Testimonies from three women who cleaned up their lives in the same way that the City of Johannesburg wants to clean up the city.
As part of September’s A Re Sebetseng (let’s work) campaign, the office of the speaker invited three phenomenal women to talk to the public about how they cleaned up their lives.
The speakers who took to the stage to talk about their lives, challenges and successes were Tsakani Mphini, Nqabakazi Majeke and Lebogang Motsumi.
Mphini began the discussion and shared the story of how she ended up in jail due to her relationship.
She said, “I went to jail because of love, not theft, but for love.” She was convicted for fraud and theft amounting to R5,9 million.
She stated that she stole this money not because she was a criminal but because her partner at the time convinced her to do so and because she loved him.
She loved making him happy so she continued to commit this crime.
After serving her time in jail while missing her child’s growth she began to turn her life around. She said she began to love herself and life regardless of material possessions that landed her in jail.
Majeke shared her experiences as a teenage mother.
She stated that she was terrified when she discovered she was pregnant and that her life started to go downhill from there.
“People were asking my parents why they still allow me to go to school when I’m pregnant,” she said.
Coupled with this shame she also started failing in school due to the stress and a cellphone addiction.
She said she decided to change her life as she didn’t want to disappoint her parents a second time.
She vowed to focus on her studies and make something out of her life and she now holds a national diploma in food and nutrition and works as a lab analyst.
Motsumi contracted HIV in a past relationship and she was faced with the decision to let that be the end of her life or for her to begin a new chapter.
She chose the latter and since then has become an advocate for those living with HIV.
On the day she wore a shirt that read “I am HIV +” and she said she wears this shirt to push people into having important conversions about the various diseases.
She said, “People are having sex every day and they contract these viruses. We cannot only talk about HIV/Aids on 1 December, but this shirt should also make people feel something.
Those without HIV must see me living actively while those with HIV should see me living confidently and they should do the same.”
The common theme among all these women is that they have made peace with their pasts and are actively working to change their lives and the lives of those around them.
Those in attendance were captivated by their stories.
Lillian Kolisang, a spokesperson to the speaker at the City of Johannesburg, said these stories need to be heard and shared.
She said, “These women embody what we are trying to achieve as a city; we want people to take control of their lives and environments and make positive changes and influences.
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