Ayanda Gasa

I am the second youngest in a family of a sister and two brothers. My father passed on when I was 4 years old and my mother was completing her studies to become an educator. As a result, she was forced to leave my siblings and me in the care of our grandparents until I was eleven years old.

I grew up with my grandparents in Parlmaton – the rural area of Lusikisiki, Eastern Cape. Witnessing their charitable work in the community, my siblings and I were taught the importance of helping, selflessness, empathy, integrity, humility, and self-sacrifice. This seeded my passion to serve the community. In our household, hard work was always the order of the day. We were made aware that in order to achieve success, we had to apply ourselves, take responsibility, and persevere. Hence, I have worked from the age of fifteen to help my single mother maintain our household.

My first two jobs were at Steers and Wimpy as a seasonal waitress. After matriculating in 2004, I started a family and relocated to Cape Town where I worked for TFG (@home) on a flexible work schedule. Here I was promoted annually until I became branch manager in 2008. The passing of my husband in 2011 left me in a state of shock, a single mother of four children now aged between 10 and 15. I had to fight through the heartache of losing my husband but stand firm for my children. I decided to relocate back to Kwazulu-Natal later that year where I had a better support system in the form of family and friends. I wanted my children to grow up with a strong family structure after having lost their father (my youngest was only three months old at the time).

Despite my best efforts, I soon realized that it was extremely difficult to care for four children on my own – especially if they were going to have the life their father and I envisioned for them. Drawing strength from my family, I worked harder and longer hours. This, however, left me with very little time to spend with my children. When given the opportunity I decided to start my own enterprise. Although, I have not gone to university I can draw on my life experience to make a contribution to IESHER.