As seniors graduating today ponder their futures, one Tufts alumnus has a message to spread: get involved.
Prince Cedza Dlamini (LA '05), a native of Swaziland, Africa, graduated from Tufts last year and has continued to work for social change during his year away from the Medford campus.
Before attending college, in 1998 Dlamini co-founded America Reads/South Africa Reads (ARSAR), which he describes as "a non-profit organization advocating literacy." Through book-drives across the U.S., Dlamini collected over 100,000 books for libraries that serve poor rural South African schools.
Dlamini stresses that he is very passionate about social entrepreneurship.
"I am a social entrepreneur. I have a passion to achieve a social mission, but I employ practical business principles to achieve it," he says.
Dlamini's family has a long history of humanitarian work. A descendent of "freedom fighters," Dlamini's grandfathers are King Sobhuza II, who fought for the independence of Swaziland, and Nelson Mandela, the first black President of South Africa.
Dlamini was not, however, always dedicated to humanitarian work.
"Though I descend from great leaders, I did not expect nor set out to be a leader. When I was in high school, I got distracted and caught up in partying," he says.
However, after a life-changing experience living in the poverty-stricken African countryside, Dlamini decided to change his life and "became more focused."
After high school, Dlamini worked in the private sector with the Mitsubishi Corporation in South Africa. At Mitsubishi and at a subsequent job with his family's consulting firm in Johannesburg, Dlamini was exposed to the many obstacles facing black entrepreneurs in the post-apartheid South Africa.
"I was determined to return one day to expand resources and provide economic opportunities for my fellow Southern Africans, who had been marginalized during the Apartheid years in South Africa" he explains.
Several years later, while visiting America, Dlamini decided to resume his schooling in Boston - the "logical choice because it's considered the intellectual capital of the world," he says.
But Dlamini was unprepared to enter college.
"I did not have a student portfolio with SAT scores or transcripts," he explains. "Frankly, I didn't have anything."
At the last minute and with the help of a few friends, Dlamini was able to enroll at UMass Boston, where he spent his first year of college before transferring to Tufts.
After excelling at UMass, Dlamini joined the REAL (Resumed Education for Adult Learners) program at Tufts.
"I was attracted to Tufts for many reasons: its international reputation, diverse international student body, and international relations program," he says. "I wanted to understand how people and nations work and how we can build a better world."
Dlamini's humanitarian work continued while on the Hill. In 2003, he was named the Africa co-chair for the World Youth Peace Summit, which aims to build a global network of young leaders with a spiritual and moral vision committed to peace-building.
In his junior year at Tufts, Dlamini attended the Pan-African Youth Leadership Summit in Dakar, Senegal. Subsequently, the United Nations extended to him an invitation to be one of the first leaders from across Africa to work on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), an eight-point plan aimed at eradicating worldwide poverty, hunger, and disease.
During his time at Tufts, Dlamini also worked with the Global Action Youth Network, an international collaboration of youth and youth-serving organizations. He also regularly addressed high school students on conflict resolution, youth empowerment and activism.
As a U.N. Youth Emissary for the MDGs, Dlamini is looking at the role that young people can play in achieving the MDGs by 2015. His work focuses on what he called "the three most important issues right now facing young people in Africa: poverty, the empowerment of women, and AIDS." He had some startling statistics to share: "AIDS is the leading cause of death in Africa and the fourth-leading cause of death worldwide, and 70 percent of all people infected with HIV live in Sub-Saharan Africa. About 313 million people in Sub-Saharan Africa survive on less than one dollar per day," Dlamini explained.
Dlamini believes youth have the power to change the status-quo.
"One young person can change the world," he says. "However, young people are not fully engaged; many are apathetic, disillusioned with politics and policy-making; and even if we are active, our efforts are not effectively targeted and our resources are not efficiently pooled or streamlined."
As a result, after graduating from Tufts, Dlamini founded the Ubuntu Institute for Young Social Entrepreneurs, to which he now devotes most of his time in New York City.
The Ubuntu Institute "arms young African leaders with the leadership and professional skills they need to achieve the MDGs in their communities," according to Dlamini's Web site.
Through the Ubuntu Institute, Dlamini hopes to convince more young people to take charge of their role in making a difference in the world.
Dlamini recommends exposing young people to the world around them from a young age in order to make them more involved.
"We must empower youth and help them realize just what kind of power they have to change their surroundings," he says.
In order to get involved, "Find your passion in life. Learn what it is that you are passionate about and use that area," Dlamini says.
"If you're a musician, hold concerts that benefit AIDS orphans; if you're an artist, auction pieces of art to charity; if you're into business, share your knowledge with leaders of non-profits that lack the kind of experience you do," he adds.
"Everyone cannot be speakers, or dig wells, or travel around the world to feed the poor. However, you can effect change in your area with your greatest resources, your networks and talents," Dlamini says.
Finally, Dlamini offers this advice to seniors: "Starting out to make money is the greatest mistake in life. Do what you feel you have a flair for doing, and if you are good enough at it, the money will come."
To learn more about the Ubuntu Institute go to www.ubuntuinstitute.com.
