Women 2 women magazine v3

WOMEN WOMEN2 1st Quarter 2016

Issue #1 R20

EXCLUSIVE

Interview with Nomaindia Mfeketo, Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation

Special feature: Natalie talks about the importance of detecting cancer early.

Lifestyle:

Does your lifestyle affect your work or business performance:

ways to turn things around.

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Activism: Myrtle Witbooi, from Madam’s back room to UN boardroom.

NONCEBA JADEZWENI

A promising designer who derives ideas from her ancestors.

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Life and business coach Feeling stuck? Been in one role too long? In need of a change but not sure where to go or how to get there? Struggling to put your ideas into successful actions? Would you like to do more with your life and live a more meaningful life?

I can help resolve these issues Who am I? I am ELONA HLATSHWAYO, a Certified Coach and Mentor.

I am a role match maker I am passionate about developing and empowering people to have a balance in all they do.

I have a wealth of experience both locally and internationally, having coached a diverse clientele in Dublin, Ireland, UK as well as in Cape Town, South Africa.

I can help you find your balance and grow in a fast paced environment that’s filled with opportunities.

If you are looking for growth and direction in your career or startup, I would love to connect with you

www.bizpreneur.co | elona@bizpreneur.co 2

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Editor’s Note

Editorial team

Welcome

T

he day sis Zukiswa told me that I would have to write an editor’s note I had no idea what it would be about. I kept postponing it and finally came to terms with the reality of doing it eventually. The first thing that came to mind was welcoming the readers to the first issue and thanking the reader for giving this new magazine a chance.

I would then have to unpack our magazine and what we stand for, Women2Women is by women for women, all this with an aim to entertain, educate and tell the stories of the women in our communities to inspire others.

For the first time ever, a Magazine which empowers the African women, we stand for the domestic worker, the women in boardrooms, actresses, academics, stylists, powerful women who make it work daily against all odds.

Women, Basadi, Bo mme, vroumense, Abafazi who cannot be boxed, women who do not conform to societal norms, we are not about a partic-

ular size or certain skin tone, we tell stories of women from all walks of life.

Women who have managed to stand tall, look back and feel proud about themselves as they continue to lead others and their communities.

Once again, I would like to welcome and thank you for taking time out to read this section of the magazine.

Women2Women team sincerely hopes that this quarterly magazine will shape, challenge and get you thinking as it becomes part of your lives and that of your families.

This is a space where women can be celebrated as we tell stories of their journeys be it good or bad. We want to recognise their tireless efforts in serving Africa by focussing on their daily lives, highlighting and publicising not only the barriers to success as women but also the many opportunities available in an attempt to create gender equality.

With this magazine we want to ensure that these opportunities are sustainable for future generations to build a just and equal society.

We hope you will enjoy our special features and all the exciting content we have in store for you.

If you asking yourself why “women” remember: “If you educate a man you educate an individual, but if you educate a woman you educate a family (nation)”- Dr. James Emmanuel Kwegyir-Aggrey (1875-1927), Till the next issue

Asiphe Nombewu Editor

Asiphe Nombewu Editor Tiyese Jeranji Sub-editor Siphesihle Notwabaza Head Writer Okuhle Qongqo Photographer Justine Sibomana Designer Zukiswa Puwana Managing Director

Published by

PHONE: 081 0203122 EMAIL: khaliphaz@yahoo.com ADDRESS: Community House, 41 Salt River Road, Salt River 7925 CO. REG. NO: K2015/384611/07 Wo m e n 2 Wo m e n | 1 s t Q u a r t e r 2 0 1 6 3

In This Issue

Contents Cover feature

6 Fashion designer, Nonceba shares her secret of making runway-worthy garments.

Activism:

10 Myrtle Witbooi, from Madam’s back room to UN boardroom.

28 Asylum seeker, Mary Tal achieves her goals after years of struggling.

Arts:

12 Haroldene expresses herself through poetry.

»» p.20

Opinion: Dr Zethu sheds light into the #FeesMustFall movement.

Drama:

16 Actor, Andrea Dondolo says acting can hurt but one needs to move on.

Sports:

18 Nosipho encourages youth to excel in what they love. »» p.16

»» p.24

Exclusive

20 Deputy Minister encourages women to work hard and be financially independent.

Special feature: 23 Natalie tells about her near-death experience with breast cancer 3 years ago.

26 Lulekwa from street vendor to newsroom Lifestyle »» p.18

»» p.28

»» p.7 4

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24 Does your lifestyle affect your work or business performance: 7 ways to turn things around.

JAM Boutique sells leftover inventory to businesswomen and executive ladies from prestigious designers creating timeless trends in Cape Town.

Example of Exciting Ranges In Store

Detail Top

By Nucleus

Still Horizon Blue Dress

By Nucleus

Twist Dress

By Tart

For More Information Contact Judy @ 0737231697

Twist Dress

By Non-European

STAND A CHANCE TO WIN A DESIGNER DRESS, SMS JAM TO 0737231697

Wo m e n 2 Wo m e n | 1 s t Q u a r t e r 2 0 1 6 5

FASHION DESIGNER GETS GARMENT-MAKING IDEAS FROM HER ANCESTORS

By Siphesihle Notwabaza

I

t’s almost a struggle to locate her beautiful, clean and nicely furnished house but eventually I found myself seated at her comfortable, black leather couches. We’ve hardly spoken, after I briefly introduce myself and Women2Women, her cell phone rings and she hints, “it’s the Artscape people, I’m exhibiting there this afternoon.” She is in a modern, traditional-looking, light green see-through dress which is hugging her body.

She is wearing a headwrap to accentuate her beautifully styled dreadlocks, the makeup is neatly applied and her smile shines through so effortlessly.

This is the stylish Nonceba Jadezweni (28) from Ilitha Park in Khayelitsha.

Nonceba is the owner of Custom Transition Designs, a fashion design company which she started last year in October. Asked to elaborate on the name she chose for her company she says that

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she’s very in touch with her culture and traditions hence the name, which seeks to fuse customs and fashion.

“I mostly use blankets in my designs so when people see blankets (the type of blankets she uses), they think of customs and then I like to use earthly colours so it’s a transition between fashion and customs,” Nonceba explains, showing undeniable passion on what she does.

Her designs are so unique and breath-taking, curiosity is mounting, I want to know when it all started: “In primary school I used to love and enjoy Technology, I was a creative. When we were given a project to create something at home I always outdid my fellow classmates with my hand designs.”

She confidently refers to herself as an arts-fanatic, be it performing and designing. Growing up she would use old cool drink cans and cardboards to make beautiful handbags. She really loved and enjoyed doing that even though she

didn’t know it was something she could take further. Raised by her grandmother in the township of Langa, Nonceba reveals that her grandmother is also very stylistic. Her grandmother enjoys making clothes and credits her love for garment-making to her grandmother but how did it all start for her, I wonder.

Soon after matriculating from Isilimela Comprehensive High School in 2005 she gave performing arts her full attention by religiously going for audition after audition but not quite lucky in getting acting roles and thus that was put on pause.

When acting was not working out, she pursued fashion and had to acknowledge the fact that passion alone was not sufficient to get her designs out there and all this had to be backed by professional training.

“I enrolled for a six month fashion design course at Ikamva which is under Cape Peninsula University (CPUT),” says

the designer who believes fashion is her calling.

She completed the course and headed to the fashion retail stores Vertigo where she worked for one and a half years and then moved to Country Road where she worked for three years. “I went there just to gain experience,” says Nonceba, who was born in Libode in Eastern Cape.

She did very well at both stores where she worked as a visual merchandiser. Clients were so impressed with her sense of style in such a way that they would shower her with compliments and invite her to photo shoots to be a stylist.

After having spent some years at the stores she finally called it quits. She knew it was time for her to put her dream of owning a fashion design company to the test and she doesn’t regret ever taking the plunge. And this was when Custom Transition Designs set off.

She has given all the details about

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her passion and business, I can’t help but notice the hand band she’s bracing which is made of an animal skin and I ask about it: “My ancestors communicated to me through a dream that I should wear a bracelet made of a springbok skin so when I got the skin I decided to use a bit of fabric to make it nice and it speaks (correlates) to my designs as well.”

