Masego Neo Tjabaka on Life, Family, Business & Passion~Celebrating Woman's Month

 

#IAMWOMAN

Igniting the fire in me

Masego Neo Tjabaka

The Month of August, known as Woman's Month is a constant reminder of the hardships that women have encountered from time immemorial, however it is a compelling reminder of the great and powerful women who came before us. Women who stood up and radically changed the narrative, that women have no voice in society . This month reignites our passions, zeal and power to achieve and be who we ought to be without any terms and conditions set by society.

Today we celebrate a remarkable young woman, who stood against the odds and challenges that she encountered in her life thus far. Masego Tjabaka (25) is a young beautiful woman from the Platinum City- Rustenburg. She is the last born of two, with Sotho origins from her maternal side. She was raised by a single Mother who is originally from Lesotho Maseru.

Masego went to school at Zinniaville Secondary where she completed her primary and high school studies. She later enrolled for her tertiary education at at the University of Johannesburg. She studied Bachelor's of Arts in Sociology and Anthropology, this was influenced by her interest in dissecting the social and personal constructs of human beings. Particularly how they affect and shape the way in which people behave and relate to each other. Her interests in human behavior was mainly struck by her anti-social nature which didn't allow her to learn more about people and their personalities through social set-ups.

CHILDHOOD MEMORIES

Masego describes herself as being very strict yet spontaneous- more of a paradox. She loves her ice-cream, sleeps before the movie hits 5 minutes and would love to be a record producer in her next life.

We all have those childhood memories that we're so fond of and Masego's fondest memory plays out on beautiful Sunday afternoon with Phil Collins or Oliver Mtukudzi playing in background while her mother prepares Sunday "kos" as we affectionally call it. Her Sundays were always complete because "Moms are definitely the best cooks" 

Philanthropy Work

Above many other initiatives Masego is currently working on, she is the founder of  Fit for Daisies   an organization that focuses on the empowerment of young people who are disadvantaged. The organization is based in Rustenburg and assists communities in and around Rustenburg. She runs the organization solely through volunteer work which is something quite impeccable, in an era where it's quite difficult to acquire funding or sponsorship, Masego didn't let that deter her from starting which is quite a big step to take. The main focus of the organization is to assist matriculants with Mentorship Programs, University Application Drives and Matric Dance Drive.  

What ignited the thought of creating Fit for Daisies was after she heard a story about a group of young girls who lacked the means of paying for their matric dance, which subsequently meant that, they would not be able to attend. In as much as it was a sad story to hear, these young girls needed all the assistance they could get in order for them to experience one of the best closing events of their high school journey. That is when Masego had a spark of a great idea to actually appeal to the public for assistance.  She then collected dresses and suits from the public that catered the whole class of Matriculants, the reception was outstanding and that is when she manifested the organization and gave it a name and purpose.

Fit for Daisies ~Matric Dance 

Matric Dance 

 The inception of this remarkable Organization has taught Masego to embrace herself more, that thoughtfulness and compassion shouldn't be limited to her immediate loved ones only, however to the world at large. Living a purposeful life embodies the resilience of reaching out to those in need and availing yourself to serve with love and compassion.

Masego grew up as a very closed up individual, quite anxious to share herself with others, with the fear of how people would receive her. This is something that sets so many people back, fear of the unknown. Sometimes we need to take that one leap of faith that'll launch you into your greatest journey. This is what Fit For Daisies did for Masego she relates more better with people, she is happier and most importantly very fulfilled.

A LIGHT AT THE END OF THE TUNNEL

When death knocks on the door, everything just comes to a standstill, nothing seems to make sense. Nothing can ever prepare us for the loss of a loved one. 

During the period where Spick & Span was established, Masego was in a very dark space in her life, not knowing how she was going to come out of it. She had just lost a very dear person to her and it sure felt like she has just lost everything.  You're probably wondering what is Spick & Span? 

Spick & Span is another baby that Masego gave birth to, a laundry Mat Business,  when the business started picking up this gave her a reason to shake off the dust and think beyond her situation a reason to look forward to the future.

The inception of her Business was furthermore a way of relaunching herself, with more confidence and a much clearer vision and direction, a time to relinquish her resilience to keep pushing. This particular season helped Masego to have the strength to face herself and to find solutions to her problems and challenges, through understanding that her brand is a direct reflection of who she is. She came to understand that she wants more for herself and her brand and that required her to face her situation head on, to approach her situation with the comfort of knowing her tomorrow is eagerly waiting for her to heal and manifest the greatness within herself.

She conveys how the season of death in her family made her more responsible, more intentional driven by the zeal to show up for herself and her brand.

CEO of Spick & Span 

Being in the laundry Business means having countless challenges of water shortage, however Masego hasn't allowed that to deter her from continuing with her daily work operations. She recently received a sponsorship of a water drum that hosts 210L of water, which is used when there is a water shortage. The water is normally used to hand-wash small to medium baskets, this buys her time to communicate the delay with her customers accordingly.

There is quite a huge market in the laundry business and Masego is determined to penetrate and dwell in it for the long run. She is very excited about her future endeavors with the Business. Her clientele is showing a lot of growth and increase in production. She has made sure that she stands out from the rest.

 We asked Masego what Woman's Month means to her and this is what she had to say. 

"Women’s Month to me is a reminder that, there were women before me who were resilient, brave and powerful enough to fight for ME to have the opportunities I have today, as a woman of color, in this country.  This gives me courage to stand on my feet and continue the revolution, pave the way for those who come after me and to believe in my power of being a woman"

WOMAN'S MONTH CELEBRATIONS

During this Woman's Month Masego attended a Woman's Entrepreneurship Exhibition and additionally hosted a Woman's Month Fund Raising Event with an organization she works with called ROOTED DCS ~ The founder is a woman of good stature who has recently launched a pad line to assist in eradicating female hygiene health issues, more so amongst young girls in underprivileged communities.

 

Masego at the Woman's Month Entrepreneurship Exhibition 

We can expect to see more of Masego Tjabaka and her Business ventures. She is thriving to expand and grow her Business, you can expect to see newly produced products from Spick and Span and an addition to the current services they provide. There is so much more on the drawing board and the vision is most definitely growing beyond the naked eye.

In conclusion these are the words of encouragement that Masego has for us. 

" I can only encourage you to start and never stop! The road will not always go as you planned, but if you keep a clear vision and have a willing heart, you will build yourself up, from the inside out. Everything you want to be, you are yet to learn, look forward to that and pace yourself"

For more info on Masego follow her on all social media platforms....

Facebook- Masego Neo Tjabaka

Instagram -Spic and Span

Fit For Daisies - Facebook

Article Written and compiled by Belinda Hustle