MOKOPANE – “SY is baie kosbaar, meer werd as edelstene,” verklaar Spreuke 31:10 oor ‘n deugsame vrou.
Die maand, Augustus, word opgedra aan die skonere geslag: die ma’s, dogters en vroue van die wêreld. Bosveld gaan deur die loop van die maand met ‘n paar ikoniese vroue van Mokopane gesels.
Dit is Dinsdagoggend en Bosveld kuier saam met Sanel Honiball, eienaar van Honey Ball koffiewinkel en ma van drie, in haar kreatief-kunstige koffiewinkel op die hoek van Voor- en Hoogestraat.
Wat beteken vrouwees vir jou?
Haar mond maak sy oop met wysheid, en vriendelike onderrigting is op haar tong,” dié woorde van Spreuke 31 som vir my die betekenis van vrouwees op.
Watter vrou is vir jou ‘n rolmodel?
Beslis my ma, Martie Cronje, en my skoonma, Nadia Honiball. “My ma het die fondament van liefde en respek by my gekweek en my help vorm aan Sanel, sy is wonderlik en help my steeds vandag. My skoonma is fantasties – sy het die perfekte man vir my grootgemaak,” vertel sy met ‘n groot glimlag. Ek dink ‘n rolmodel hang baie af van die fase waarin jy is. ‘n Paar jaar terug het ek Alison Botha, die skrywer van I Have Life, genader as gasspreker by ‘n funksie en vir my is sy ‘n voorbeeld van die krag van ‘n vrou, ‘n ware inspirasie.
Vertel ons meer van jou gesin.
“Die hart van haar man vertrou op haar, en aan wins sal dit hom nie ontbreek nie. Sy doen aan hom goed, en nie kwaad nie, al die dae van haar lewe,” haal sy Spreuke 31 aan. Sonder my man, Emile, en my kinders sou my lewe kleurloos gewees het. Ek is ‘n ekstrovert wat daagliks met nuwe idees vorendag kom, en hulle ondersteun my in elke taak wat ek aanpak. Alles is net genade, jy is wat jy is, jy het wat jy het en jy leef daarvolgens.
Haar raad aan die Evas van die wêreld:
Jy, as vrou, het ongelooflik baie potensiaal, jy moet net daardie eerste vreesaanjaende stap uit jou gemaksone neem en die lewe met albei hande aanpak! Ek dink ook dit is belangrik dat almal moet weet dat niks onnodig is nie. Uit alles, selfs die grootste mislukkings, leer jy ‘n lewensles.
Wanneer ek terugkyk op my lewe, is ek tevrede, want ek sien God se hand in alles en ek weet, “what will be will be.”
Wat is die lekkerste van vrouwees vir jou?
Jy kom weg met alles, sê sy laggend. Om ‘n vrou te wees is so lekker, want jy is die steunpilaar, die ma wat drukkies by die miljoene kan uitdeel en jy is die SOS – lyn. Vrouwees is ‘n mengsel van sterk en sag. Jy is sterk vir jou gesin, maar jy vertroos ook en gee liefde en aandag in oorvloed.
Het jy spesifieke leuses of riglyne waarvolgens jy lewe?
Wees lojaal. Ek sê elke dag vir my kinders lojaliteit is uiters belangrik en wees ten alle tye jouself. Sanel dink ‘n rukkie en sê: “ek ag myself nie as ‘n rolmodel nie, maar as ‘n mens wat menslike foute begaan en uit elkeen leer en ek sien uit om nog lewenslesse te leer.”
Women’s month: ‘be true to who you are and the rest will follow’
Bosveld with the dynamic Hillary Knight, mother of three, member of the Mokopane Business Chamber and of the Nyl-action group, a lady who is always ready to fight for a good cause, shared with us her ideas regarding women and motherhood over a steaming cappuccino.
What does womanhood mean to you?
To be in the centre of things, to pull everything together. Strength!
Do you have an icon? Wow, there are so many nationally and internationally. Besides my mother and my mother in-law, there are Penny Heyns, Oprah Winfrey and Jenna Clifford who are all inspiring women that contributed to the world in their specific fields.
At the moment Sheryl Sandberg, chief operating officer of Facebook and author of the book Lean In, made a great impression on me. In her book she mentions three valuable points for women to remember.
Firstly: Sit at the table. As women, we have the tendency to underestimate our potential. No one gets to the corner office by sitting on the side and not at the table. Believe in yourself, negotiate for yourself and own your success.
Secondly: Make your partner a real partner, husbands should support you 100% and help out around the house and with the children. Women cannot have three jobs and men only one, share the responsibilities.
Thirdly: Don’t leave before you leave. For example, there is a promotion at work and you do not apply because,
“I want children one day, how am I going to fit everything in?” And literally from that moment you don’t raise your hand or apply for the promotion, because you might have a baby in three years.
Women think about this way too early and as a result they lean back. When you stop looking for opportunities at work and in life you are going to become bored.
Keep your foot on the gas pedal, don’t leave before you leave, stay in, until the day you really need to take a break, Hillary said with determination.
Who is your biggest supporter?
I am very blessed because my husband, Wayne, supports me 100% and I would not be able to do what I do without him. As women we know we can do everything, we just need to do it as a family.
What is your advice to women?
Grow where you are planted! Take a chance! If there is a promotion at work, apply for it. Have the self-confidence to live according to your convictions. All of us go through the storming, performing and growing phases in life, as long as you are content at the end of the journey – that is all that matters.
What is the nicest part of being a woman?
To be able to be passionate about everything. Women see and understand everything and we have killer intuition. To be a mom is a blessing in itself.
What is your motto in life?
Be true to yourself, be true to who you are and the rest will follow. To be kind is classy! You can be kind and forgive, you can be kind and love, it all comes back to you.
Hillary thinks for a moment and says: “It is human to make mistakes, most of the mistakes that I have made was out of passion, but I have learned through these mistakes and it does not keep me from trying new adventures.”
