Florida girl passionate about her peers
As children's ambassador, her goal is to raise awareness regarding the problems children face.
Nicole le Roux, a Hoërskool Florida learner, has been chosen as the Gauteng Children’s Ambassador to represent all Gauteng children in Parliament.
“I’ve always been passionate about children’s rights and when I was presented with the opportunity to be a part of the Children’s Parliament, I was ecstatic and immediately agreed to take part,” she said.
Nicole prepared a speech on following in Madiba’s footsteps. “We had to touch on various subjects and include quite a few topics on which we were judged. Subsequently 10 of us were selected to partake in the Children’s Parliament and all of us then nominated an ambassador and deputy ambassador. I was elected as deputy ambassador, but earlier this year I was asked to take up the role of ambassador,” she explained.
As children’s ambassador, her goal was to raise awareness regarding problems children face every day, but are overlooked. “It is the goal of any child parliamentarian, but my goal is definitely to empower more girls and enlighten them about their rights, teach them how to defend themselves and encourage them to speak up. Rape statistics escalate annually and it is an obvious problem I hope can be prioritised,” Nicole said.
During Parliament’s Commemoration of the
30th Anniversary of the UN Convention
on the Rights of the Child, Nicole engaged with representatives from various political parties and chairpersons of relevant portfolio committees. As the children’s ambassador she shared the Children’s Manifesto and discussed matters to be included in the next National Plan of Action for Children.
According to Nicole, to fulfil the role of ambassador you need to have dedication, empathy and passion, and be open-minded – characteristics she clearly has. “I was the voice for all children in Parliament, representing Gauteng, when I was able to raise issues children face, and I was a voice when we wrote the Children’s Manifesto, which was handed over to the Minister of Social Development. I had so many opportunities, which I truly believe I used.”
She is currently focusing on her task to empower women and young girls, and with that she hopes to reach out to young women, and enlighten and encourage them to do the same.
“I had an entire year to fulfil that role, and I believe I have. I had taken every opportunity to make sure my voice was heard and attended all the events I could. I broadened my knowledge and I was able to raise matters for discussion. One can always improve on something, but I think 2019 was a successful year regarding the children’s parliament. Anyone can be a voice, but you need to be passionate about it,” she concluded.