As if the few calls she was receiving upon my arrival were not enough, she receives yet another call, she picks it up, she can be heard asking if there is a table available that she’ll use to exhibit her clothing line.

“I’m exhibiting at Artscape this afternoon, the cast of Ityala Lamawele which is currently showing there has been dressed by me. I was called and asked to dress them so I’ll also be showcasing my designs there,” explains the designer.

Besides her grandmother whom she describes as her inspiration I wanted to

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know who else inspires her in the fashion industry. Nhlanhla Nciza of NN Vintage and Bongiwe Walaza top her list. According to her, Nhlanhla’s garments are also custom they have a touch of culture and she admires her for that.

In a country with tons of designers, I ask what makes her different from the rest. “I don’t just design, I get guidance from my ancestors about my garments and it upsets me to see someone else copy my design, what happened to creativity?” asks Nonceba.

For now she works alone but would love to extend her business one day and employ young designers. “I believe we have so much to give especially to other young designers. I want to have more people to work with and I believe as women we should help each other and conquer the world little by little.”

As a new kid on the block, she has done pretty well. She was part of a

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fashion show sponsored by Woolworths where she exhibited her designs. The fashion show was hosted at West Riding Primary school. She is also looking forward to participate at another upcoming fashion show which will be sponsored by VW, after every detail has been confirmed by the organisers.

Her wish is to dress the South African multi platinum selling and multi-award winning songbird, Zahara. “I’d love to have her as my brand ambassador,” she wishes as we conclude our interview and she rushes off to the show in town, driven by her boyfriend whom she described as very supportive.

To view some of her designs visit her Facebook page: CT DESIGNS-CUSTOM DESIGNS Or email her: nceba.jadezweni@gmail. com if you want to make an order.

A.M Creation Designs is a small Web Design enterprise that was established in 2014.

A.M Creation Designs creates websites for other companies allowing them access to many opportunities the internet world has to offer. At the moment the company is fairly small with a sole owner.

The primary objective of A.M Creation Designs is to develop web pages using various design programmes keeping up with the latest, registration of company domains, e-mail set ups and monitoring of websites, on behalf of the company.

Our mission is to minimize paperwork, unnecessary travelling expenses and create a more effective communication network through technology.

I am based in a small town called Margate on the South Coast of KZN. You can visit my website www.amcreationdesigns.co.za which is currently under construction but will be back up before the end of the week. You can view my work on www.azibuyemasisweni.co.za, another website I worked on is www.ramsgatecommunity.co.za which is up to date.

Prices Building a site from scratch Following pages Domain Registration and Hosting Monthly Hosting E-mail Set-up Updating of websites

: R2000 first page : R500 each page : R150 : R100 : R100 : R150 per hour

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Myrtle fights for the rights of domestic workers

By Siphesihle Notwabaza

D

omestic workers play a vital role in the day to day lives of the working class. Though often undermined they are as important as any role players in the economy because of their contribution.

However, despite their significant contribution they continue to struggle and suffer in the hands of their employers but there are people committed to fighting their battles, ensuring that domestic workers are treated fairly and their rights are not violated.

One of those people is labour activist Myrtle Witbooi (68) who is the General Secretary of South African Domestic Service and Allied Workers union (SADSAWU) and the first president of International Domestic Workers Federation (IDWF). Her love for domestic workers is difficult to ignore. Like the famous saying goes no good work goes unnoticed a lot of domestic workers are singing her

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praises for what she is doing but let’s go back to where it all started.

Myrtle was born and raised in Genadendal, east of Cape Town. An area she describes as a close-knit where everybody knew everybody.

She completed her standard eight at Emil Weder High School in 1967. Upon finishing her high school she headed to Cape Town to pursue nursing. She says during that time, one was either going to be a teacher or a nurse. She chose nursing but things didn’t go as planned.

“When I got to Cape Town I didn’t have an identity document so I had to apply for one. I was told I’m not coloured enough to be coloured, not black enough to be black so I was going to be a mixed coloured or other coloured,” Myrtle recalls.

While waiting for the ID to be issued, her cousin whom she was living with at District six told her about a couple that was looking for someone to be their stand in childminder whilst their

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child-minder was away. She accepted the job. As dire and difficult the situation was then, she’s is quick to vouch for bosses that they were good people who treated her and the colleague.

She also admits that as much as she was treated pretty much well, she felt that wasn’t enough and was convinced something had to be. As busy and as restricted as she was at her place of work, she fell pregnant. “They were all asking questions as to how I got pregnant because I was always inside,” she says, adding that her pregnancy surprised many. She doesn’t divulge much about the father of the baby as she says it was one of those unserious relationships that didn’t even last. Her bosses were too impressed with her work such that even after discovering she was pregnant, when she asked to be released they didn’t want to let her go.

They made it clear that they didn’t have a problem with the child staying in with them.Giving birth on a on a Friday

to a baby girl, Jacqueline on a Monday she was expected back at work and that for her was a wake-up call about her un-ideal working conditions. Reluctant, she returned to work and a surprise was waiting for her at work. Her employers also had a child the same time she did. “They told me that I had to take my child away.They told me I couldn’t look after their baby and mine at the same time.”

After her bosses dropped that bombshell on her, she had to think about her child and since the dream of becoming a nurse had faded. She had no other choice but to take her month-old baby to her parents’ home and came back to work.

Having to separate with her baby at such a tender age was something Myrtle found saddening and uneasy but she didn’t have a choice. Fortunately her parents were delighted to have a grandchild and were more than willing to take care of her.

Doing her work in the house as usual she stumbled upon a newspaper article.

Though she can’t really remember the title what she remembers was that it mentioned something about domestic workers who should not complain but just accept their working conditions and that upset her. It triggered something inside her and she wrote a letter to the paper exposing her daily struggles and also expressing that she wasn’t pleased.

In the letter she mentioned some of her challenges which included getting to see her child once a year and only allowed three hours for break every week.

To her surprise her letter received attention, three days after she had sent it, a reporter knocked on her employer’s door looking for a person he identified as Number seven. When she wanted to find out who that was, she was told by the reporter it’s her. This saddened her that a digit was used to identify her, the reporter wanted to interview her.During the apartheid era numbers were used to identify blacks and coloureds.

The letter attracted more attention for her; she was invited by legendary journalist, Colin Debricks who was writing for a newspaper called Clarion at the time to address fellow domestic workers

at a mass meeting that was held in Cape Town in 1967. She says the journalist prepared a speech for her but when she got to the podium she just said; “Good evening, I’m a domestic worker just like you.” The mother of three children says just that line made them all listen to her. She says the meeting was about coming together as domestic workers and fighting their battles.

In 1972 she got married to the late Cedric Witbooi and they have two children Linda (42), who has a qualification in finance but now is now in Holland and is a housewife and Peter (39),who has an IT qualification and works as project

“I won’t leave this work because I know the suffering of a domestic worker, I know that pain because I’ve been there,” manager. She’s proud to say that she’s single handedly raised all her children on her own, with her domestic worker salary.

Following her speech she didn’t stay long at her work. She resigned and found work at a factory but also didn’t stay.

After numerous job swaps, she felt she had enough experience-she’s witnessed so much. Embedded in her was an idea of forming a union that was going to address needs of domestic workers and South African Domestic Workers Union

(SADWU) in which she became a teacher (trainer) was born in 1986.

She says it was not an easy journey to reach all the achievements the movement has achieved today but through hard work and commitment they’ve come this far.

Then in 2000 she was part of the people who formed SADSAWU. In 2003 together with other domestic workers rights activists they decided to chain themselves on the gates of parliament for a night to symbolise the pain they suffered in the hands of their employers.

They unchained themselves the next morning and she addressed the then minister of Labour in parliament. “I’m supposed to call you honourable ministers but I’ll call you comrade because the very same ministers seated here you promised that you’ll help us but you’ve forgotten about us,” these are the contents of what she says she said in parliament that year. What they were fighting for were fair working conditions of domestic workers and a fair salary.

33 years later, has their fight bore any fruits, one can question. She says proudly that there have been fruits. “We have unemployment act, have the best labour law in the world and I won’t say we have the best salary but we’re getting there,” boasts the SADSAWU president who was recently awarded Fairness award in United States of America in recognition for her fight for domestic workers for 48 years. “The award made me feel humble but the struggles is far from over. As a domestic worker you’re important, speak up.”

