Nomphepho Mhlaba wrote a book to empower women
“I would write how I feel, all the hard times, I had a book I wrote when I was in primary school but I lost it."
Nomphepho Mhlaba is a well-known author of the book “When It Gets Hard” a fiction novel that empowers women, a mother, motivational speaker and entrepreneur. She was born in Nelspruit Mpumalanga.
Born into a middle-class family, her family not really being well off made her independent from a really young age.
“Growing up was not easy for me as I lost my mother at the age of eight and by that time I didn’t know my father, I was raised by my grandmother,” she said.
The author may be young but her knowledge, ambitions and faith are what makes her stand out. Her interest in writing started when she was in primary school.
“I would write how I feel, all the hardships. I had a book I wrote when I was in primary school but I lost it because also didn’t believe in myself, I didn’t have much hope.
“I remember carrying my school books in a plastic bag, it was hard I didn’t have money for launch like other kids”.
Nomphepho used to sell fruits and veggies to survive, after completing her matric, as a hard-working woman – she was hired as an administrator.
The author encourages women to buy and read her book, she says: “people will understand that working hard to get what you want no matter how difficult it is, is the way to go.”
“This Women’s Month, I will be gathering with other female writers for a Writers Conference in Nelspruit and also will be sharing insights about my book in my church with other women and share my journey in writing,” she added [with a bright smile].
She is inspired by the late statesman Tata Nelson Mandela.
“Tata Nelson will always be my number one, he inspired me with the gold heart he had. I want to change lives through my writing.
“I want to change the thought that books are boring in the youth’s minds, I make sure that whatever I write has something to do with the generation of today so they don’t get bored. Literature’s fun and if you’re not reading books you missing out,” she stated.
Her advice to aspiring entrepreneurs, authors and women is: Make friends with as many customers as you can. Customers would always prefer to do business with friends. Start with a smile and positive conversation in engaging customers, understand that everyone is important and treat them equally.
Her book helped thousands of people to deal with difficulties, annually, she speaks with more than 40 000 women across the country.
If you want to connect with Nomphepho, please visit her Facebook page: Author Nomphepho Mhlaba.
