Meet Lebogang Brenda Motsumi

Lebogang is also board member for Women merge Africa, a consultant, mostly doing Mental illness awareness and HIV related work as well as advocacy for policy implementation, eliminating teen pregnancy, reducing HIV new infections and getting people living with HIV on treatment and adhering to treatment. She has spent more than 10 years of her life working in the NGO sector, where she has worked on various programs, including Integration of Comprehensive sexuality education in schools, youth friendly health services in clinics. Peer Education, Mental Health, Health Promotion, and School Health. She is the founder of LM Inspirations dealing specifically with Mental Health, HIV awareness, educational interventions in the workplace, communities and schools. She is also a Keynote Speaker, mental illness advocate, Trainer, Facilitator, MC/Programme Director and HIV Coach.

Lebogang is an Award winning HIV Activist and advocate, having spent much of her advocacy and activism years fighting for the rights of young people living with HIV. She has been living positively and openly with HIV for more than 14 years and started using ARV treatment on the 2nd of September 2009. She was also diagnosed with Kidney Failure, Hypertension, Anemia and Bipolar.

She was awarded “African Youth Hero” 2015 by African Union headquarters in Ethiopia, Addis Ababa. In 2017 she was selected one of two African young women to sit on the board of an international organization ‘International partnerships in Microbicides.” She has shared her story in the United Nations Headquarters and has shared stages with the President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, Naomi Campbell, the late Bishop Desmond Tutu and variuos ministers of health and education across Africa. She has been an ambassadors for various stakeholders namely Zazi campaign for women, Brothers for life and the Thoboka Madiba Foundation.
She spends her time educating others on how to live a positive and fruitful life with chronic illnesses, and educating those who are HIV negative on prevention. Her life revolves around humanitarian work, with emphasis on community and youth development. When she is not doing humanitarian work, she spends her time, counselling people, giving talks, coaching and mentoring young women or raising issues that are affecting society in general, from teen pregnancy, suicide , rape, sexuality and other social ills on social media. She strongly believes in Social and Behavior change communication through sharing her life journey.

Lebogang believes that your circumstances don’t define you or your future. She believes we can bounce back from anything life throws at us. People’s opinion about us do not matter, it is not what they call you but what you answer to, and how you see yourself that matters. She is born again Christian who does not discriminate against anyone’s belief or religion. What matters is humility and respect amongst humans. She doesn’t believe in giving up, we will always face hurdles but we should never allow that to break us.

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