When asked about when is she stepping down she says she is here to stay. .“I won’t leave this work because I know the suffering of a domestic worker, I know that pain because I’ve been there. Domestic workers speak up because you’re important.”

She urges domestic workers to join the union. “When they join they get education, we protect them against exploitation. We assist them on how to better their working conditions. When a domestic worker is part of the union it’s very easy to assist them with a lot of things that they might need help with.

Domestic workers are people too so we are here to help them.”

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WORDS THAT

UNLOCK SITUATIONS

The strength of a woman is undeniable and the compassion goes deeper than one can imagine. With words that can heal it can never be put to words the power women possess. By TIYESE JERANJI

M

any at times women may be perceived as weak and emotional in situations but those that are able to stand up and shake the dust off are to be admired. Words can heal or destroy and with this notion it was easy for Haroldene Tshienda (38) to put words on paper.

Fortunately for her, her words were a turning point and a way of healing from the wounds of the past. Over the years, those same words have been a pillar of strength and have built a lot of people.

Haroldene might be a household name as a motivational speaker, performance poet, author and a youth coordinator. She recently came from a tour in Zimbabwe with the AfricentiQ band on a campaign against early child marriages.

Everything seems to be smooth sailing and flowing perfectly.

Though everything seems to be looking up for her it didn’t come easy. Born in a family of seven, she is the last born who often felt rejected and unloved by her family. No one was there for her and that didn’t make life any easier for her. Things spoken to her and about her did nothing but to push her further and further into her corner. It is through this rejection

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that she leant to write poems. She vividly remembers how her father made a shack for her to play outside the house.

“I used to play doll and have conversations with them. I played teacherteacher alone and with time I begun to put my feelings to paper. I wrote about the way I was treated. I wrote about my rejection. It tore me apart but no one

tion she used it for her benefit. She would pen down everything that bothered her until she got her breakthrough in 2008 where her work was published.

The mother of three who is a published author has a book entitled Never give up- Healing words from a poet says women are the master of their own lives and they can turn situations around. Her

“I used to play doll and have conversations with them. I played teacher- teacher alone and with time I begun to put my feelings to paper. I wrote about the way I was treated. I wrote about my rejection. It tore me apart but no one listened to me and no one really saw what I was going through. All the bad things were said to me and I felt like this unwanted last born child. With all that in my face I learnt to write.” listened to me and no one really saw what I was going through. All the bad things were said to me and I felt like this unwanted last born child. With all that in my face I learnt to write.”

Instead of moaning about her situa-

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poems have helped a lot of people turn their lives around as they carry a message of hope and comfort.

One of her favourite poems is Women. This poem talks about the power and the strength embedded in a

other. In life we go through different seasons. When one is stronger the other one is weaker. I’m glad that through my life experiences and challenges I’m able to tell other women to stand taller and stronger. I believe we have to work hard and help each other on the way.”

Her advice to those that want to pursue career in writing poems she says:” there is a future out there. Learn to be genuine and true. Your hunger and truthfulness will pave way for you. I’m a living example, it all starting at in the backyard but look at where I am now.

Poetry writing has attracted a lot more things towards me. I bless God each day that I wake up because through him I have been to places that I have never imagined. Through writing I was able to free myself, so I want others to be freed with my writing.”

woman. “Women are strong instruments and weapons that can change the world.

It wasn’t easy for me.,I had it hard. Life knocked me down but I was able to stand up and face the situation. With all that was happening to me little did I know that it was paving the way for greater things to come,” she added.

With hands rubbing softly against each other and in a soft voice she says she is glad she has achieved most of the things that she wanted to do this year.

She is also looking forward to next year as she will be publishing her second book entitled: How to move from Pain to Power.

“This is the book that will unlock situations for a lot of people. As cliché as it may sound if they throw lemons at you, make lemonade. This book will teach and motivate people to turn situations around. It’s easy to complain and give up but it will help you to stand tall and be confident. I believe in women so much and that’s why I’m passionate about talking and writing to them.

I want teach them (women) to learn to turn setbacks into comebacks and soar like eagles. “Yes, we get knocked down but we must not stay there forever.”

Outspoken and in a soft tone she says she is very happy about where she is, even though she is still striving for more and to grow her brand. She attributes her success to God and strongly believing in his word.

“If there is a verse that has made me stronger in my time of weakness is the verse that says: For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29v11). This is my reason for living. No matter what happened in the past, it doesn’t matter now because I’m focusing on new things. I’m hopeful and I believe that the plans that the Lord has for me will surely prevail and make this place a better place.”

She is also the founder and director of Lounge of Poetry, where she trains writers to perform their own pieces.

Like the famous saying goes, no good work goes unnoticed, through her work she has been invited to speak at women seminars and hold sessions at the Provincial Legislature with other women.

She strongly believes women should be there to lift each other up. “We are in this together.

We should learn to empower each

Women Believe and you will receive Forgive and you will be forgiven Take hard and you will overcome Give love, without expecting love Support without making a noise Let go of the hurt and allow God to heal Speak words of growth and power Don’t look down on others....

Instead lift up one another Be the back-up for our sisterhood.

We are woman I am proud to be a woman Are you proud of yourself woman?

A woman was created second, but we...

We have potential, potent, magnetic, unconditional and contagious charisma We have the power to break and to make We walk the talk We can take on the world We are woman In the words of Winnie Mandela: Strike a woman and you strike a rock!

Yes we rock and can handle any shock Women, beautiful … beautiful us!

By Haroldene Tshienda

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Why Fees Must FALL at large. It was a symbol of Cecil Rhodes gazing on his conquest, almost as if wondering how far his colonising powers could reach in taking over the land.

By Zethu Matebeni

W

e have to admit - the #FeesMustFall campaign has been one of the most exciting national student movements in democratic South Africa.

For many who are invested in higher education, the year 2015 will go down as a historic period that has changed the education and political landscape of this country.

In this year alone, Black students and staff at the University of Cape Town shook the country when they decided to revolt against a structured form of marginalisation and alienation that they were experiencing everyday on the campus. Until March 2015, anyone arriving at the upper campus of UCT would be (un) welcomed by a concretely cemented statue of colonialist Cecil John Rhodes. The statue, centrally located on the famous Jammie stairs and in front of what used to be called Jameson Hall (now unofficially renamed Marikana Memorial Hall), towered over UCT and the city of Cape Town

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At the same time, for students and staff the location of the statue also implied that nothing could be achieved without passing Cecil Rhodes. The statue was the beginning and the end of your journey at UCT. You arrived by walking up the stairs, looking up to the statue while it looked down on you. When you exit UCT, if lucky - through graduation, you walked out of Jameson hall, down Jammie stairs and bid farewell to the statue. It still looked down on you.

Perhaps it is strange to be haunted by a statue and to invest so much time and energy on something that did not speak.

But did it really not speak? And if not, then why did Black students and staff at UCT demand for its removal? Why the national outcry?

Rising in the #fall

On 9 April 2015 many at the University of Cape Town and those following via social media witnessed the great

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anticipated moment of the removal of the Rhodes statue. The RhodesMustFall movement had achieved what many believed was impossible. In less than one month, enough pressure and resistance had been garnered that the only way forward was for the statue to go. And so it did. But, something else happened on that day. The fall of the Rhodes statue and all its representations, meant that others could rise.

“Chapangu - The Day Rhodes Fell” is a performance piece by Cape Town-based artist and MFA (Masters of Fine Arts) student Sethembile Msezane. Since 2013, Msezane has been creating work that juxtaposes her black female body, her ideas on being a young Zulu woman, born at the dawn of this country’s liberation with colonial statues, many of which still dominate the urban landscape in South Africa. A project started as The Public Holiday Series, aims at creating a conversation about the relationship between the past, present and women’s bodies in public spaces.

Msezana had been working on a performance based on a fictional character from Zimbabwe, Chapangu, an eagle who transcends the physical and the spiritual worlds. Having lived under colonial rule in the then Rhodesia, Msezane’s performance reawakened Chapangu so as to reclaim her story in her own terms.

