The Michael Johnson Young Leader changing lives in Zanzibar
Fatma Said, a member of the Michael Johnson Young Leaders program, is harnessing the power of sport to change her community for the better in her native Zanzibar.
Fatma was one of the original Michael Johnson Young Leaders from the 2016 cohort – a group of specially selected young people from around the world who have overcome adversity but have shown high-potential and commitment to a future in sport, leadership, and giving back to their community.
Spearheaded by the multi-Olympic gold medallist Michael Johnson, and supported by thinkBeyond, this charitable initiative provides these extraordinary individuals with the confidence, skills and resources to achieve a better future for themselves by focusing on sporting performance, leadership development and community engagement.
Fatma was selected in the inaugural cohort of young leaders for her commitment to gender equality in sport. In Fatma’s native Zanzibar, few women are serious about sport or hold positions of leadership, yet Fatma is doing both in the male-dominated sport of basketball.
She made herself a well-known member of her community through her ability on the court and leadership off it, changing people’s perceptions and providing an example for other young women to pursue a life in sport. Now, she uses her influence, both as a UNESCO volunteer and member of the Zanzibar Youth Forum, to encourage others to participate in sport and to get them excited about it.
She hopes to motivate students to engage in sports, address their challenges in their life, and to be active, healthy, open, responsive and focused in their studies and career. Fatma also excells in science throughout her studies, especially life sciences, acting as a living example of the academic and physiological benefits to young women of participating in sport.
Michael Johnson Young Leaders Information Center
Most recently, Fatma has set up the Michael Johnson Young Leader Information Center in her hometown, which is essentially a library containing different books, both academic and fictional, for all the community to use.
The aim of the center is to help students get access to books and help them in completing homework/assignments without any payments. They also look to engage young people in fun and interactive sports sessions. In the space of one year, the course has reached over 1000 students in Zanzibar through different programs in sports, leadership and community organised by the MJYL Information Center.
This year, Fatma's aim is to establish multiple MJYL Information Centers in different school libraries in Zanzibar and apply the MJYL objectives (Sports, leadership and community), and form students committees that will take the lead in working on these objectives.