ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2021
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. In 2021, over 25,000 young leaders on 2,000+ campuses across 153 nations applied to join the Class of 2021. 136 campuses worldwide (just 6%) were selected to host the 2,000+ Millennium Fellows. The Class of 2021 is bold, innovative, and inclusive.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT VARAIDZO MATETE-DUBE, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW FOR THE CLASS OF 2021.
University of Zimbabwe | Harare, Zimbabwe | Advancing SDG 3 & UNAI 3
" Emapthy, Motivation and Participation are the core elements of making great social impact. I am excited to be a Millennium Fellow because working with people who are far more experienced that I am and other young people with a similar cause will help me archieve the skills necessary to Foster empathy in other people and motivate them to participate and work with us to push the UN SDGs and make a change in our communities. I believe I have a voice but the Millennium Fellowship will give me The Voice. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: The Escape Dilemma
This project is aimed at educating people about Mental Health and helping them escape situations that may have long term effects on their Mental Health. The escape dilemma is mainly a social project that initially will be promoted through use of social media and eventually grow into something more tangible and physical.
In our communities we tend to undermine the impact our psychological mechanisms have on our lives. Most times people ignore abusive situations that could lead to emotional trauma because they are not popular forms of abuse.
So this project will mainly be an educational platform where we try to curb or bring attention to abuse institutions be it educational or companies. The information will be distributed in the form of podcasts. On social media we will also share videos and posts. We will try to engage with the community and encourage them to share their experiences and help others overcome similar incidents. Therapy and counselling will be offered through WhatsApp by affiliate donors.
We will run a blog where I will be the main writer but occasionally include articles from other people.
We will have a hotline with coded messages that can help in immediate response in case someone feels suicidal or just someone to talk to. This is our contribution to society to help reduce the number of suicides, especially of young people.
The second goal is to build psychological strength in people. This will be done through distribution of case studies on manipulative situations and brainwashing. Through this we are building up the number of cases that will be reported in the event of abuse.
The main reason people do not report abuse is because of manipulation. Abusers have common threats and with this knowledge we can empower young people to know how to respond in the safest way possible when they are being manipulated or threatened. We will educate victims on the best methods to conquer these situations.
The other issue we want to solve is giving people hope of a better life after abuse. Most abusive relationships are not terminated because women are not empowered. We are aimed at raising funds for people to get back on their feet after they escape. We want to encourage women that there is life after abuse and that they can still afford to live on or start afresh through us until they are stable.
These donations will hopefully extend to families suffering from mental illness related poverty. The community tends to cast out people who are suffering from mental illness and their families. We want to help these families with clothes and food and therefore encourage them not to put their ill members in the streets but to practice patience and kindness
About the Millennium Fellow
Varaidzo Matete-Dube is a charismatic and energetic young student studying Geological Sciences at the University of Zimbabwe. She was born and raised in Zimbabwe. Due to inevitable experiences that she went through growing up and their influence in her life she became motivated to be an ambassador of all aspects of good health and well-being of other people who go through similar situations. Varaidzo hopes to bring to light problems that affect mental well-being of members of her community and the world at large. She hopes to help people with situations that are considered to be invalid or petty by societal standards. To be a proprietor of good moral standards in young people and help end gender based violence and empower youths to become good citizens of their communities.
