Once upon a time, there was a girl who soared and swooped through the sky. Her name is Thokozile Muwamba. In 2017, at age 24, Thokozile Muwamba broke barriers by becoming Zambia’s first female fighter pilot. Today, she continues to soar through the sky and is also an outspoken advocate against cyberbullying.

About the Narrator

Refilwe Ledwaba is a social entrepreneur, an advocate of girl’s education especially Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics (STEAM) education. She spent 10 years in the South African Police Services (SAPS) as a Helicopter Pilot, the first black woman to do so. She is also a qualified fixed-wing Pilot and Flight instructor ,a qualified Drone Pilot and currently training as a Drone Pilot instructor. She is passionate about youth development in Africa, particularly the empowerment of girls. She is the founder of Girls fly programme in Africa (GFPA) foundation, an information and educational STEAM programme for primary, high school and Post-school learners with a focus on aviation and space. The programme includes the use of design thinking, technology, and innovation to shape, empower, enable, and support the next generation of makers and problem solvers in the aviation and space industry in Africa while entrenching the spirit of Ubuntu.  

 

Credits

This podcast is a production of Rebel Girls and is based on the book series Good Night Stories for Rebel Girls.

This episode was produced by Camille Stennis. Sound design and mixing by Mumble Media. This episode was written by Alexis Stratton and fact checked by Joe Rhatigan. Executive Producer is Katie Sprenger. Haley Dapkus is our Production Manager. Original theme music was composed and performed by Elettra Bargiacchi. 

A big thanks to the whole Rebel Girls team who makes this show possible! For more, visit rebelgirls.com. And if you like what you heard, don’t forget to rate and review this episode, and share it with your friends! Until next time, stay REBEL!