Strong women share their secrets
In the spirit of Women's Month Review spoke to women from different walks of life about who the biggest influence on their lives is, their role models and what their plans and hopes for the future of women are.
POLOKWANE – Three women were identified: one in politics, one in business and one in education and they shared their thoughts with us.
Adele van der Linde is the current Spokesperson for the Department of Social Development and has been the spokesperson for several other departments as well. She also spent a few years in the journalistic world where she had the opportunity to meet several great people like Nelson Mandela. She believes there is enough chances for women to become whatever they want to be, however, there remains a lot of education needed to help the women realise who they are. She believes there are strong leaders in the politic sphere who can help other women, all that is needed is the platform to do so.
Here is who she looks up to and why:
Loraine Chitate is the owner of several overnight accommodations and has three daughters of her own who she would like to see grow up to become strong, independent women themselves. She told Review she would love to see more opportunities for women in business so they can realise their potential. “Every woman has the potential to be anything she desires. I would like to see more support for women and luckily our government is doing just that,” she said.
She added skills development should be something more commonly available with a mentoring programme which will help women become the special people they are.
“I would like to see more women meet for social events, drink tee, meet for a lunch or just meet for nothing and just say ‘how are you doing’. Give a hug and support to other women,” she said.
We wanted to know the following from her:
What does being a woman in business mean to her, do you try and help women in business and how?
Eloise Petzer is a teacher and principal at a pre-primary school in the city. She believes in education and making sure the children have everything they need from as young as possible. She believes education for people in rural areas have become better in some instances but there is also a need for people to do more to help further education in our country.
“I do not believe a person can have a role model, I believe in principles and values and I do believe that a person can have a mentor who helps them when life gets a bit difficult,” she told Review.
She said a mentor can guide you with what they know. This opens the possibility to have different mentors in different areas of life. “Having a mentor requires accountability and authenticity in the relationship,” she explained.
