By: Janine Lloyd


I can say I stripped my corporate veneer and saw no difference between me and a woman with holes in her shoes. We all have problems but it's just the scale of our problems that are different.

As women we feel we are stretched too thin over the areas of our lives. Between owning and running my own business, moonlighting as an inspiration speaker and life-coach (my personal dream) as well as dealing with a house, kids and tax returns I often can't hear my self think much less focus on an upcoming presentation.

Yet how are my problems different from a Ma Tikkun Africa caregiver who lives in Diepsloot? She has 15 homes to care for, she cooks and cleans for those who cannot care for themselves, has school or training, her own job to do and has to squeeze in time for her own personal dream which could range from being a domestic worker, caterer, businesswoman, seamstress, or a home owner.

The point is that circumstances and lifestyle aside we are all women who all dream, but how do some get what they want and others just don't? We are all quick to assume the rich or the successful were born to wealth and a Midas touch, the resulting assumption is that money is merely a matter of dipping the hand into a never-ending cash draw. Easier said than done.

At the workshop we held I assumed that the women present would understand my words - I spoke about goals, attitude, motivation and threw in words like 'inspire', I was on fire! Then a hand rose up through the sea of face. "Excuse me, but what does 'inspire' mean?" It was as if someone ripped the needle off a record. I had underestimated the language barrier, but it was not a matter of basic understanding it was a matter of interpretation. It was sort of like having one key for your whole house but each lock needed its own subtle finessing.

I needed to reassess my thoughts and step out of my comfort zone, and step into theirs so I could actually make a difference, and as I saw them grasp what I was saying a Mexican wave of positivity gripped the room. Bessy Netsianda, Project manager in Diepsloot, gave me some great words of encouragement, the women chose to speak to me in English, they were reaching out, getting what I was trying to tell them and feeling confident enough to share their thoughts and feelings with me. It was great!

The core of what I wanted to pass on to these women was that you can turn your dreams into goals but you have to plan, act, stay motivated and never give up. Taking action was a key message - no one is handing out the means to our dreams on silver platters, we need to do it for ourselves! By staying motivated and positive we will reach our goals if we keep our eye on the target.

As women we can use our attitudes to our advantage. Many of us are the centre of our families, the foundation. If we generate a positive attitude and spin it around ourselves it will affect those around us, our families, our communities, and more importantly fellow women will feel the force of it and like a gravitational pull more will join this circle of positivity because it makes you feel good and it will inspire you to reach your dreams.

However I was not without my own personal lessons. I took away so much, these women who are part of the community and part of the Ma Tikkun Africa project have such big hearts. They are working with families who are broken and destitute, they are currently building a community centre that will have activities for children to keep them off the streets and keep them positive in the midst of incomprehensible poverty. All of this goodness is taking place in a dust bowl called Diepsloot.

Their dreams and goals inpire me as the very next week I receive a flood of actions outlining how they intend to go for their dreams! These women get it!

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[3 Sep 2008 13:21]

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