Featuring Interview with Sinikiwe Kademaunga
Please
tell my readers a little about yourself?
My name is Sinikiwe
Kademaunga, born and raised in Zimbabwe. I was born with a disability. Grew up
in a small village in Zimbabwe. My parents
faced challenges accepting her condition. As a result, I found it difficult to
deal with the fact that I was different and struggled with depression and
loneliness at some points in her childhood life. My background is what motivate
and inspires me today. I have since committed my life to spreading the gospel
of self-love and positive thinking to as many people as I can come into contact
with. Self-love
is the foundation upon which happy and productive lives are unlocked. My motif
is that self-love and positivity feeds the soul, mind for physical, emotional
and mental well-being . Using my own life story, I am establishing myself as a
life and personal development coach in both cooperate and social spaces. I hold
a Bachelors’ Degree in Social Work
from the University of Cape Town and a certified life coach
What
was growing up like for you?
My childhood was very normal,
I was not treated in any special way or differently from any other child. When
I was at home, I totally forgot about my disability because everything was
accessible and inclusive. I grew up doing all the household chores, sweeping,
washing, etc. I faced a bit of a challenge in the society because a lot of
people did not really understand disability, so there were different reactions
whenever people see me. My grandmother raised in a way that I fight for myself,
hence I never faced any bulling. However, due to the different reaction I
received from people I became so violent lol. I did not have much friends in my
early years of primary school, other kids were afraid of me. Despite that I had
a very fun childhood.
Why
did you choose to become a social worker and life coach?
When I was in high school, I
developed this passion of helping persons with disability to live an
independent life. Going into college I decided to apply for social work because
I thought it will give me a chance to do what was on my heart. Social work gave
me that chance but after college I felt that I wanted more. I reached a point when
social worker was not feeding my passion anymore. I felt that I did not want to
help people in the background, I wanted to be in the forefront, in the
spotlight. I decided to study life coaching. Since then I feel so happy and
fulfilled. I woke up every morning with so much energy and motivation knowing
that I am doing something I love and changing people’s lives.
What
is your life motto?
“YES! I CAN”. I believe I can
do and be anything despite of my circumstances.
Did
you ever struggle with accepting your body?
I did my high school and a
boys’ boarding school all the girls were day scholars. The girls at my high
school were very few, in my class we were only two. All the attention was on
the girls. The boys used to pass comments on who has the nice legs, body etc.
and there I was, looking nothing like those girls. It really affected my
confidence and self-esteem. Even in the society there are certain standards of
beauty and nice body shape. When I turned on the Television, I had all these
models in my face with long legs, slender bodies etc. and I did not look
anything like that. I felt like I was not enough. I hated my body so much. When
Facebook was trending, I created an account and never posted a full body
picture of myself. I never wanted people to see that I had a disability because
I though it was a shameful thing. It took me so many years to accept my body.
Advice
Firstly, I would say it is
okay to be different. Give the society your own definition of who you are,
never let the society define you. Never let your disability be an obstacle for
you to achieve your goals. Your body is just a package, there is that beast
that is within you, yearning for an awakening. Be the example that you want to
see. Be kind to yourself and accept who you are as a person, and see the world
changing in front of you.
