The weather was quite hazy with some rain drizzles as all guests gathered towards Blue Waters Hotel for a Women’s Day celebration arranged by eThekwini Regional management on Friday 18 of August 2017.
The women from eThekwini region were filled with joy, excitement, and exuberant hilarity as they walked on the carpet to the 2nd floor where the ‘Women’s Day’ event was on show. I must acknowledge that from their different hairstyles to perfume touch, they were beautiful, elegant, lovely, fashionable, stylish, admirable and extraordinarily well proportioned. If you were there, you could see from the programme leaflet with its texts (W = Wonderful; O = Outstanding; M = Marvellous; A = Adorable and N= Nice)
The occasion was to celebrate and commemorate National Women’s Day, with the significance of appraising those female officials who have, against all odds, managed to register some pockets of excellence and achievements to date. On the other hand, to encourage and give hope to those that have dreams and wishes to reach in life.
As the day’s programme unfolded, the momentum rose while the women and other guests were treated with a full course lunch consisting of multiple dishes or courses. In its simplest form, it had appetizers, entrée, main course and dessert.
The event was graced by the presence of Ms Dudu Fihlela, the Regional Director, Ms Nqobile Yaka, a motivational speaker and stakeholder partners from Old Mutual Insurance Company in Durban.
Ms Fihlela delivered a very inspirational, touching but thought-provoking speech that would see one wanting. "Be a woman of substance," she confidently said in her first line of address. "As a woman of substance, you must practice patriotism and continue to be persuasive," she emphasised. "In other words, I mean you should play and play and play until someone does not look around somewhere", she added. In other words, life needs one to have positive guts and face it fully. "It is important to have time for your prayers – individual prayers. You should learn to want on the Lord, whether and whatever religion you are, you must make time for the Lord," she concluded.
The cornerstone of Ms Dudu’s message was like a light in a dark tunnel for all women to maintain the power of positive influence and meaning in life. According to her, women be successful, whether married or single. Women should be liberated by knowledge. In addition, a woman should be in a state of understanding her responsibilities to addressing her concerns and be mindful of the way the world around her is changing. In essence, it is easy to assume a habit but to cast it out; it will take skin and all. However, one can change and shape attitudes and opinions by simply ascribing to positive intent.
Commemoration days such as ‘Women’s Day’ are a suitable platform that create space for young and energetic women to receive equitable knowledge and information for their preparation and grooming into future parents that would move South Africa forward.
The onus is on us, as human beings, to seek solace and embrace the warmth and benefits of life. A woman is there to beautify the life of ‘man’, shape family units to order and kindness, support the community to greater development and make the world a better place to live. It all started in the ‘Garden of Eden’.
To all women out there, be a woman of substance.
