KUILS RIVER MOTHER AIMS TO INSPIRE
A KUILS River mother of four has brought out her fourth book of poetry in which she wants to inspire, uplift and encourage other women.
Forty-one-year-old Haroldene Tshienda said she wanted her books to promote a culture of reading and writing in communities. All four books were about what she had experienced in life.
“Through my poetry I want to share my stories with other women, but also to inspire them. My first book of poetry I wrote in 2007, and published it in 2015. It is called Never Give
Up. During that time I went through unbearable shame, pain, humiliation, rejection and experienced an intense amount of loss as I lost my mother due to an unsuccessful operation. My brother died six months later of HIV/ Aids. Writing poems was my way of healing from the disaster,” she said.
In 2015, she also started a publishing company called Tshienda Publications. “I was never satisfied with the quality of other publishing companies. So I started a company to accommodate other disadvantaged writers.
“I also promote a reading and writing culture through self-publishing books at a very low cost,” she said.
Tshienda said that growing up, she saw how her father crafted photo frames and creating amazing paintings and portraits with his hands.
“I love cooking and baking and dishing up beautiful dishes. Therefore being creative through writing and performing poetry is my way of breathing,” she said.
Her second book is called Pain and was published in 2016.
The following year after visiting the Apartheid and Hector Pietersen museums in Joburg, she decided to write more poems about her experience. She attended the 40th Anniversary of the Youth Uprising in Soweto.
“I left the Apartheid Museum and Hector Pietersen Museum sick to my stomach when I saw what was done to our people.
On my way back from Joburg I started writing the poems. The collection is called Black Poetry.” This year, she launched the book She said she was very proud of it.
“But I am also a daughter, sister, half-sister, wife, mother, friend, artist and a businesswoman.
“I wrote this book to encourage women. We must learn to embrace, protect, support, uplift and stand in solidarity. I truly hope to be an inspiration and an example for my fellow sisters out there.”