Inspiring Women: Part 4 – Helping women find their purpose

SEEING others realise their self worth and helping them reach their goals is what puts a smile on Gugu Mazwele’s face.

Growing up, her dream has always been to make people happy and she decided at a very young age that she wanted to be a social worker, nurse or police officer.

The latter two didn’t work out and Mazwele has found herself fulfilling her calling as a social worker.

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She is the restore co-ordinator for the Red Light project under the banner of Domino Foundation and helps female exploited sex worker and victims of human trafficking get their lives back on track.

“My journey has not been an easy one but I am finally where I am meant to be,” she said.

When Mazwele matriculated in 1991, she applied to study at numerous universities but was turned down, as she didn’t have her own finances to study and had requested financial aid.

“At the age of 22, I moved to Johannesburg because I was told that there were more opportunities in the big city. I stayed there for two years and came back home. I then found a job as a store lady for a weekly wage of R49.50. Then my neighbour helped me with a job for a car component manufacturing company for R204 per week but it was still not enough for me to go and study,” she said.

With financial assistance from her mother, Mazwele applied to a college in Durban, unbeknown to her that it was a bogus institute.

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“I stopped studying and got a job that was paying me a better salary. I worked at this company from 1999 to 2009 and it was in 2007 that I started applying to study again.”

She applied to Unisa and for financial aid but life took an unexpected turn for Mazwele and she found herself in a hospital theatre four times in ten weeks die to a spine disease she had contracted.

“I thought God, how could you do this to me. I had screws inserted into my back and sides. During the last operation I developed an apsis and they had to re-operate and reinstall the screws.”

So once again, Mazwele had to place her studies on the back burner again and instead of listening to lecturers, she had to listen to doctors tell her how risky her last surgery would be and that she may never end up walking again.

“I was not afraid. I was 38 at the and each time I went to theatre, I prayed. I woke up fine from surgery and was able to walk again but with two crutches and back brace.”

Mazwele then ditched the crutches and set her mind on walking without the crutches as she disliked the pity stares and remarks that people made when they saw her. In 2009, she was able to walk on her own and the first thing she did was visit Unisa again to apply to study.

“I was finally accepted and on the road to becoming a social worker. It was 20 years later, but I finally achieved my dream. I was the first grandchild in my family to finish my matric and graduate.”

Her advice to women this Women’s Month is for them to condition their mind for success.

“Speak out on abuse whether it is physical, emotional, financial. Silence is not a language. Even if you have done things that you are not proud, there is always hope for a better life,” she said.