Women’s Month: Overcoming emotional scars
Nthabiseng Ramakhetheng was inspired to help others while dealing with her own emotional struggles.
GLENWOOD resident Nthabiseng Ramakhetheng is on a mission to empower young girls and help them overcome generational scars. She founded her non-profit organisation, Esters International Movement SA. Ramakhetheng, who hails from Lesotho, founded the organisation 17 years ago. She was inspired to help others while dealing with her own emotional struggles.
“Being born in a single-parent home came with challenges. I felt rejected as a girl. I think the social-economic situation affected me. My mother was focused on how to survive, so there wasn’t time for emotional support; I felt like no one really cared. Then one day, I realised I could start a movement to help others, and I started Esters International,” said Ramakhetheng.
Her journey also inspired Ramakhetheng to write a book, The Untangled Heart.
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“The book is about the chance to free yourself from generational emotional pain and suffering. It’s a therapeutic book filled with storytelling,” said the author.
Through her NPO, Ramakhetheng has ‘adopted’ Mayville Secondary School.
“The objective of the NPO is to inspire dignity, develop character, and identify value from within for the young girls we work with. We adopted Mayville Secondary School as a beneficiary school. We render three services to this school: Psycho-social support and mental wellness services, sanitary towel donations – sponsored monthly by their local SPAR supermarket – and career guidance to the girls on a quarterly basis,” said Ramakhetheng.
Recently Esters International Movement SA hosted a retreat at Isithumba Tourism Centre in the Valley of a 1000 Hills under the theme: Making our Song. Ten learners were selected to take part.
“Some of the girls we work with are teenage mothers, and others live in violent homes,” said Ramakhetheng.
Learners received a a gift pack with toiletries, a T-shirt and a copy of Ramakhetheng’s book.
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“One of our sponsors thought that if the girls could have this book, it would be like attending therapy. They bought 10 copies, and we made gift packs for the learners,” said Ramakhetheng.
She said it was touching to see how the girls appreciated the leadership retreat.
“They were talking about how nice it was to eat as much as they liked. Small things that we take for granted meant a lot to these girls. Mayville is an impoverished area.
The retreat was set in nature near a river. It gave these girls a chance to just be children and be one with nature,” said Ramakhetheng.
