QUEEN’S ORDEAL: Actress uses her bad days to empower women
Following a diagnosis of Diabetes from which she lost a significant body
weight to weigh only 42kg and looking too frail, South African actress Sophie Ndaba is out on a mission to inspire women around
the world. Many people will remember Sophie as that bubbly actress who played the character of Queen Moroka in the captivating soapie Generations.
She joined a Women’s Etiquette Brunch in Gaborone last weekend and told of how people who once were her fans rejected her and made her a laughing stock because of how she had deteriorated.
However, she defied their taunts and survived.
Sophie encouraged people to be closer to God, to be prayerful and remain positive at all times if they want to survive life trials and tribulations. She has observed that most of the time, people facing life challenges end up in despair because of how society views them.
“When I was sick and looked sick, battling Diabetes and almost looked like a full blown AIDS patient, I still had to affirm to myself that I am beautiful, I am confident and I’m favoured and believed that I am who God thinks I am,” she said.
The energetic ‘Queen’ who turns 50 this month said God has restored her and now she looks youthful. She attributes her survival to a coping mechanism she had developed.
It helped her to defy the taunts, gossips and back-stabbings from all corners including from people that pretended to be friends. The experience taught her that women often want to hear from a friend or a man that everything will be OK.
She said her ex-husband once told her that she was ugly but she never had to take it from anyone’s mouth but fought to be in a better place with God along the journey. She therefore encouraged women to pause and research their own life to survive through situations.
“People prioritise the wrong things and women focus on what doesn’t add value in their lives,” she said. Ladies, wake up!
There is no time, the train is moving. Learn to delete anything that steals peace or doesn’t add any value in your life because it means it is not important,” she said, emphasising that anyone going through any life challenge should know that for as long as they are alive they can rise again.
“Create war rooms in your homes and pray more. Hear the noise but shut it out,” she said, adding that if one is ready to survive, they should start by looking at their houses differently.
Psychotherapist and Wellness coach, Letsha Kgotla said there is need for understanding the purpose of balance in life. She said the concept of balance starts from the mind, further explaining that the body supports what the mind releases.
“People often function out of balance to a point that they find everything to be wrong and complain,” she said.
If people have balance in life they are able to make right decisions. Resilient people, she said, are the ones that change the world for the better.
She also believes that people should be affirmative about their own lives in order to survive because without balance, people would only end up depressed and fail to make decisions that promote their own healthy lifestyle and happiness.