Paheja Siririka
WINDHOEK – Twenty-seven-year-old Saara Shatumbu is a medical laboratory scientist serving as a Regional Laboratory Advisor for International Center for AIDS Care and Treatment Programmes (ICAP) at Columbia University in New York. “I provide specialised technical assistance in the HIV research field to several Africa countries,” she said.
“I work for Columbia University which is based in New York. My duties are to assist with the implementation of an HIV project in seven African countries including Swaziland, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Rwanda, Nigeria and Ethiopia, I spend most of the time traveling between these seven countries,” explained Shatumbu.
She obtained a qualification in Biomedical Science at the Namibia University of Science and Technology (Nust) in 2014 and further specialised in Molecular Virology. Shatumbu graduated from Imperial College in London with a Master’s degree in Molecular Biology and Pathology of Viruses. “For the past three years I have worked in the HIV research field,” she said. Shatumbu is currently studying for her second Master’s in Public Health with the University of South Wales.
With all of these, Shatumbu developed a deep passion for personal growth and development. Over the years she has studied the phenomenon of the incredible power of the human mind and co-facilitated mind power workshops. Furthermore, she graduated from H-Academy in the United Kingdom from their Speakers Mastery course as an international speaker and uses that platform to inspire others to live lives without limits and that was due to her journey on growth. “In 2017, I started my personal development journey. That is when I signed up for the Sam Shivute transformational coaching programme. It was through these coaching sessions that I discovered that I had a passion to inspire and motivate other people to live their best life. I went on to join the Sam Shivute Inspirational Book club, this is where I started to sharpen my self-confidence, presentation, and people’s skills,” elaborated Shatumbu who delivered a motivational talk at the Night of Inspiration last Saturday.
Her favourite quote “The sky is not the limit, it is our own minds that set our limit”, has become the epitome of her belief that she can become and achieve whatever her mind believes to be true about her. To the youth, Shatumbu says every person has a dream and was born with a purpose.
“Be convinced today that your dreams are valid and you have the potential to achieve them all. If you can imagine it, you can achieve it, if you can dream, you can become it,” she stated. Furthermore, Shatumbu beliefs that the power is in your mind and the responsibility is in your hands. “Start where you are today with what you have to transform your life into the person you want to be,” she said. With many people doubting the impact of motivational speaking, Shatumbu highlighted people, in general, to never overlook the power of mentorship. “The secret is to model success and surround yourself with people that help you grow and challenge you to move up to the next level. Choose your friends wisely, the company you keep can either make you or break you,” she advised.