Nombuyiselo Mkhize
I grew up in a small village 45 minutes away from Underberg. Growing up, I was the only girl with two brothers. My parents did not have much but their love was enough for me and my siblings.
My father worked in a firm and would only come back at the end of the month for two days. He treated me like a princess, and although he didn’t make much, he did his best to provide for us. My mother was a stay-at-home mom, although she was very hardworking, there were no jobs in our village so our only source of income was my dad’s salary, which was never enough for our entire family.
After both my parents being sick for a long time, my father passed on in December 2002 and my mother followed in April 2003. I was 8 years old at the time, so It didn’t really sink in that I would never get to see my parents again. I moved to Umlazi to live with relatives, leaving my 2 brothers behind. My stay with my uncle and his wife left internal scars I am yet to heal from. The pain of losing both my parents, one after the other, and then living in an abusive environment where I was abused verbally, emotionally and physically every single day left me quite broken. I never got to heal from losing my parents and instead of being comforted by the people I lived with, it was constantly thrown in my face and I knew then I had to fend for myself.
I went to a local school which had much better resources than the one I had attended in the village. There was running water, proper toilets and reading books. During break time I would stay in class as I didn’t have money for snacks or lunch to eat and during that time I would read storybooks that were in my class. Reading improved my grammar and it helped me become better at reading and speaking english. My teachers started noticing me and the attention I got from them and their encouragement made up for the lack-of-attention and lack of love I got from home. School became my escape, my friends and my teachers became my only source of love and support. During Saturdays I would spend the entire day at the library, reading books and revising my work.
In 2006, when I was in grade 6, my brother came to visit me at my uncle’s house and he got to see how I was treated. He promised me that he would make arrangements for me to relocate. In January 2007 I moved back to Underberg to live with the family that had taken my brother in. These people were not related to us, however they had big hearts and the means to take care of me and my brother. I was enrolled at a boarding school, Underberg school, and I continued to excel in my grades. I went on to study in Pietermaritzburg in high school and I passed my matric well enough to receive a Bursary from the department of Education and they funded my first year of University. Thereafter I was financed by NSFAS until I completed my degree. I managed to get a 12-month Internship programme with Rhodes Food Group after finishing University and have been exploring my passion for innovation and entrepreneurship. I am now a mother to a 3-year old baby girl, Zime, and I want to give her only the best that life has to offer. I aspire to change people’s lives through Innovation and Entrepreneurship. It is my hope that through partnering with IESHER I will get the assistance I require to make my business, Smart Gardens, a success.
