Breaking cycle of looking for love in wrong places
Sukwene seminar to empower women
Gospel star Tebello Sukwene bares open her life to inspire others. Just recently, she was expecting a child with her husband when they ran into debilitating financial ruin, their car was repossessed by the bank and they came within an inch of losing their house.
She keeps her chin up and her smile remains intact.
“I’m open about my life. I know that when I talk I may touch someone who is experiencing the same challenges. We live on Earth, not in heaven. We go through trials and tribulations, I’m not worried, instead I’m excited to see what God is going to do for me next.”
It’s this sunny disposition and attitude that she hopes to impart on women at her Jesus Alive in Women seminar that she hosts next week under the theme “Break the Cycle”.
Sukwene says after singing on big stages and winning over hordes of fans, she realised she had a passion for developing women. She started the initiative in 2015 and describes it as a platform she created “for God to heal, restore and love on His daughters”.
“I’ve been through a lot in my life. Growing up without my father was not easy. I have a good relationship with him now, but he was not there. What I do now has nothing to do with hating on my dad and men in general, but it’s my journey to inspire others.
“A lot of us stay in relationships that lack direction. Relationships that break us instead of making us. If my dad was around he could have modelled love for me and told me how much he loved me. I would not have been crazy if a guy told me he loved me…
“My message to women is that they need to be cautious. It’s painful to have a father missing in your life, and let my story be an eye opener that you don’t fill that void in your life by seeking love in the wrong places. It may fool you as love and make abuse look normal when it’s not.
“I was in an emotionally and physically abusive relationship, contracted a sexually transmitted disease and quit singing to please somebody, and it shouldn’t have gone that far.”
On her panel will be TV host Rorisang Thandekiso to testify about her life and supersonic rise in the industry. Finest Helen will address the question of beauty and why women don’t have to undress to look good. Cwai Makrexeni is a successful gynaecologist who will talk about her achievements as the guest speaker. “At the seminar we hear testimonies and we get to know how a woman got through it and where they are now. I’m tired of being inspired by movies, nothing beats a real woman who has lived an experience.”
Musicians such as Takalani Ndou and Thobeka Mahlangu will perform.