For Nhabiseng Lennon, part of her life was tough. In fact, had it not been for her late mother, Nhabiseng would’ve been just another statistic of bullying.
The 51-year-old, who was born and raised in Mohlakeng is now based in the US and recently launched a book titled I am That Girl – a tell-all memoir which she’ll use to help those who were bullied to overcome being ridiculed, persecuted and ostracised by society.
In an exclusive interview with the Herald, Ntabiseng who’s also a mother, a wife, businesswoman, investor and even an international motivational speaker, said her life story is not simply about how she overcame bullying, but it also tells how she became an academic success, despite being told she won’t and couldn’t. Today she is living proof that by simply having a mentor and someone to look up to, you can achieve anything.
“Today I’m able to calculate, multiply, divide and subtract in rand and US dollars. I am the girl who, when she was in school, failed mathematics tests and was told she was never good enough. Teachers didn’t believe in me,” she remembered.
Nthabiseng added that the bullying was exacerbated by the fact her twin brother, Thabo Pulumo, spoke in a high-pitched squeaky voice while she spoke in a low tone – almost in a man’s voice.
“People would stop us and make us talk just so that they could get a laugh,” Nthabiseng said.
In her book, Nthabiseng addressed bullying across the board because in the last years, she believes that it had taken a different shape, especially since the advent of social media.
Nthabiseng said she is doing what she does today because she believes that society – especially young girls – need people like her to be their voice and guide them. She gives her late mother Dominique ‘O Lady’ Pulumo all the credit for what she turned out to be.
“She always reminded me that there’s nothing wrong with my voice; that I actually would heal the world one day. She became the voice I held onto, and that ‘positive voice’ was what I needed. She told me that I could do and achieve anything I set my mind to, and pushed and encouraged me.”
Nthabiseng now wants young women to draw inspiration from her story and be where she is or even achieve more, and not be held back by anything.
Nthabiseng completed a degree in Psychology at the Central Piedmont College and University of Charlotte. She has also toured the world as a musical artist of Ipi Tombi and shared the stage with icons such as Brenda Fassie, and even Boys II Men.