Moreover, she wanted Chapangu to be in conversation with her coloniser, in this case, Cecil John Rhodes.

For five hours, Msezane stood on a white plinth with stilettos and a black bathing suit, silent. During the whole time she had her back to the actual Cecil Rhodes statue that people had come to see lifted off. She could not see anything

but could hear the tension in people’s voices and the heavy machines preparing for the lifting of the statue. On 9 April 2015, Chapangu spread her beautifully weaved wings and unchained herself from Rhodes(ia). Her freedom took place at the same time as the statue was being removed.

The performance was so powerful. Many of us who watched this were moved to tears by the performance. At last, the statue that symbolised so much pain had been removed, and completely unreheased - the voices of the unheard became louder. What mattered at that moment was that the figure of this powerful black woman, with wings so elegantly put together, could propel us to imagine ourselves outside the coloniser’s gaze. We were no longer subjugated to the powers of men such as Rhodes, who only saw of our bodies as cheap labour, enslaved beings and perpetually on the margins. Through Chapangu we could tap into our inner strengths to claim our voices, our space in the world, and rise.

While some may have already forgotten about the statue, the memory of this performance is engraved in our minds and hearts. Msezane’s performance was a direct challenge to the white male supremacist legacy that erases Black female bodies as agents of social change.

It was a refusal to be relegated to the margins and to be silenced. The transformative power of the performance was shifting the gaze from the coloniser to seeing and imagining power embodied

by Black women.

This was a challenging moment for those who have gotten used to disregarding Black women. Their focus remained on the concrete statue. But what of the physical body in front of them – a body that breathed, spoke in tongues that

were familiar to them, and felt the pain they were feeling? Did people actually see Chapangu? Did they understand that in not seeing her, and being fixated on Rhodes statue they allowed its voice to speak louder than that of some of the most marginalised people in this country?

As Black women we continue to be troubled by the legacy and historical accounts that aim to invisibilise women’s roles in the fight against colonial powers and the struggle for liberation. It is as if we never took a part in liberating ourselves and the many people in this continent. Even in the current media reports about RhodesMustFall or the FessMustFall movements, the tendency has been to prioritise men’s roles and positions. Women are not seen to be at the forefront of political struggles. And yet many have been and continue to lead these movements. Black women of diverse abilities, from different walks of life, sexual orientations, gender positions, and class positions are constantly pursuing transformative political change.

But, it was never just about the statue!

Visible statues may have been taken away but blocked paths remain. As one poster read the day the Cecil Rhodes statue was removed “Next, the invisible statues”. And so it was that the FeesMustFall movement had to logically follow.

At UCT, this was preceeded by calls to end exploitation of workers, and to hold the University of Cape Town accountable for the atrocities that continue to take place in Marikana. While many saw these as just workers’ issues, they were not divorced from students’ everyday realities. Some of the workers were their parents, family members or community members.

How could they keep silent in the face of exploitation? How is it that the top university in the African continent can be associated with those implicated in the Marikana massacre? What kind of student, intellectual, thinker and education would the university promote if there was no concern for real issues taking place in the most marginalised communities of this country? And mostly, in being silent, would students and staff not be as complicit in furthering injustice as colonisers such as Rhodes?

Many of these questions remain ongoing debates within this university.

There are no easy answers. But, the work continues. While there have been calls to transform the alienating culture at UCT, the curriculum also needs to change so that it represents the realities in this country and the continent. With that, more representative academic staff needs to be visible and active. Black academics at UCT remain few in numbers. While their strength and voice is rising through the Black Academic Caucus, the challenges facing black staff are yet to be fully met.

At the same time, Black students continue to face many other challenges, including the high cost of fees and thus limited access to good quality higher education. This impacts on their futures.

We all know that a Black graduate often has many dependents and is regularly called upon to assist financially an extension of family members. This is also likely a graduate who, in most cases, has to repay a student loan, or cannot find a job, or is not compensated according to her/his real expenses.

In a country that has won itself out of colonialisation and apartheid, what tangible access to freedom should citizens call for? Is access to education an unrealistic demand for those who truly want to taste the claims for freedom in post-apartheid South Africa? If not for the youth of this country, then for whom is freedom? And for how long should South Africa’s youth wait for post-apartheid to be realised? When will their freedom come?

It would be silly to imagine that the FeesMustFall campaign is over. No one asked for a no increase in fees. That is what was offered. And just because it was offered, it doesn’t mean that it addresses the needs that students will still be faced with in January when they arrive at all the academic institutions across the country. The campaign’s demands are very clear. Fees Must Fall. Free education is not a no increase in fees.

Similarly, it would also be very naïve to imagine that things will go back to ‘normal’ in January 2016. There is no normal. Students are still in debt. They still have to pay fees. They still are barred from accessing education. While they wait, something else Must Fall.

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e g a t S

Born to be on “When you have a car and money you get a lot of friends but when those things go, friends go as well. But if you’ve got your talent and conscience, you are good to go,” she utters these thought-provoking words and suddenly the air is filled with a sense of awakening and self-introspection. By Siphesihle Notwabaza

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lad in an African printed, green with gold and orange detailed dress, she wrapped her head in a matching doek, which has portrayed and exposed the African princess and actor Andrea Nomasebe Dondolo.

I meet up with her at Chris Hani Arts and Culture school, in Khayelitsha township where she’s due to be Director of Ceremony at an event that she’s organised in partnership with national department of Arts and Culture. She’s undeniably passionate about the arts such that even the event she’s directing was a roaring success.

People know her from the Internationally acclaimed and award-winning comedy series Stokvel, where she played the role of Ayanda. She also appeared on Home Affairs and played the role of Nandi, a bubbly wedding planner.

Getting ready to take the podium, her makeup accentuates her beautiful African skin, her smile is contagious as she walks to the stage to welcome the audience. People could be heard whispering, “it’s her-the storyteller, akasemhle

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bethunana!(she’s so beautiful)”. Clearly her work has done a sterling job in keeping her in our hearts if even after such a long break from tv people still recognise her.

Women2Women catches up with Andrea (38), the Khayelitsha actress to listen to her journey to stardom, the challenges, the highs and lows of her life in the entertainment industry. “I

“My relationship with acting is very intimate. We have no boundaries, you get hurt, you try different things and if they don’t work out, you move on”. was born at Taylor Bequest Hospital in Mount Fletcher but I grew up in different places because my mother was working,”

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Andrea says, revealing that her mother was working as a professional nurse at Glen Grey Hospital in Lady Frere in the Eastern Cape.

Without wasting time, I ask her to tell us where and when she caught the acting bug; “In high school I was a girl guide, I made a declaration of the route I was going to take in life,” she tells. She says as a girl guide you were taught how to carry yourself, take responsibility and also take an oath to honour the declaration and promise that you’ll keep the commandments stated by the oath that you took.

She has always loved the stage but never took it seriously because she wasn’t sure if it was something that she’d make a living out of. She completed her matric in 1994 in Lady Frere, Eastern Cape and moved to Cape Town where she enrolled for a degree in Human Movement studies at University of the Western Cape (UWC) but unfortunately she dropped out in her second year.

“My parents divorce affected me a lot I couldn’t finish my studies I had dropped out. I wanted to move away

from my parent’s shadow and just be my own person and that was when drama found me again,” reveals Andrea whose parents divorced when she was 12 years old, an occurrence she describes as traumatic.

She then takes a few minutes, taking us through how her parents’ break-up affected her. “My father asked me to choose between him and my mother,” she says, explaining that her father warned her that her decision was also going to affect her younger sister. “I chose my mother, you know the minute my father asked me to choose, I immediately smelled my mother’s saliva which she used to moisten her thumb to rub off dried mucus marks in front of our noses,” she shares, signs of emotions are visibly hard to hide as she recites. This happened when she was only 12 but when she was at university the memories flocked back and left her feeling confused, upset and distracted.

She however, has a great story to tell about her stint at UWC because she’s proud to boast that she was the only girl to travel to Bloemfontein in 1995 and in 1996 she was crowned the best track and field athlete.

I ask her to tell me about her love for the stage, she smiles uncontrollably, like a child seeing her mother.

