IF SHE’D been able to tell her teenage self she’d be where she is today, she would’ve laughed disbelievingly. Back then everything seemed hopeless after a childhood fraught with tragedy and trauma.
Julieth Gudo was orphaned at seven and raised by her paternal grandparents. Then her grandmother died and Julieth seemed destined for a child marriage until she took a leap into the unknown – and the seeds were sown for a future that has made her an inspiration and a beacon of hope for young people battling seemingly insurmountable odds.
Julieth (32), who is from the Zaka District in Zimbabwe, graduated with a Ph.D. at the University of Cape Town (UCT) after getting her LLB at the University of Limpopo, and she’s now doing her research fellowship at UCT on the role of NGOs in advancing good governance and development in Africa.
Education has been her ticket to a life of success and promise, but the road has been long and hard and filled with many potholes along the way.
MONEY was scarce in her grandparents’ house but Julieth continued going to school every day, arriving hungry and barefoot but eager to learn.
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