Speech therapist Qhawekazi Mazaleni begins her EYA mandate through mother-tongue reading at an Alexandra primary school
Miss South Africa 2025 and Empower Youth Africa (EYA) Ambassador, Qhawekazi Mazaleni, is preparing to officially launch her Empower Youth Africa campaign, a literacy-driven programme focused on mother-tongue learning, early language development, and access to education.
On Wednesday, 04 February 2026, as part of the preparatory phase ahead of the campaign’s official activation, Qhawekazi visited Zenzeleni Primary School in Alexandra where she conducted a book-reading session with learners and engaged educators on the importance of language-appropriate literacy resources.
During the visit, Qhawekazi read from her own children’s book, AmaseleAmdaka, an isiXhosa story written to support early reading, comprehension, and language development. The book was selected specifically to ensure that learners whose home languages fall within the Nguni language group could engage meaningfully with the story, fostering cultural inclusion and literacy skills from an early age.
Qhawekazi is a qualified speech therapist by profession, a background that strongly informs her literacy advocacy and approach to early childhood development. Her work emphasizes the critical link between language acquisition, speech development, and long-term educational outcomes.
Research shows that children develop stronger reading comprehension, confidence, and cognitive skills when learning materials are provided in their home languages, particularly in the foundational phases of education. Studies further demonstrate that children read for understanding more effectively when exposed to familiar linguistic structures, as opposed to learning exclusively in additional languages.
Through this engagement, Qhawekazi reinforced the importance of culturally relevant storytelling as both a literacy tool and a means of preserving language and identity.
Speaking on the initiative, Qhawekazi Mazaleni said:
“Literacy is the foundation of opportunity. When children are taught to read in a language they understand, they are empowered to express themselves, to learn with confidence, and to succeed. As a speech therapist, I have seen firsthand how language access shapes a child’s future. This campaign is about meeting children where they are.”
As Qhawekazi continues to work on translating the existing AmaseleAmdaka into South African official languages, and expands her broader literacy programme to reach different age groups, she looks forward to creating more meaningful engagements that deepen impact and broaden access to reading across communities.
The literacy programme forms the cornerstone of Qhawekazi’s Empower Youth Africa campaign and aligns with the Miss South Africa Organisation’s broader commitment to access to education as a driver of youth empowerment and social transformation.
About Empower Youth Africa (EYA)
Empower Youth Africa is the Miss South Africa Organisation’s flagship collective action programme, uniting all Miss South Africa 2025 finalists under a shared vision to deliver scalable and sustainable social-impact initiatives across five pillars: youth unemployment, entrepreneurship and skills development, access to education, health and wellness, and civic engagement and Pan-African collaboration.
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