Climbing ladders is a story of a shy “village girl” who would use the ordinary life characterised by walking long distances to school, classes under a tree, lack of role models, and bullying as a step ladder to unimaginable heights.

The author overcame the cultural stereotypes associated with the girl-child; she would rise beyond the artificial (invisible) limitations set by society, to do the very things that they doubted she would ever accomplish. She experienced poverty first hand and after witnessing young primary school children walking to school barefooted and hungry today, she is now working through her community service projects to make a difference.

Being one to go after what she wants, the author would overcome life-threatening medical challenges to live the trues and best version of herself and to become a noteworthy transformative leader against all odds. The memoir is intended to inspire/motivate young people out there that they can, in an unrelenting fashion and one step at a time go after that dream that seems out of reach.

Dr. Malebogo Bakwena a sister, wife and mother. She values hard work, resilience and dependability. These qualities are evident in her book, Climbing Ladders—a memoir that pays homage to her personal journey. As a trailblazer, she overcame invisible societal boundaries to pursue paths less travelled.

Her resilience gave her the tenacity to pursue education with an unquenchable thirst until she reached the top of the ladder in higher learning.

Dr Bakwena is a result-driven economist experienced in strategy, economics and with a passion for elevating others. Her passion for empowering and nurturing young people is inspired by her personal life experiences. Over the years she has mentored several young people through engagement in organisations such as the Botswana SOS Children’s village and the Girls for Girls (G4G) mentorship programme.  In addition, she has been a benefactor of young girls (and boys) in rural Botswana schools, such as the Tutume McConnel College, Leshibitse, Serinane, Mhalapitsa, Sesung and Botlhapatlou Primary schools. Her mentorship is also notable in the several research projects that she worked on with junior researchers not only from the University of Botswana but other local and international universities. Her student mentoring and advisory skills have consistently played themselves out in the successful mentoring of students in her day job in the University of Botswana Department of Economics on academic and non-academic matters including close research supervision at undergraduate and graduate (up to PhD) levels.

Dr Bakwena is a recipient of the Strategic African Women in Leadership (SAWIL) trailblazer award for “displaying unparallel leadership values and advocating for gender equality”.

As a mother, she shares her personal experiences of juggling/pursuing education at the expense of family life. She also shares the joys and challenges of friendship across continents and across generations.

She hopes that  as you read Climbing Ladders,  you can identify with some of her own experiences  and that you realise that this life we have been gifted by God, is a meandering trail waiting to be explored and triumphed through hard work and resilience.