…climate change and disease threaten communities…
…conflict is destroying opportunities for cooperation…
…corruption deepens poverty and inequality…
…silence allows global problems to continue…
…collective action can create lasting change…
BY NELIWE NGUBANE
MBABANE— When the world’s problems arrive on our phones, television screens and news feeds almost every day, it can be easy to believe that humanity is heading towards an unavoidable crisis.
But for Ka-Boyce High School pupil Cebolelihle Lushaba, the answer is not to surrender to fear.
Taking centre stage on Municipal Council of Mbabane Mic Drop Monday, Lushaba delivered a thought-provoking speech titled “Global Problems, Global Solutions”, challenging audiences to look beyond the problems dominating global headlines and consider what they can do to change the story.
Her message was simple but powerful: the world may be facing serious challenges, but people should not become spectators to their own future.
“The question is, should we live in fear or should we do something to bring about change?” Lushaba asked.
Lushaba identified climate change and disease as among the major challenges placing pressure on communities around the world.
She pointed to global warming and unsustainable lifestyles as contributing to heatwaves, flash floods and prolonged droughts, affecting agriculture, industries and the development of growing economies.
She also highlighted the devastating effects of major disease outbreaks, particularly on families and economies when lives are lost and children are left without parents.
“These are not just facts. This is the reality the people of Nepal, the people of the Democratic Republic of Congo are living right now,” she said.
For the Ka-Boyce pupil, these crises cannot simply be treated as distant international headlines. Their consequences are felt by families, workers, communities and economies.
Lushaba also turned her attention to conflict, questioning the continued use of war as a means of resolving disputes between nations.
She argued that conflict destroys relationships between countries while creating hatred, suffering and inhumanity among affected populations.
Instead of nations breaking one another apart, she called for stronger global alliances and dialogue aimed at finding peaceful solutions.
Her argument places cooperation at the centre of solving problems that cross national borders.
Corruption was another issue at the heart of Lushaba’s speech.
She argued that leaders and influential individuals who choose dishonesty over integrity can contribute to poverty, unemployment and economic losses by placing personal interests above the needs of the people.
Lushaba called for inclusive leadership, greater transparency and regular evaluation of positions vulnerable to corruption.
However, she also challenged ordinary people to examine their own role when wrongdoing takes place.
“When you see robbers mug a person on the street and get away from the scene and mind your own business, you’re no innocent person either. You’re an accomplice to that crime,” she said.
The analogy transformed a complicated global issue into an everyday scenario, making her broader argument clear: silence and inaction can allow problems to continue.
Rather than ending with a list of global problems, Lushaba used her platform to propose possible solutions.
She called for leaders to engage in conferences focused on peace, improved medical care across countries, accountability for environmental damage and stronger measures against corruption.
But beyond governments and institutions, she urged individuals to become “undefeated activists and advocates for change.”
That message resonates with the spirit of Mic Drop Monday, a platform that gives young voices an opportunity to speak about issues that matter while encouraging audiences to think beyond the obvious.
Lushaba’s presentation demonstrates how a pupil can take a global conversation and bring it into a space where young people can question, engage and imagine alternatives.
Her speech ultimately challenges the pessimism behind the phrase “the world is doomed.”
Instead, she leaves her audience with a choice: watch the problems unfold or become part of the effort to address them.
“The one thing I know and one thing you should know is that climate action is attainable, world peace is attainable and corruption is dead if we work together,” she concluded.
The mic may belong to Lushaba, but her message extends beyond the stage, the future, she argues, belongs to everyone willing to act.
#MicDropMonday #GlobalProblemsGlobalSolutions #CebolileLushaba #KaBoyceHighSchool #YouthVoices #YoungLeaders #ClimateAction #WorldPeace #GlobalChange #AntiCorruption #YouthForChange #PositiveNews #Eswatini #EPN #EswatiniPositiveNews #InspiringVoices #ChangeMakers #ActForChange
(Courtesy Pic)