She first reveals that after dropping out from UWC, she enrolled for a drama course at then New Africa Theatre Academy in Athlone. “My relationship with acting is very intimate. We have no boundaries, you get hurt, you try different things and if they don’t work out, you move on,” says the actress.

We take a moment to discuss the journey of Ayanda, her role in Stokvel and the lessons she learnt from that role.

It’s so funny that Ayanda is the only role I never auditioned for, the casting director just called and told me that there was a certain role and asked if I was interested to play it, I took it and it was the best seven years of my life.” She says playing the role was fun and describes Ayanda as a diva and an extrovert who was not reluctant to take risks.

She says that in some situations in real life she borrows from Ayanda’s character traits and deals with certain situations. She displays a great sense

of enthusiasm and excitement as she shares Ayanda’s journey. There is a lot to celebrate about Ayanda because the role earned her a South African Film and Television (SAFTA) award as the best supporting actress in a tv comedy and getting that award was, according to her was mind-blowing It’s only fair to get a sense of how she felt when they were told the show was no longer going to continue, shoulders drop and she says; “I was heart-broken but I had to accept because the producers just told us that and when we asked for the reasons they never told us so I had to let it go and move on.”

No doubt she has talent, and does not only act but she directs and writes too.

She’s been quiet on our tv screens, does she not miss being there? She assures that in 2016 she’ll go back to tv and she

says she’ll do soapies because they bring stability. As we conclude the interview, I ask about kids-if she has any. She says she doesn’t have and that it’s a topic she’d rather not discuss but quick to reveal that she has four dogs namely Bruno, Terry, Simba and Danger.

“I enjoy long drives along the sea, hiking and I’m a bit claustrophobic hence you’ll never see me in crowded places,” says the Reading Ambassador for Centre for the book.

We exit the building and she concludes by saying she’d love to build her motivational speaking brand, share knowledge to upcoming actors about the industry.

“If my story can inspire someone, why not tell it? It’s not about being relevant but building one another. Uplift each other as women and build a strong nation helping others.”

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Rugby Whoever said rugby is a men’s game has clearly never met Nosipho Cynthia Poswa, a 31 year old former Springbok female rugby player from Soweto-on-Sea in Port Elizabeth.

By Asiphe Nombewu

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osipho, who now is a teacher at Zimasa primary school in Langa, Cape Town says she first fell in love with this game in high school when there were talks of establishing the female rugby game at schools. “I was in grade 11 when my teacher asked me and a group of friends if we were interested and we agreed without hesitation.”

“We had always seen rugby players get rewarded whenever they played away. Teachers would either pay their school fees or buy them school uniform and right there and then my mind was made up. I was joining the rugby team with or without my friends.”

Nosipho says she played rugby up until matric and at school she was often mocked for being a rugby playing girl. “I paid no attention to people and concentrated on my rugby such that I failed matric and people told me that I was never going to be able to hit two

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helps Nosipho

achieve her goals birds with one stone, it was either my studies or rugby they said.”

“Little did they know that I would rise from all that and my rugby was going to help me achieve all my goals. I was picked to play for the first ever provincial female team ( Eastern province) team and from there I was recognised and people started taking note of me.”

At first they were taught touch rugby. Touch rugby is when they don’t play with physical or intense rugby with tackling but they would just touch the clothes of the opponent or the ball. With time they played the real game. This passionate teacher says they played a tournament and won, taking the second spot and came second as the Eastern province.

Her dream came true in 2004 when their team played against the University of the Western Cape (UWC), where UWC team lost and a few days after that game Nosipho was called to come to Cape Town and play for the UWC team.

“They promised to let me study free and give me accommodation, immediately when I got to Cape Town I started doing my matric and then my Certificate which was later transferred into a degree, which I studied and today I am a teacher.”

Nosipho says she doesn’t believe her life would have turned out like this had she not participated in the rugby. “I believe I had to go through everything that I went through in order for me to

become this person that I am today, people had to laugh at me.”

She said her studies took her a long time to complete and she had days where she thought she wasn’t cut out for the academic buzz. “I come from a very poor family, in a very poor neighbourhood and even with all the hype in Cape Town I never forgot my family and how much they struggled.”

She recalls a period in her life when she would get calls from home, her mother telling her that they didn’t have

“Rugby has indeed opened doors for me and I am forever grateful because I grabbed every opportunity.” food for supper the previous night. “I then got the job at Pep clothing as a seamstress to try and support my family and make sure that no one in my family goes to bed hungry.”

Despite all her struggles she was fortunate enough to play in the women’s Rugby world cup in 2010.

“It was really a life time opportunity because I even did my internship at the Department of Sport and got to know the ins and outs of the game. I had to deal with my studies, job and rugby at

the same time and I was able to provide for my family, I have also worked as the manager for the under 16 women’s rugby team, and in 2010 I started with my Bachelor’s in Education degree and finished it in March this year on my 31st birthday.”

She explains how she always told her fellow teammates to be serious about their studies because an injury is an end to a rugby player’s career and it was not too long ago that the same thing happened to her and luckily she had her Education degree to fall back on.

“Who would’ve thought that I would be a teacher because I left my home town without matric but even though I was injured and had to stop playing, I am still able to teach rugby and music at the school I am at.

“Rugby has indeed opened doors for me and I am forever grateful because I grabbed every opportunity.”

Nosipho encourages young people who find themselves in the same place as she was years ago to focus. Focus on what you love and excel in it, don’t listen to what people say about you and always talk about your situation or problem, I swear you will not get to the 10th person without getting help or advice.

“Sitting in the street corner doing nothing is not the way to go because who is going to fend for you if you do not fend for yourself,” she concluded.

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An afternoon with the

DEPUTY MINISTER Nomaindia Mfeketo already had an impressive career behind her when she became a deputy minister last year, but getting there was not without sacrifice.

Justine Sibomana speaks to her about work, family, friendship, and her hopes for South African women.

Photograph: Justine Sibomana 20

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W

hen I stopped being a mayor, I realized I had no personal friends anymore”, Nomaindia Mfeketo recalls the harsh discovery that made her see she needed to change some things in her life. “I only had mayor friends. The people who I thought were my friends, were only friends to that position. That came as a shock.”

Nomaindia Mfeketo career may read as an impressive list of highlights - after working with various NGO’s she was the first black woman to serve as mayor of Cape Town, she held various influential positions in the ruling party, became deputy speaker in parliament, and is now deputy minister of International Relations and Cooperation, a function in which she gets to travel the world and mingle with world leaders - but she is quick to admit her journey wasn’t all roses, and talks openly about the toll her hard work sometimes took.

Marrying and divorcing at a young age, she was left as a single mother, which put a lot of strain on the balance between work and family life from the start. Looking back, she feels she managed to run her family well despite of this, by teaching her kids to be responsible and share in the household duties from an early age.

Even though her work as an activist meant that she was hardly home even during weekends, she is glad to see her sons don’t look back at this time with bad memories. “I was talking about it with my son who is now 34, and he says he actually enjoyed that time, when I would take them along on work meetings and he got to meet and play with other colleagues’ children. They formed lasting friendships during that time.”

She feels her drive, ambition and political interest can be traced back to her early childhood. Born in Elsies River, 8-year-old Nomaindia experienced how her family was forced to move to Nyanga because of the Group Areas Act.

“My father was given some zinc and a few poles to build a house, and we had to completely start our life over.”

She can still vividly picture the tense days during the 1960s state of emergency. “There were boys, maybe only 17 or 18 years old, carrying guns, walking around our neighborhood and scaring people to the point they didn’t even dare to go outside to fetch water or go to the toilet.”

Seeing her own father hide from these young boys, only because they were white and carried guns, was a painful experience that stuck with her for a long time. “It made me wonder: what is it about white people that makes them so powerful?”

She had not really interacted with them at the time, and only saw them

part of local government negotiations, after which she was elected as chairperson of Cape Town’s first democratically elected city council and later became mayor.

She remembers how challenging this work was, and how it made her feel like she was walking on eggshells, having to deal with people from different racial backgrounds who now suddenly had to work together. “The separation was rife, you could feel it even in the offices. For many colleagues, the only black woman they had interacted with was their domestic worker, so it was quite a shock for them to be chaired by one.”

