to join the UN takes her to London, to a dreggy hostel and dreggier work until miraculously, a chink in all the barriers against her, not least having no university degree, opens up and her journey into the heart of the UN begins. She meets a number of mentors and role models, primary amongst them Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, executive director of UN Women. She travels to Geneva, New York, across the world meeting communities and heads of state alike and effecting change wherever she can. There are some amazing breakthroughs – in 2018 20,000 child marriages were annulled in Malawi, and some heartbreaking moments – she describes hugging one of two-week old twin girls whose teenage mother, victim of an enforced, abusive marriage, in desperation hung herself from a tree.  
There are so many stories and anecdotes, wisdoms and experiences woven in and written in a style so tender as to almost make it sound lovely. But I suspect that’s as a result of Elizabeth’s own caring nature, committed as she is to the spirit of ubuntu.
Interesting to know that she also studied Political Science at London School of Economics, attended Harvard Business School and is also the founder of Africa IQ, a nonprofit that aims to contribute to Africa's economic growth and development. She really is the one who has both roots and wings.