Antonia Ndumba, born and raised in Namibia is currently pursuing a degree in Social Entrepreneurship at Watson University in the United States.
Antonia and her twin brother were raised by their mother along with four other siblings. Growing up they moved a lot, even up to twice a year sometimes. Because of this, she struggled with a sense of belonging. In her years of coming-of-age, she learned to occupy herself so as to not fall prey to all the predators in her community, especially drug abuse and teenage pregnancies. Antonia did well in staying focused and was even selected as the valedictorian of her class. She knows how close she came to her life turning out differently, as even her twin brother and so many of her peers did not make it out.
Antonia is now dedicated to creating safe spaces for children to engage in meaningful extracurricular activities and to help young women without access to education create employment for themselves. Her dream is to one day have a space where women, young and old, can have a sense of belonging. She dreams of a space where women can gather, where they do not have to fit and can let their creativity flow. She wants to create this space in her community where women can learn something from one another and make a living from it too. Like Thomas Sankara said: “Women hold up the other half of the sky.“ Antonia plans to hold up her half of the sky.