During her first stint as mayor in 1998 she experienced how forming personal relations with each other slowly

“At some point it made me wish I was white, not for the color or culture, but for the power they seemed to possess.” when they came to arrest people.

“At some point it made me wish I was white, not for the color or culture, but for the power they seemed to possess.” Because of her growing frustration about such social injustice, her young girl’s dreams of becoming a nurse or a teacher slowly made way for other ambitions.

An unexpected opportunity kick started her career in the NGO sector, that would eventually lead her into politics. One day she took part in a workshop, following an advert, and at the end of the day she was invited to come work with ZAKH, the agricultural training NGO that hosted it. “I believe it is because of this opportunity that I am where I am now.”

During the transition to democracy, the Development Action Group where she was working by then, sent her to be

took away the initial distrust. To the extent that later on, when she had left municipal politics and was working in business, even some members of an opposition party asked to only work with her, leading to her return to mayor ship in 2002. “They had come to trust me and knew they wouldn’t be ridiculed.”

When she left the turbulent times of municipal politics behind and realized how forming lasting relationships in her personal life had been far less successful, she made a conscious decision to start working on building genuine friendships.

“My social life had fallen by the wayside. The shock of realizing that assisted me a great deal, because now I do have a circle of friends and that feels great. Now my children are grown-up and no longer living at home, it is very important to have that support struc-

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in particular have her heart. “There is a lot of noise about women empowerment, but so many of our women are not empowered at all. There is so much we still need to do, not just as a government, because government can make policies but not really monitor what is happening on a grass root level, in communities and families. We need a strong civil society.”

Personally she never allowed the fact that she was a single mother to limit her potential, and managed to build a successful career despite that unfortunate start of her family life. But she is sad to see that for so many women this is different. She makes an effort to discuss these issues with the young women in her own circle whenever she can, inviting her nieces’ friends over to talk

“They should work on being economically independent first, so that when they get a partner, at least they can be equal partners. That is so important.”

Photograph courtesy: COOPERATION

ture. Especially in the work that I do, which is not always a friendly environment, it becomes incredibly difficult without that.”

Looking at the changes that democracy brought in the country, she realizes that even though she has managed to make the most of the new opportunities that came with political freedom, there are many who missed the boat and for whom little has changed. “We have to 22

department of international relations

admit that 1994 was political freedom, but not economic freedom.”

“My worry is that the gap is growing bigger, between those who benefitted, and those who are stuck in the situation they were born in, which wasn’t their fault. That is what we should be pushing for as South Africans, to make sure the gap doesn’t grow wider.”

Having been part of a women’s organization in the past, women’s issues

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openly about things like being scared to be left by their men.

“It happened to us, and one would hope that for the generation that is growing up now things would be different, but they are not.” She hopes that today’s young women will dare to say: I will get a partner when I do, but for now I have my own things to take care of. “They should work on being economically independent first, so that when they get a partner, at least they can be equal partners. That is so important.”

When she talks about how we need role models and mentors in our country, Nomaindia Mfeketo doesn’t say it out loud herself, but looking at her own achievements, she is one of them.

Never allow cancer to pin you down

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other of four Natalie Isaacs (49) from Constantia says she came face to face with death after she was diagnosed with triple negative breast cancer three years ago. Triple negative is when the breast cancer cells test negative for estrogen receptors, negative for progesterone receptors and negative for HER2 receptors.

These negative results mean that the growth of the cancer is not supported by the hormones estrogen and progesterone, nor by the presence of too many HER2 receptors. Therefore, triple-negative breast cancer does not respond to hormonal therapy.

After she was diagnosed she says a tough road lay ahead of her.

She had to decide to fight the disease and be strong or let it eat her up slowly.

She thought to herself that she won’t allow cancer to pull her down and she has to survive and be there for her children.

She had to undergo nine chemotherapy sessions and on top of that she had to go through a divorce as her husband complained he could no longer cope with her sickness.

“It was a matter of deciding whether I was going to allow cancer to pin me

down or I deal with it head on and pull through so that I can be there for my children who really needed me the most.

It wasn’t easy. I had to go to doctors and fight and I believe this is why I’m here today. I fought; I didn’t allow cancer to pin me down because life is so precious and no one should give up because they have cancer. I had to fight it on my own with the help of my children.”

To gather strength and help from others she started a support group for people living with cancer and those that have survived it. Isaacs says the stories that she heard from other people were unbelievable. “Before I heard from others I thought my case was just so bad. But meeting other people and talking about their situations I realised that what I had gone through was nothing compared to other cancer survivors.

People should learn not to give up but fight. There is life after cancer you don’t just give up because life is so preci ous.”

Going to the support group she gained strength each day and others that come to the group also viewed life with a different eye. She realised that not everyone was willing to open up and speak of what they have been through but little do they know that by speaking out help would come flooding in. “People mustn’t suffer in silence. We have been through certain circumstances and we can help each other. Talk about the disease. Learn more about it and it won’t finish you. I have been to hell and back because of cancer but I’m glad that through the help that I got, I managed to work through it.

I want to help others and let them know that we have to fight our way.”

Isaacs encourages women to go for regular screening.

“It is very important to go for regular screening. Do your mammogram and pap

smears because early detection can help save lives. It’s not only women over 40 years of age that can get cancer but everyone can you just have to check. I also encourage women to do self examinations as well for the breasts. They should know their bodies, if there is something that is worrying visit your doctor.”

Did you know?

Cancer is categorised into staged according to where it is in the body.

Stage 1: The tumour in the breast is small and there is no evidence of spread anywhere.

Stage 2: The primary tumour is < 5cm and there may be evidence of early spread to the lymph nodes.

Stage 3: The primary tumour is > 5cm or there is evidence of obvious lymphatic spread.

Stage 4: There is evidence of spread to other organs such as lung, liver or bone.

Early detection of cancer can lead to effective treatment and positive prognosis. About 90% of patients survive for many years after diagnosis when breast cancer is detected early.

Regular self breast examination and regular mammograms are key to early detections.

Presenting yourself early for treatment may result in more effective treatment, leading to a reduction in pain and suffering and a significant decrease in loss of life.

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Lifestyle

in 15 minutes check when last you ate.

Your blood sugar may be low so have a protein snack. b. Make sure your primary source of fluid intake is purified water. Enjoy too 1-2 cups of coffee/ tea, unlimited herbal teas on a daily basis and the occasional glass of wine. c. Avoid fruit juice and fizzy drinks as the sugar casuse lots of inflammation in your body.

3. Move right

Does your lifestyle affect your work performance?

By Nell Browne

A

lot of ideas were bouncing through my head when I was asked to shed light on how your lifestyle affects your business or performance at work, either as an employee, being self employed or as a business owner.

So let’s take a look at what Dr Bob Rakowski calls the Magnificent 7 and see what this means for you.

1. Eat right

a. Get creative about what you eat and when you eat. It’s so easy to get bogged down in bad eating habits when you are pressed for time and

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juggling family and work needs. b. Eat to fuel your body! Give it the right quantity, quality and diversity of food to enable energy production and cell repair. c. As our food source quality is compromised make sure you supplement with world class organic vitamin and mineral supplements.

2. Drink right

a. Our bodies a largely composed of water so it’s important to be properly hydrated. One of the first signs of dehydration is a headache so instead to popping a pill, drink a glass of purified water. If the headache has not vanished

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a. A few minutes of intense exercise a day can work wonders in managing stress and energising you. b. Google Tabata process. Work out what exercises you can put into your 4 minute routine. Download a free Tabata timer app for you phone and get moving! c. If this sounds too high tech, start with walking 15-20 mins 5 times a week.

Make it a brisk walk to maximise the benefits.

4. Sleep right

a. Sleep deprivation is insidious. Bad sleeping habits creep up on you and before you know it you are getting way less than 8 hours sleep a night. b. Not getting enough sleep means your body does not have enough time to replace and rebuild cells which happens mostly when you sleep. c. Your brain also needs you to sleep so it can process all the stimuli you have uploaded in the day, sort it and store it.

Your brain is working whilst you sleep!

Depriving it of the opportunity to do what it needs to do will make it less efficient when you are trying to work!

