Well women's month is coming to an end and I am ending off my celebration with the most amazing woman I know after my mother, well and after Shweshwe and after..., well you get my point. This is the most amazing young Lady Leader I know. It is very rare to find anyone wanting to be an Entrepreneur at Higher education level as Entrepreneurship is viewed as an escape if you have nothing else to do. Today I end of with a bang as I say shine to my awesome Lady Leader, Love Pearl, the young woman who knows the beat of my heart. Please be inspired by this amazing interview.
PS: Although women's month might have come to an end, let us not stop celebrating each other and ourselves.
Me: Please describe yourself in five
words?
Thembi: Humble, passionate, goal-oriented, considerate and very
principle centered.
Me: Where were you born and what do
you love about your country?
Thembi: I was born in SA, Baragwanath hospital; ‘culturally’ I’m
Zimbabwean because of my dad. Equally I love both countries. SA in particular
because it is rich filled with different cultural backgrounds. I love the
diversity, our history that in turn made SA a democratic state. Gotta love
South Africans, very free spirited.
Me: Your fondest memory?
Thembi: Yikes! I have quite a few, but it has to be when I made top
5 at UJ for the Nelson Rhodes Scholarship, by far the most sought out
scholarship in SA, based on the guiding principles of Leadership,
Reconciliation, Entrepreneurship and Education. I was competing against ‘A’ students
(80% and above) but did not let that bring me down in any way! That moment I
realized how much of a valuable asset I have made of myself, i managed to brand
myself, and groom a young leader that SA needs. Only one person got the
scholarship…in any case that was a very proud moment, and was motivated to
continue taking initiative for the betterment of myself, and community at
large.
Me: Your top five books?
Thembi: Number has to be: The Shack by William P. Young
2.
The Alchemist, Paulo Coelho ( very good read)
3.
The purpose driven life, Rick Warren
4.
Laws of success in 16 lessons, Napoleon Hill, yoh such an amazing book
5.
Twilight series J by Stephenie Meyer
Me: What are you passionate about?
Thembi: I am passionate about youth and personal development and leadership
(scary how I share a similar passion with my sister, she inspires me a lot) I may
not have all the experience or resources, but i have certainly gone through the
path, and willing to guide or rather lead others into following this route for
the betterment of their wellbeing. I have seen how being young, vibrant and
passionate opens up many opportunities for young people, and would love to get
young people to be open-minded, and be change agents. Government and corporate companies cannot
afford to hire every qualified candidate; hence I find entrepreneurship as a
means to effectively eradicate undesired conditions of impoverishment. Given
that, I try to gear peoples thinking towards an entrepreneurial mindset, which
in turn builds on leadership. Personally I regard myself as being more of a
social entrepreneur.
Me: What does it mean to be a young
woman in africa?
Thembi: Being a young woman in Africa to me means getting rid of
stereotypes and making powerful statements with every action you take. It means
being a woman who is not only in tune with herself, but amongst the highest of
callings, the performance of public duties to be among the noblest of aims, in doing so nurturing our communities and the
young females that follow us. It is in our nature to be caring and embrace our
lives as a healer, comforter and being a woman of dignity.
Me: Please share your thoughts on
education
Thembi: “The function of education is to teach one to think
intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character gives the goal
of true teaching” ~ Martin Luther King jr.
Education
is both a gift and a tool for the advancement of human development. With
education you embrace the responsibility to foster such opportunities for
others. As cliché as it may sound, education is really the key to success.
Me: What have you studied?
Thembi: I studied Bcom INTRApreneurial Management, focusing mainly
on innovation within an existing corporate organisation and I am currently
doing my honours in Marketing Management.
Me: Why have you decided to do
honours?
Thembi:
Well…besides the fact that honours gives you higher rankings as opposed to just
a degree, i am doing my honours because I want to be diversified in terms of my
understanding (from Intrapreneurship to Marketing to who knows what…) and
besides, I have a plan, and if I am to achieve most of the things in that plan
I’m afraid education has to be a priority. I was also elected as Chairperson of
the Black Management Forum Student Chapter, and I cannot lead a society without
being a registered student, that too served as a motivator out of all honestyJ…Chairing
the branch was part of the plan lol!
