Good evening ladies and gentlemen. My name is Shannon Lambrechts and I am a proud South African citizen and Member of the SAWIP Class of 2012. First of all let me thank each and every one of you present tonight for sending us off at this wonderful farewell.

Allow me to share a little about my past with you. I was born and raised in poverty, into a family and circumstances of drugs and gangsterism. I never saw myself being anything other than a gangster or garbage man. A gangster because that was the highest standard set in the area I lived in, and a garbage man because of a cheerful uncle of mine who worked on the garbage truck all his life and would bring home food, gifts and the latest gadgets. When asked where he got them, he always said “at work” and I said: “Wow! I want to do what you do.” At that point working on a garbage truck seemed like a very illustrious career. Me and my friends would even volunteer and help clean up trash in the hopes of making it in this sought-after career.

In my family, my father is the breadwinner and my mother is unemployable due to a mental disorder that makes it hard for her to concentrate. Poverty entered our home through my father’s drug and alcohol abuse habits. When I think of my father I can only picture him in a state under the influence of drugs or alcohol, for that is how I saw him most of my childhood. I have an older brother who bravely tried to finish high school, but was unable to get past the 11^th grade. He was told to quit school and find a job. He has been unemployed for the last five years and also lives under the influence of drugs and alcohol.

My dreams of becoming a garbage man were shattered when my family moved out of our incredibly dangerous area to a place that was mildly better called Kuils River. In my early school days I still had the mentality of the environment I grew up in. So naturally I resented education for it did not fit into the life I saw for myself. I spent the early years of high school being somewhat of a rebel. My schooling became increasingly difficult during the last few years and no one expected us to make it through the 12^th grade. This was primarily due to the lack of teachers at our school. But here is where my life would change forever. I decided to become my own teacher and took it upon myself to do whatever it took to make it into University. This is where my mind-set shifted and I set my eyes on becoming a scientist. As for my classmates, we made it with a 97% pass rate and most of us managed to find jobs or get into college.

Six years later and here I stand, graduating with a Bachelor of Science degree in Molecular Biology and Biotechnology at the end of this year. It was quite difficult for my parents to understand why their ambitious little garbage man had pursued a career in such a “strange” field. I had been told all my life I would never achieve much, that I was branded to become a labourer working for minimum wage stuck in a dead-end job. Well, I would like to hear what those critics have to say now.

I told myself that if I am going to break the circle of poverty, I am going to set the bar high, so that those after me may know what is possible for them. Therefore I have set out to attain nothing less than a Ph.D. in my field of study, Microbiology or Biotechnology, so that my family will never be looked down upon again.

My SAWIP experience has been indescribably amazing. I have grown immensely on this program and will continue to do so long after we are done with the curriculum. During my time in DC I had the pleasure of living with the most fun, generous, and incredible family, Tom, Carol and Max Wheeler. Thank you for not just opening your home, but your heart to me. I truly enjoyed every moment with you. I would also like to acknowledge Sharon Watkins from N Street Village where I completed my work exposure. Thank you Sharon for all you have taught me and for a great opportunity at N Street. And thank you to SAWIP. All of the board members, team management and especially Kim and Claire for making this a memorable experience.

I believe this to be a turning point in my life. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to the way I was. If I had not embarked on this phenomenal SAWIP journey I fear I would have completed my studies and eventually shipped myself off to Europe or the USA with my Ph.D. as so many have done before, because of the threat of being over-qualified. But I am now more motivated than ever before to complete my studies and stay in South Africa to put my education to use and to inspire and work with other young people. SAWIP has returned to me a long gone pride in South-Africa and renewed sense of responsibility for my country and people.

In closing, when we speak about SAWIP and investing in South Africa’s youth, it is often mistakenly assumed that this investment is limited to the individuals on each SAWIP team. What I have come to learn is that investment in a SAWIP student is an investment in a nation. We come from diverse backgrounds and thus when we’re supported, it is not just an investment in one individual, but an investment in the impact each of us will have on communities throughout South-Africa. How will we measure the returns on this investment? It will not be in our own individual accomplishments, it will not be how much money we will one day earn, but it will be in the eyes and spirit of a generation that has found hope and faith in their country like I have. It will be in the hearts and minds of our youth, who will take South Africa to heights it is capable of.

Thank you all for making this investment. Thank you for believing in us and helping us to believe in ourselves and our country. Thank you.

After what must’ve been one of the longest and most stimulating days in the program thus far, the SAWIP team was split into groups of five to attend a leadership dinner with U.S board members and distinguished guests to what would be a wonderful evening of stimulating youth transformation. Our afternoon session being the highlight of the day, when we were granted the opportunity to meet with the legendary Congressman John Lewis. What a brilliant man! I’ve never seen all of us on the team so captivated and intrigued by a single person or event. We sat with Congressman Lewis in his office and listened with aware to his stories about growing up in poverty, leading the civil rights movement in the 1960’s for equal voting rights in the U.S and preaching to a congregation of chickens as a young boy. Though short, it was in my mind the most inspiring session we have had so far. I was inspired by Congressman Lewis to study the great leaders of the World, to study the ages when great change took place and above all else to discard fear and be courageous. I’ll never forget what he said: “When you stand up for something and you not just willing to live and speak out about it, but to die for it. That’s when you are liberated.” I strive to one day be that liberated.

We spent our late afternoon among distinguished academics speaking on the parallels of civil rights movements in South-Africa and the United States. This was very interesting and our dialogue on civil rights movement swung to an interactive history discussion on the absence of stories or history of minority races such as blacks. But what has been the most inspiring evening event thus far was the leadership dinner and interaction with distinguished guests from a diverse background on a level that made us feel like the guests and teachers of the evening. We spoke on issues relating to politics, education, leadership and most importantly, what we have gained whist being in Washington and what we will take back to South-Africa. We all had something to take back home, in fact we all had plenty to take back home. My take home package included a great sense of African and South-African pride and awareness of South-Africa and Africa’s incredible potential for growth. I truly believe if I had not been part of SAWIP and this phenomenal experience in Washington, I would have taken all my knowledge and expertise to another country. Now I feel a sense of urgency to stay in South-Africa and use my expertise for the benefit our country and country folk. I feel obligated to attain the highest qualification and use it as a means to better the entire country not just my own economic status.

What followed was a question to the guests on what they think we should take back home and from these opinions flowed rivers of inspiration. We were told to go home and speak out on issues we feel need to change even if people think it’s not our place to speak out on. We were told to be courageous and role models to the youth of South-Africa. We were told that the United States looks up to South-Africa as being very modern, based on our constitution, and the world desperately needs South-Africa to get it right, and we need to help South-Africa get it right. And lastly we were told not to wait for something to happen or to be done studying and retired to make a change and impact, but to do it now. These words were most inspiring and stimulating to me and definitely something I am going to live up to and advocate for.