5. Talk right

a. Follow the golden rule. Think before you speak. If what you are going to say does not add value or encourage, zip your lips. b. Remember that once the words have left your mouth you cannot take them back. I’m sure you know what it is like to be on the receiving end of harsh and destructive words. Make sure you do not cause this kind of hurt and emotional pain for others. c. If you need to correct someone’s behaviour or actions at work, focus on the

Your lifestyle choices impact on your magnificent 7!

Any imbalance of the magnificent 7 will manifest as lack or energy, illness and misery in your life. So take care of yourself first. Then give your best to all the other areas of life where you operate where you may be: Daughter, Wife, Mom, Boss Lady, Employee, Business Woman, Sport Star, Caregiver and comforter, Friend or all of the above!

So to sum it up let’s say your energy and vitality depends on YOU managing YOUR magnificent 7! Be creative in your eating and be comfortable in your own skin. You are WONDERFUL and unique. Put your best foot forward when dealing this family, friends, clients and any other people whose lives you have opportunity to impact. Express yourself with honesty and integrity.

Your vitality is a valuable asset.

Take care of it, use it wisely and you will get magnificent returns on your investment in yourself!

activity or behaviour and not on the person. Always give negative or corrective feedback in private. d. A genuine friendly smile is a gateway to good communication. A smile only has value when you give it away! So smile today and see how many people smile in response! Besides making them feel better you will feel better too. e. Give praise generously when it is due!

Recognise good work, accomplishment or even just persistence in getting the job done. It can be a simple “ Thank you for your good work” or “ Well done on the effort you are putting in to get the task done on time”. f. Give praise and recognition publicly and often, it works wonder for morale.

6. Think right

a. Your emotions become your thoughts which become your words, which become your actions, which become your habits!

b. Negative emotions left unchecked give rise to negative thoughts and all the consequences. This drains your energy and vitality. Yes, there is bad stuff happening but if take the trouble to look around, there is a lot of good too. c. Focus on being solution oriented and looking for the good things in life. You will find them and being in a positive state of mind will contribute to your positive well being and those you interact with.

7. Poop right

a. Make sure your bowel movements are regular. b. Although we think of the bowel just as a waste removal system, it is critical to your well being. c. More and more research is showing that the bowel plays a critical role in producing hormones needed for good functioning of many of the body processes.

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R O D N E V T E E R T S FROM NEWSROOM TO Perseverance, being eager to learn and determination are the reasons why the former traffic lights magazine vendor has an inspiring story to tell. By Siphesihle Notwabaza

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ulekwa Mbadamane (42) from Philippi in Cape Town now a resident freelance photographer for Daily Sun, one of the biggest newspapers in the country admits that it was not an easy ride.

Chasing stories in the townships has become a norm for Lulekwa who is also affectionately known as Mandlovu, this courageous mother of two exudes strength and courage, ducking bullets and dealing with the most sensitive community issues has become apart of who she is.

This photojournalist is vocal about injustices and uses her weapon (camera) to expose all these ills. Her contagious smile, bubbly personality and energy gives one a sense of comfort to be around her and listen to her story of hard work which she recites without showing any signs of feeling sorry for herself.

Women2Women caught up with her at their Cape Town Media24 offices to hear more about her story and how she has managed to change her life around. Hard at work, she is going through some photographs she has taken for the day. She is trying to decide which ones to send to her editors for the next publication. While doing that she is giving background information to her colleague about a story they are working on.

Though she might seem to be busy and chasing deadlines now it wasn’t all

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smooth sailing.

Born and bred in the village of Butterworth, in the Eastern Cape, she completed her matric from Krazukile Senior Secondary and moved in search of greener pastures. She followed her mother who was a domestic worker in Johannesburg and in 2000 she got a job as a security guard at a clothing store. That didn’t last for long, she left Johannesburg for Cape Town to join some family members.

Struggling to find employment in the mother city life was unbearable.Lulekwa had to leave her daughter, who was two-months-old at the time and knock on several doors seeking employment.

The next year she then got a job as a magazine vendor at traffic lights, selling the Big Issue magazine, a job that she did for a solid seven years. “A lot of people were against it and they discouraged me.

Some of them even went as far as saying there is no such thing as selling magazines this is prostitution. They called me names but I was not discouraged because I had kids to feed, I decided let people talk as I had no control over what they were saying.”

The magazine was being sold for R12.00 and on that R6 will be hers. “Being a vendor is the most difficult thing. You had to smile even on bad days to attract customers. It wasn’t easy but each time I would stand by the robots it became bearable and as years went by it got better and better. People begun to like me and some will drop me clothes, kitchen utensils and

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others would call me to come clean their homes over the weekend. Things begun to look up for me, I went back to stand at the robots energised. I felt like a human. I was happy as I was able to look after my children” she says with a smile.

Under the scorching sun or the heavy storms of the Mother City she always made it a point to go and sell because deep down inside her she knew this was just a stepping stone she wasn’t going to be there forever. Though her work was viewed as demeaning by some people she is grateful that at the Big Issue magazines they were not treated as mere vendors but employees who could be empowered and have better lives. “At Big Issue they encouraged us to learn as much as we could. They would sometimes organise workshops for us so that we learn about different things. I always loved photography so I attended a lot of workshops on it. My interest in it blossomed and I fell in love with it more.”

The start of greater things was when she was sent to a photography training course organised and hosted by Cameraland at the Cape Town CBD. At the workshop they were told about a trolley project that was running at the time.

Those interested had to go to different venues and teach people about the importance of trolleys and how to take care of them, taking photos while doing that.

She jumped at the opportunity.

“We would visit places like hospitals, malls and just approach random peo-

ple, introduce ourselves and tell them why we were there. We then had to take photos,” she recites. For Lulekwa, it was not just about a project but she was getting closer to realizing her dream of being a photographer. Her breakthrough moment was when she took a photo of a trolley that made it to the front-page of the same magazine she was selling.

Seeing the photo of a trolley she snapped on the cover of the magazine she was very excited. Lulekwa says her image caught the attention of people from as far as Scotland.

After they published the picture a Scottish man came to South Africa and visited the Big Issue offices. He demanded to see the photographer who took the trolley photo. “I felt honoured” she said. The picture was also used by Scottish magazine.

Things started to change for the better after that front-page photo. People in the media industry and locally were slowly getting to know who she was. She then decided to buy herself a small camera and started taking photos for herself.

This didn’t only improve her photo snapping skills but her confidence as a photographer was improving. As if her photographs gaining international recognition wasn’t enough, she met the late Garth Steyson a renowned Cape Town photographer who offered to teach her a few things on photography as he was very impressed with her work.

“I was over the moon, I knew things were taking shape so I jumped to the occasion to be taught by him.”

While being mentored by Steyson, a Swedish business man Eric Meier-Ruegg visited the Big Issue offices and offered her a helping hand. “He gave me a business card and said I should come up with a business idea and he was going to fund it. I did not know what kind of business I wanted to start. I also thought he was joking because I was just a magazine vendor I asked myself ‘what do I know? After a couple of days I went back to him. I told him that I would appreciate a bigger and better camera, that would allow me to take better pictures.”

With opportunities coming in, she did both being a vendor and a photographer. Along the way another opportunity presented itself. She had to take pictures

Photographs courtesy: Lulekwa Mbadamane

of the Homeless World Cup which was hosted in City. She enjoyed every minute of it. When she wasn’t selling the magazine she would take pictures. She also continued to go to photography workshops.

One day she met another photographer Mandla Mnyakama at a workshop.

“I told him about my idea of taking pictures and a story about a blind woman who managed to protect herself from boys who were trying to attack her.”

“The boys broke into her house attempting to harm her but she was able to stab one of the boys,I had that picture of her and with the knife in hand. Mandla was captured by the story and saw that it was newsworthy and had a lot of potential. He told his editor about it and I was called to come with the pictures to The Daily Sun. The story made it to page three which is the national page of the paper.

That’s how my journey with the Daily Sun Newspaper begun,” she says.

After that story she left the Big Issue Magazine and freelanced for the Daily

Sun Newspaper. She has been with the newspaper for eight years and is still working as hard she did when she first started out.