Me: After honours where to?
Thembi: After honours it will be time to go into corporate and do
my Masters part time after a year or so of work. I have two big projects up my
sleeves that I’ve been working on; I will be working on implementing those. Business
is a long-term goal; I’ll go into business once I have gathered enough skill
and knowledge.
Me: What makes a person an effective
leader?
Thembi: To be an effective leader, one needs to have within them a
moral force of character and an instinct to lead. It means understanding that
leadership is more than personal ambition, but is a service requiring the will
and capacity to inspire and develop fellow human beings for their betterment.
Finally, an effective leader requires a roundedness of personality to be able
to deal with the diverse characters you interact with.
Me: What are some leadership roles
you have acted in?
Thembi: Well dating back from my primary school years, I was a
class rep in grade 6. Prefect grade 7, RCL in high school, grades 11&12.
University went from being the Public relations officer, Deputy Chairperson and
Chairperson of the Black Management Forum Student Chapter, and now the
Provincial Treasurer of BMFsc. At some point i campaigned for SRC as an
independent candidate with the hopes of being a student representative…that was
fun!
Me: Please tell us more about all
the projects you are involved in?
Thembi: BMFsc in itself is a project, ongoing pursuit for
socio-economic transformation. The Black Management Forum is a non-profit
organization, non-racial that seeks to develop managerial leadership.
I
am currently in my third year of volunteering for the Ahmed Kathrada
Foundation, which was established to deepen non-racialism, and was part of a
youth leadership programme that aimed to enhance leadership skills, and train
young leaders to manage time, set goals, promote community work and
voluntarism, and train them to be non-racialism ambassadors for the foundation,
instill values and prepare them to work towards social justice in our country.
I am a proud graduate of this programme.
I
volunteer for SoulOva, which was
developed to speak to the minds and souls of females by implementing projects and events that help address issues
such as abuse, rape, self-esteem issues, to name but a few, amongst females.
I
volunteer a lot in different projects, if it is for the betterment of our
communities..I’m there!
Me: How do you deal with challenges
that come with being part of these projects?
Thembi:
Yoh as much as I want to be involved with all of these projects, it can be too
much at times, and find that time is really not on my side! But because I enjoy
the experience, I will make it work nakanjani! I manage my time effectively and
try to meet each challenge with creativity. I value the skills I have learned
throughout.
Me: What drives you so much to give
back to the community?
Thembi: The rich history of our country inspires me to take part in
eradicating the imbalances that were caused by the past. And it’s for the love
of my community I guess.
Me: Who inspires you and why?
Thembi: My mother and sister (Nomsa Maphosa and Dumisile
Tshabalala) inspire me. I have become what I am today because of the way they
actively took part in my grooming. I’m inspired by the love, courage, strength
and independence my mother carries, I drew a lot from her character. My sister
inspired me to not settle for less, and was reminded of the potential I carry.
I was very lazy, but the way she was just all over the place playing her part
in the community, I told myself I want to be like that! People know me as a
very vibrant and noisy person, but if I’m around you and very quiet, just
listening to what you have to say, it is not because I am shy, it’s either you
bore me or I’m just inspired by you and want to feed out of you as much as I
can, I savour the moment.
Me: Do you think mentorship is
necessary in life?
Thembi: Yoh mentorship is very necessary! A mentor can be an
all-rounder, mentor you on life, education, your career, relationships etc. A
mentor is like your life coach, guides you and corrects your wrongs. I for one
appreciate my mentor Malebo Gololo, she is just amazing, I can talk to her
about anything and everything that I would not feel comfortable talking to my
family about. She is wonder woman for a reason..the name did not just drop from
the sky!
Thembi:
Young people have become slaves and mirrors of their territorial conditions of
hunger and poverty, we are surrounded by so many social ills resulting to only
a few young people taking part in the transformation of our continent and
participate in socio-economic development and transformation.
Me: How do we overcome those
challenges?
Thembi: We just need to be reminded of the potential we carry, and
be given that platform to contribute in the transformation of our continent. It
is up to us to take initiative and be part of policy developments that directly
affect us.
Me: Best advise you have ever
received?
Thembi: La girl…you are responsible of your own future! You decide
what to make of it…it’s a rough world out there!
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