A continental leader

Rivaldo KavangaFive-year-old Ester Simon would have never imagined that she would one day be appointed as the president of the Pan-African Female Youth Leaders (PANAFYL) association. She grew up being a very reserved girl who was not too outspoken and says at the age of five her only concern was playing umma, blok-blok and with her dolls and finds it ironic how that reserved little girl turned into such a powerhouse. Hailing from Mondesa in Swakopmund, Ester Simon (27) already has a list of accolades she has accomplished and believes that changing the world starts through education.As president of PANAFYL Simon says her focus is going to be premised on strategic engagements to realise the mission and vision of the organisation. Additionally, she wants to strategically coordinate the current 25 PANAFYL branches in 25 African member countries and establish more branches across Africa. PANAFYL also has a #EmpowerAfricanWomen campaign which she plans to launch in all countries where they currently have branches. “My bigger goal is to see female and youth inclusivity in all spheres across the African continent and beyond,” she says.The key to success Simon is driven by her goal of wanting to see women and young people included in all spheres across the African continent and beyond. Being an advocate for education, Simon’s actions speak louder than her words as she is the founder and owner of Joyrise Private Academy in Windhoek. The private academy allows students from less privileged backgrounds and orphans the opportunity to improve their grades at no cost and has granted 65 scholarships to learners since its inception. “It’s the passion and ability to be able to give back to the nation and assist,” Simon says. She went to Festus !Gonteb Primary School, matriculated from the famous Swakopmund Secondary School and did her first degree and honours degree at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (NUST).Leading from all fronts Simon is no stranger to leading and being at the forefront of an organisation. She was the first female president of the Namibian National Students Organisation (Nanso), the executive spokesperson of the Southern African Students Union, chairperson of the African Union Youth Club – Namibian Chapter and the youngest advisor appointed by President Hage Geingob to serve on the High-Level Panel on the Namibian Economy (HLPNE). Ester has proven her leadership capabilities on a national and international level. She says her biggest contribution to the country has been with Nanso and the HLPNE. “With Nanso, there is so much to reflect on, from the successful access to basic education and access to higher education campaigns, and secondly getting His Excellency to direct government to bail out NSFAF in 2018 and aid our students,” she says. Ester also has a mentorship programme in which she mentors young female leaders one-on-one for a year and her intake has grown massively. “The beauty in this is the ability to have heart-to-heart conversations and directly be of positive impact,” she says.Be the change you want to seeBesides advocating for access to education, Simon says she would love to see a massive decrease in the youth unemployment rate, as well as a decrease in the wealth gap between the rich and the poor. “I would love to see economic recovery and much more efforts being channelled to access to education from both basic education accelerating to higher education. In addition, I would like to see a reduction in social ills, such as the continuous violence against females at the hand of men,” she states. Simon says her secret to everything is God. “My secret is the almighty God; it has always been by his grace and my father’s teachings. My dad valued education and hard work, further he always emphasised on the value of sacrifice and to always be my best, because my dad always expected my best,” she says. The biggest lesson her father taught her was how to be audacious. Fun facts about Ester SimonI was elected class captain for my entire primary school years, from grade one to grade seven. I take pictures of literally everything I listen to LOUD music every day, early morning. I was a kwaito dancer in primary and lower secondary school From my girly side, I am into perfumes, and I have a mini collection. I prefer peanut butter mixed with jam on my bread over butter.

A continental leader

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Republikein 2025-04-08

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A continental leader

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Republikein 2025-04-08

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