The collective actions of Global Citizens around the world have resulted in world leaders and policymakers making more than 100 commitments aimed at ending extreme poverty by 2030.
These commitments, worth $48.4 billion to date, bolster initiatives and policies that support girls and women, education, health care, innovation, climate action, and human rights for marginalised groups of people.
They are set to affect 880 million lives.
Palesa Mokoenanyane is a Johannesburg-based financial administrator who is passionate about girls' and women’s rights. The 29-year-old has been taking action with Global Citizen since 2018, and believes that gender equality is the key to ending extreme poverty.
She told us how she became a Global Citizen and why it’s so important to take action.
I became a Global Citizen sometime in 2018 when Global Citizen Festival: Mandela 100 was launched in South Africa to honour Nelson Mandela’s centenary. The radio show I was listening to had Naomi Campbell and other Global Citizen ambassadors in the studio. They were talking about the organisation and the kind of impact Global Citizen wants to make by ending extreme poverty by 2030. I thought it was amazing and wanted to be part of the movement.
Joining Global Citizen was the opportunity for me to take actions, along with many other people, [to support equality]. I believed that issues that Global Citizen targeted ... resonated with me quite a lot, in particular [the ones connected to] women and girls, who continue to be disproportionately affected by poverty.
I wanted to speak up for them so that we can achieve gender equality. I also wanted to speak against gender-based violence.
I can’t remember but I have been tweeting. I also worked with Global Citizen on the menstrual health management campaign that called on the government to prioritise free access to menstrual products. I’m featured in the video for the It’s Bloody Time campaign. It was sent out on Twitter for the attention of President Cyril Ramaphosa.
That was the most memorable action I’ve taken. I believe that as young women, we need better sexual health [care] ... young men as well.
We need to destigmatise menstruation. We need to know that it’s OK to be on your period. No one has to be ashamed by it and everyone should have access to the menstrual products they need.
I’m passionate about social justice because I feel as though we are all equals and we should have equal opportunities. I also believe that we cannot live in a world where the line between the rich and the poor is so big. We need to close that gap.
We need to come together as a community of Global Citizens and help end this [inequality and extreme poverty], and if all come together, and take actions, I truly believe that we can end global poverty.
The education of the girl child, and sexual and reproductive health rights. They are the biggest issues that resonate with me as an individual. Most of the actions I take on Global Citizen support these issues.
It has. I take more actions to support causes that I believe [in], like menstrual health. At the moment I am taking action [on my own] to support people whose homes were destroyed by the floods that swept across Gauteng between Dec. 9 and 11. I believe that if each one of us makes even one small contribution, we really can make a huge impact.
*Answers have been edited slightly for clarity.
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