I am Mpinane
Lerotholi from Lesotho, the co-founder, Executive Chairman and Cultural
Coordinator of Makholela Environment and Cultural Organization (MECO). I enjoy
travelling to new places and meeting new people. I love civil servant
work and volunteer work helped mould parts of me today!
WHAT FUELS ME?
Passion- I am driven by
passion in everything that I do. I believe that if I do not have a care for it
then my vision for it will lack excellence! I had a great passion for the
environment and its impacts on culture thus starting an NGO that sought to
develop these two aspects together became great!
Faith– I believe that my
life would not be the way that it is today had it not been for my faith in
Christ. I have watched God pull me out of situations that I wasn’t even
supposed to survive because of prayer. My faith constantly tells me that he has
a purpose for me and that is unfathomable! Psalm 37 is my salvation.
Perseverance– I do not quit! The
NOs that have come my way in life never ever held me back. In fact they taught
me that if a door closes there’s always a window, I just have to find one.  
MY GREATEST INFLUENCE…
Attending the
Mandela Institute for Development Studies annual dialogue last year, influenced
the woman I am today. I met so many amazing youth, fearlessly doing profound
work in their prospective countries. They taught me about humility in African
Leadership and how mediocrity cannot be allowed in the Africa that I want.
Thus, I quit my job and focused on my Organization so as to implement my own
vision.
MY TOP THREE ROLE MODELS
Dr. Alexandra Jones- One of the few black
archaeologists who founded the Archaeology in the Community non-profit
organization. She inspires me to take archaeology to greater heights through my
work.
Dr Nkosana Moyo– the founder and
Executive Chairman of MINDS, he inspires me to be a better African in everything
that I do. He is the definition of intelligence meets humility
Maya Angelou- Her Civil Rights
work and poetic persona is what intrigues me about her. She stood for
everything I believed in.
THE NEXT FIVE YEARS
In the next five
years I see myself holding an MA in Historical Archaeology, and continuing my
cultural preservation work on African History. I want to see the youth adding
value to the past and by all means avoiding the recreation of political
mistakes that occurred in the past and present Africa. 
THE AFRICAN WOMAN’S CHALLENGE
Most challenges that
African women contend with is poverty, in a society that is marginalized. They
have to contend with lack of resources for production; MECO has tried to come
up with ways of bringing sustainable development practices to communities to
help them improve in agriculture and farming.
HOW DO I RELAX?
Listening to soul
and classical music, Poetry sessions also help mellow me down
WHY WOMEN NEED TO BE [ICE] INSPIRED, CELEBRATED AND EMPOWERED
African women should be celebrated because
they endure a lot of sufferings and I find that the scars they bare define who
they are and make them stronger.
MY AFRICAN UNION DREAM
Political Affairs-  the responsibility of Human Rights Affairs
because I realized that in Africa the citizens barely know and understand what
they are and no one truly fights for them. I see a lot of violations in African
Human Rights from civil to political rights and it would be an honor to tackle
this injustice.
FINAL ADVICE
Do not be afraid to
challenge and change History