INSPIRING WOMEN
AMONG them were nurses, lawyers, social workers and engineers, stay-athome mothers, child welfare managers and businesswomen.
When more than 220 women – and a handful of men – gathered for the Women’s Day Breakfast last Wednesday, they left inspired, many ready to take on their new roles as mentors for other women.
“It was a fun-filled, sparkling, inspiring, informative and entertaining morning where we all shared, observed, learnt, grew and most of all, celebrated with each other,” said Jailoshini Naidoo, co-lead actress of the hit movie, Keeping Up With the Kandasamys, who not only emceed the event at the Coastlands Hotel in uMhlanga, but also kept the audience in stitches as her alter-ego, Aunty Rumba.
“There was so much laughter and warmth,” said Naidoo, who stars in the e.tv series, Imbewu: The Seed. “I think we all left with a spring in our step and ready to take on the world.”
Doreen Kosi, vice president of legal and corporate affairs at SAB AB InBev Africa, spoke on the importance of women needing to engage and share ideas that contribute towards building the nation and the role of being a mentor.
“I can describe mentorship as the process of helping mentees identify, unearth and nurture their latent talent. Mentees then create an enabling environment for them to grow,” Kosi said.
Counselling psychologist Rakhi Beekrum addressed the issue of women being stressed as they battle to juggle many roles in their lives.
She spoke on her four key steps for how to be a well-balanced woman, called the GLAM (grace, leadership qualities, authenticity and mindfulness) Quotient.
“Women need to embrace their feminine qualities and stop feeling threatened by other women, but rather support and uplift others as we rise by lifting others,” she said. “You don’t have to be the CEO of a company to be a leader. We are all leaders, whether it is of a small team at work or of our households.”
Actress and comedian Kumseela Naidoo, who has been married to actor and comedian Koobeshen Naidoo for the past 28 years, shared some tips on how to maintain a well-balanced and successful marriage without having to change the woman you are by conforming to society’s expectations.
Leadership and success strategist Usha Maharaj emboldened the audience with her Gladiator Declaration, while skills development practitioner Jayess Jayram had them on their feet with her unique take on Zumba.
POST editor Krisendra Bisetty said the aim was to leave the women recharged, inspired and armed with new ways to not only make their home, community and this world a better place but to effectively tackle the challenges they may face in their everyday life.
“Perhaps some, or all of you, have personal hurdles to overcome and mountains to climb,” Bisetty said in his welcome address. “One woman I know bravely overcame her hurdles – and also climbed her mountain,” he said referring to Mags Natasen, who attended the breakfast just days after returning from a gruelling trek to the top of Mount Kilimanjaro – Africa’s highest mountain – to help raise more than R100 000 to sponsor 200 girls from disadvantaged communities for five years.
Bisetty thanked sponsors SAB, REGENT Business School and Sanlam for helping make the event possible.