By Paul ShalalaTadalisika Zulu with Minister of Infrastracture Charles Milupi
when he toured the KK International Airport project site
She was born on the 12th
of October 1998 in Lusaka
Tadalisika Zulu is a
third born child in a family of four.
Growing up, mathematics
was her favourite subject and she says she enjoyed doing calculations.
Her performance in class
made her attempt what was not imagined at the time.
“At the age of 10, I
attempted the Grade 7 exams as a 5th Grader in 2008. I passed the exams and I
went to St. Mary’s Secondary School in Lusaka for Grade eight. I later went to
St. Monica’s Secondary School in Chipata for my Senior Secondary,” she said in
an interview.
Tadalisika completed
Grade 12 at the age of 15, three years ahead of what mostly consider the normal
age for a Sugo in Zambia.
“I turned 15 years a week
after I started writing the Grade 12 examinations. My love for mathematics
increased throughout high school and it became my best subject. I was so
confident in my skills that I was looking forward to writing the math exam
because I knew it would be an automatic distinction.”
As expected Tadalisika,
got a distinction in mathematics.
While awaiting her Grade
12 results, Tadalisika was in deep thoughts, trying to gather her thoughts on
which course to pursue.
Her best two courses were
Aeronautics or Civil Engineering because they both involve mathematics and
creativity.Tadalisika supervising some workers
During her gap year, she
lived with her family in Kabompo District of North Western Province.
While in Kabompo,
Tadalisika noticed the lack of proper infrastructure and this made her resolve
to pursue engineering even stronger.
In 2015, she enrolled at
Wuhan University of Technology and four years later, she graduated with a
Bachelor of Engineering in Civil Engineering.
“I returned to Zambia and
began my internship at the Department of Public Infrastructure under the
Ministry of Housing and Infrastructure Development. As an intern, I worked on
several projects before I was appointed as the Clerk of Works at the New
China-Aided International Conference Center including the new Maina Soko
Military Hospital,” said Tadalisika.
Currently, she is the
Clerk of Works at the construction site for the new China-Aided Zambia
International Conference Center.
In the beginning, most of
casual workers she supervised thought she was just a translator and not an
engineer.
Her young age seems to
have convinced these workers that Tadalisika is employed as an interpreter as
she speaks fluent Chinese.
Being the only female
engineer and the youngest on the team, Tadalisika says she usually kept a low
profile when big delegations made site visits.
“I was lucky to become an
InnovateHer mentee under When Females Lead and Association for Black and
Minority Ethnic Engineers (AFBE-UK). The program taught me to have more
confidence in myself as an engineer. My mentor taught me that being a young
black female engineer is a strength, not a disadvantage,” she revealed.Tadalisika in a meeting with a visiting delegation
The experience gave her
the confidence to lead a site tour when the Minister of Infrastructure Housing
and Urban Development and other officials visited to see the progress of works.
Tadalisika plans to
pursue a Masters in Sustainable Construction or Infrastructure because she
wants to gain expertise in the green built environment to promote green,
inclusive infrastructure in Africa.
She names her role models
as Dr. Nike Folayan and Mopelola Olatunji who are accomplished British and
British-Nigerian female engineers respectively.
Tadalisika is an avid
reader and a tea and coffee addict whose passion is fighting climate change,
and promoting gender equality and sustainable infrastructure.
Looking at the pace
Tadalisika has risen, not even the sky is the limit for her.
She is likely to get to
where she dreams to go and make it big in the engineering profession.
At 23, this young
engineer has achieved what many youths at her age have not achieved.
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