“When I look at what I went through I’m able to tell someone to hang on. If I worked my way up from the robots to one of the biggest newspapers nothing is possible. I enjoy telling stories through the camera. I’m glad that I can change other people’s lives through what I do. Also when I go for stories, I’m not shy to tell people where I come from. I like encouraging people; I like people who work hard and no to expect things to come in a silver platter. If I listened to people who were discouraging me when I took the job to sell the magazine I wouldn’t be here. I knew what I wanted and I’m happy to be doing what I really love,” she says.

Her message to other women is to never give up: “Nothing comes easy in life. We have to sweat but as long as you know what you want to do,never let anyone derail you from your goal”.

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Scrubbing toilets helped Mary Tal prepare for a life she could never have dreamt of. She is now a beacon of hope for fellow women who are walking on the path that she once walked.

By Justine Sibomana

MARY TAL’S TENACITY

KEEPS HOPE ALIVE THE JOURNEY TOWARDS MAKING A DIFFERENCE 28

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crubbing toilets helped Mary Tal prepare for a life she could never have dreamt of. She is now a beacon of hope for fellow women who are walking on the path that she once walked.

She might be a well known activist working to help and strengthen other women but she also vividly remembers the days when she was on her knees, scrubbing toilet floors around the City of Cape Town to make a living for her and her children.

Being a single mother in a foreign country she was struggling to take care of her children. Tal’s life had taken a very different path from her carefree childhood and promising school grades in her home country Cameroon. “Thinking of all my education, the position I held back home, I was

ashamed. I never told anyone what I had studied and what I did before coming to South Africa.”

Looking back now, the mother of four says the time she spent working on her knees making the toilets sparkling clean was the best preparation for the work she is doing now. “I now thank the circumstances that led me there.

Being looked down on became the solid foundation for my current life. It built me, and built my resilience above all it taught me the humility that I didn’t have growing up.”

Though it wasn’t easy for her to clean toilets considering her back ground and what she had achieved back home she never knew that would be a turning point in her life. She never knew that sooner than later she would be using her own life experiences to help others, and that her life would come together after totally falling apart.

Growing up in the small, protected and beautiful village of Mbesa were some of the happiest years of her life. “We ran wild and free, barefoot, climbing trees.

It didn’t matter whose field it was, we just harvested. We dug holes and buried avocados and bananas for them to get ripe. We were so free and happy,” a smile appears on her face as she relives those moments.

When she left her village to attend school in town, life quickly turned more serious. She knew this was an opportunity she couldn’t afford to mess up with. Her classmates quickly identified her as the girl who was too ambitious, very forward and had her way of getting things done.

By the time she went to high school, her father had passed away. Her mother didn’t have the means to support her, so she went to stay with her aunt. This only made her to be more determined to study hard and she passed her matric.

Going against the advice of the school’s career counsellor after her matric she chose to pursue a law degree, instead of studying languages and becoming a teacher, which would have landed her a government bursary. “I think the activist in me wanted to challenge that system and push myself. Instead of taking the easy path I chose something else,” she explains.

This risky career choice cost her the bursary and got her into serious trouble

with her aunt. Unable to pay for accommodation at University during the semester she went to stay with her brother.

After finishing her degree she tried to do her board exams. At that time things were going bad in her country, that’s when she started experiencing the extent of corruption in her home country. “No matter how hard you worked, if you were not connected by either a family member, or had a ‘god father’ as they would call them, you would not get far

Cameroon became a very unfriendly place where she felt increasingly unsafe.

When things were starting to get sour in the country her husband left the country for South Africa, she followed. They landed in Cape Town.

She got here as an asylum seeker in 1998 and she couldn’t find a job. Her husband convinced her to sell hats on the streets. Making barely a few Rands, struggling to take care of her children, she thought back of the life and career

“We ran wild and free, barefoot, climbing trees and chasing butterflies. It didn’t matter whose field it was, we just harvested.

We dug holes and buried avocados and bananas for them to get ripe. We were so free and happy.”

in Cameroon at that time. The injustice was alarming.”

She started working for a human rights firm that soon became an enemy to the government. Staff members started fearing for their lives and left the country. For people like Mary with a liberal mind, who dared to question the system,

she had back home and got into a deep depression. She started blaming her husband, and the whole situation took its toll on their marriage and eventually led to their separation.

Now she was all alone in this foreign place she turned to refugee organisations for help. One day she landed at Refugee Forum. The director of Refugee Forum saw more in her not just another vulnerable woman who needed help. She asked Mary to work with her and help mobilise a group of refugee women.

While she took this responsibility on seriously, this was merely a volunteer position that couldn’t put food on the table but she tackled it with determination. She stopped selling hats and worked all kind of jobs to support her family, from ironing people’s clothes to cleaning toilets. She put extra effort on cleaning the toilets as it proved to be bringing in better money.

One day, as she was cleaning at the University of Cape Town, a man stopped and stared at her for a while. “When he finally gathered the courage to come up to me, he asked me if I maybe had a sister named Mary Tal.” When she told him that she was Mary, the man couldn’t be-

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lieve his ears. He was ecstatic because he had found one of the smartest students from his former law class in the streets of Cape Town.

He told her applications were open for a post graduate program and there was a scholarship available. Without wasting time the next day Mary filled in her forms and was accepted for a program in human and refugee rights.

In 2002, she graduated with a postgraduate degree in International Human Rights and Humanitarian Law specializing in refugee and immigration law.

This helped her get her first real job at Human Right Media Centre. She also continued to work for Ilitha Labantu and the Refugee Trauma Centre where she gave legal advice and assisted abused women and children with their court cases.

After her own experience, the cause of refugee women was one she was willing to fight for. “I had been through what those women shared with me, and saw myself in them. I could relate to their pain and vulnerability so I really wanted

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to help them and that’s how another part of my journey begun.”

She felt refugee women and children needed a platform where they could feel safe, and with two other women she started a support group for fellow refugee women.

In 2007 this grew into a non-profit organisation called Whole World Women’s Association (WWWA). She is the founder and the director of the organisation which gives advice to refugee women and children. The organisation shares information that can help them deal with the challenges they face through leadership and societal integration training, promoting HIV/AIDS awareness, supporting small business development and protecting refugee rights. Through the organisation they have helped thousands of refugees, most of them women and children who are often very vulnerable.

Coming to a foreign country they do not speak the language and have no knowledge of the facilities that are available to them.

Since she started with this work she

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has never looked back as she believes this is one of the things that she was called to do. She believes the reason she went through what she went through was a learning curve so that she can be able to help others better. “Often it’s not in the big things we do, but in the simple things, like helping someone to fill in a form to get a grant. Someone helped me as well years ago and it was that small act of kindness that changed my life so I want to do it for others as well. I don’t want any women to go through what I went through so I will dedicate everything I have to empower and to educate those that come through our doors. I will continue to fight for what is right and most all fight for our women and children to live better lives.”

“This has become my life mission.

Knowing I can make a difference in someone’s life helps me get up in the morning every day. There are so many people suffering and there is so much injustice. I want to contribute and change someone’s life in one way or another, even if it’s only by listening or leading them to a place where they can get help,” she added.

Her vision for others, especially women, is that they could all join hands and work together. “I have learned so much from being in South Africa and from South African women. I admire their strength and resilience, but I feel there is so much more that we women can do if we organise ourselves and open-heartedly work together to make a difference in each other’s lives.”

Refugee woman and children that might find themselves lost and vulnerable can contact:

Contact information Whole World Women Association 41 Salt River Road Salt River Cape Town, South Africa Telephone Number: +27 21 448 5022 Email: wwwoman@mweb.co.za/ http/ wwwassociation.org

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Informal settlements or urban slums are areas categorised by high population and structural density, low incomes and little to no infrastructure.

A significant challenge facing people living in these spaces is the incidence and spread of fires. In a single blaze, hundreds and up to tens of thousands of people can be displaced with the unfortunate and avoidable loss of life. The direct cost of shack fires to governments, communities and families runs into the hundreds of millions of rands each year in South Africa alone, let alone the indirect costs to society which entrenches cycles of poverty.

Lumkaniâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s vision is to mitigate the loss of life and property associated with the spread of shack fires in South Africa, Africa and across the globe.

We will realise this vision through our integrated early warning system.

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Wo m e n 2 Wo m e n | 1 s t Q u a r t e r 2 0 1 6

www.lumkani.com