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The Inspiring Journey of Africa’s Female Leader of the Year 2019 RAWYA MANSOUR
‘‘ Long before the Millennium Development Goals and Sustainable Development Goals became the buzz, there was one woman’s commitment to environment & health protection; climate action; food security; sustainable communities; poverty eradication and gender equality. This sums up the life of one of Africa’s Amazon on Heels – Rawya Mansour. An interior designer by training, she abandoned the allures of this profession to pursue a people-centered life. 20 years on, the world is celebrating her contribution to solving humanities raging problems. Rawya Mansour was voted African Female Leader of the Year and she tells us how it all began; her work, life and persuasions. Excerpts:
Over 20 years ago, you made a life changing decision to move from being a renowned interior designer to a leading voice for gender equality, climate change and social entrepreneurship, when you said, “I want to not only make the lives of the rich beautiful, but to enrich the lives of those most segregated”. Looking back today, tell us how this journey has been thus far? The journey has been long and full of challenges and obstacles, yet at the same time it has been an enriching and rewarding journey weaving together environmental and health protection, climate action, food security, sustainable communities, poverty eradication, and gender equality. I started with the simple wish
It has been a journey of continuous learning and growth which started before the launch of the Global Goals and before climate action was placed so prominently on the global agenda.
of improving the lives of the disadvantaged in a rural community I had visited and later decided to step up beyond charity and embraced a calling to address some of the key issues facing our world today in a sustainable, and scalable manner. It has been a journey of continuous learning and growth which started before the launch of the Global Goals and before climate action was placed so prominently on the global agenda. I had to trust in my vision and preservere with my mission to bring my project to life despite criticism and
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