Women’s gathering of hope and Healing

By Mncedisi Maseko 

X: @fmsquared_sa

On October 19, at the Opium venue in Soshanguve Block AA, a group of women gathered for a special event which aimed at honoring women’s. It also aimed to celebrate and acknowledge the strength of woman within the community. Karabo Tshoane hosted the event which featured various speakers who shared their stories of resilience, empowerment and growth.

Women who attended the event. Credit: Roger Mandhlazi

The event was braced by speakers’ "queens" such, Mapula (MC), Masego, Karabo Tshoane (Founder), Tshidi Monkoe (an author), DR Gladys Ke-Di-Bone Mokwena (an author). They all touched on different elements of being a queen and how one should go about dealing with hardships through the stories that they shared. The event opened with a prayer which was led by Masego.

Karabo Tshoane, the event founder and organizer, said, "The event is about hosting and honoring the queens, the reason why I decided to say I’m honoring the queens is because I discovered that as women we need to give ourself recognition and also give ourselves recognition.”

A powerful moment in the event was when Tshidi Monkoe Projects stood on the podium to reveal her story. She caringly narrated her experiences of a damaging relationship and the brand of pain and tough choices it brought to her. Tshidi remembers falling into a relationship with a man who happened to be in jail, after she managed to flee that relationship. She waited for him for four years to get out but, when he did, she realized that he was nothing like the man he had acted out to be, while in prison. A tale of loss and endurance it was, all this underscored the significance of self-worth, healthy limits, and the ability to let go of destructive connections. She wrote a book titled Prison of Love detailing all her life journey and how she overcame it.

Tshidi Monkoe, an author of Prison Love, said, “I hope from my story, women, not only women who are in a prison relationship, can learn the importance of fixing their internal environment, because when your internal environment is clean, you make sound decisions and sound choices.”

Tshidi Monkoe. Credit Roger Mandhlazi

She also stated that she is working on a second book titled “Mme Ntate Okae” which she says it will be ready to be out before the year end.

Dr. Gladys Ke-Di-Bone Mokwena is a professional writer and a teacher, who has published books like: Resilience in Adversity and Botho Ubuntu. In addition to that, she also took the center stage as she narrated her life ordeal as to how she managed to overcome hardship, losing a friend in the course and being shot in the arm.

Dr. Gladys is a well-established woman in the sense that she has made a lot of contributions in the field of education. However, in addition to her professional victories, she is celebrated for her commitment to community service and social justice. Her experiences were especially motivating because they reminded her that it is still possible to rise and make a difference even after everything went wrong.

Dr. Gladys Ke-Di-bone Mokwena giving lectures about her life journey and all the hardships she has faced and she handled them and books she brought for all attendees. Credits: Roger Mandhlazi

The event had a lot of surprises as they were a question-and-answer game whereby the winners won prices such as books written by Tshidi and Dr. Gladys. They also had a birthday surprise for one of the women and they surprisingly bought her a cake just before the event was about to end and  all the ladies where given goodie bags to take back home as a thank you gift for coming to the event and honoring them.

The stories shared at the event touched many people in the room, sparking conversations about healing and dealing with life's tough challenges. The event wrapped up with a prayer from Masego, and the host took a moment to thank everyone who attended. As they left, guests carried with them a renewed sense of strength and connection, inspired by the experiences and support shared throughout the day.

To watch the full event, visit this link.