By Mpho Shelile
MASERU – “Queens Wear Your Crown” transcends from being a mere event which was held at Victory hall this past Saturday, to signifying a movement aimed at galvanizing women to accord paramount importance to their wellness. This initiative provided a nurturing and encouraging milieu in which participants fostered connections, acquired knowledge and embraced their individual strengths.
When explaining the purpose of the event, Ithabeleng Mofula Tlali a 32-year-old Mosotho woman with a strong commitment to fostering growth and progress, stated that she currently holds the pivotal role of Business Development Manager at Family health clinic, “I diligently strategize and implement initiatives to expand our reach and enhance our services. My professional persona is defined by a proactive nature and a genuine enthusiasm for health-related matters. I believe that my dedication to driving organizational advancement and my passion for promoting health aligns seamlessly in my role as a Business Development Manager at the clinic and pharmaceuticals” said Ithabeleng.
She stated that their institute was stabled in October 2019, and they provide comprehensive and professional medical and pharmaceutical services, “we are a fully registered clinic and pharmacy with a dialysis unit.” she added they are located at Thetsane office park and that they have committed and dedicated stuff ready to serve each and every client, “our dream is to become a reliable day clinic with a maternity ward and surgery ward”.
“Our belief is anchored in the notion that by prioritizing our well-being, women can attain heightened levels of happiness and fulfillment in their lives. In this context, education, training, awareness raising, building self-confidence, expansion of choices, increased access to and control over resources, and actions to transform the structures and institutions that reinforce and maintain their health” she affirmed.
“Family health Clinic has a department within MYNK dialysis. “Queens Wear Your Crowns” event that we hosted revolves around the empowerment of women and their holistic well-being. We acknowledge that women often navigate various roles and obligations, often placing their personal health on the periphery. In observance of Women’s Month, we orchestrated a health-centric occasion that served as a poignant reminder for women to actively manage their mental and physical welfare, reassert their autonomy, and embrace their inherent dignity.” She concluded
Women’s empowerment has five components: women’s sense of self-worth; their right to have and to determine choices; their right to have access to opportunities and resources of health; their right to have power to control their own lives, both within and outside their home; and their ability to influence the direction of social change to create a more just social and economic order.
Due to long prevailing discrimination, bullying and dominance by society, women have been suppressed in their families and society at large. So to help women know and understand self-love and confidence in a better point of view, a guest speaker Matemo Oceanea Kolo a.k.a Stymo who is a radio personality and a motivational speaker stated that everything starts with trusting and putting God above everything. Stating that self-love and confidence go hand in hand, Stymo elaborated why the two need to be paired. “Without self-love confidence is bound to fall, Self-love means accepting yourself fully, treating yourself with kindness and respect, and nurturing one’s growth and wellbeing. It encompasses not only how you treat yourself but also your thoughts and feelings about yourself. So, when you conceptualize self-love, you can try to imagine what you would do for yourself, how you would talk to yourself, and how you would feel about yourself that reflects love and concern.” She affirmed
“I love myself so much, and one thing I can tell you is that getting to this stage was long andnoxious but it was worth it. I used to hide my hands trust me when I say it took me a long time to overcome and view myself in a better light. When you love yourself, you have an overall positive view of yourself. This does not mean you feel positive about yourself all the time. That would be unrealistic! For example, I can temporarily feel upset, angry, or disappointed with myself and still love myself. If this is confusing, think about how this works in other relationships. Self-love is very much the same. Which means, if you know how to love others, you know how to love yourself! Saying positive things to yourself, forgiving yourself when you mess up, meeting your own needs, being assertive when making healthy choices most of the time and living in accordance with your values. Pursuing your interests and goals, challenging yourself, holding yourself accountable, giving yourself healthy treats and accepting your imperfections and expectations” Stymo said
Adding on she talked about confidence and the role it plays in our lives, making an example of those without confidence and how they can attracting the same energy as the one they portray. She also encouraged all the ladies present to work on building their confidence. “All I can say is ladies, we are the prophets of our own lives and we are whom we aspire to be”, she concluded.
To celebrate women, Dr. Emil Mchaki from Tanzania said his role during the month of August is to not only celebrate women but to give them knowledge about cancer specifically cervical cancer. He encouraged all the ladies to get their Pap smears done. Pap smear involves collecting a sample of cells from ones cervix — the lower, narrow end of your uterus that’s at the top of a women’s private part.
Taking them for testing to check if there are any signs of cancer, this process will assist in detecting cervical cancer early and give you a greater chance of cure. A Pap smear can also detect changes in your cervical cells which may indicate any chance of cancer developing in the future. “Detecting these abnormal cells early with a Pap smear is your first step in halting the possible development of cervical cancer”, stated Dr. Mchaki.
To conclude the ceremony Ithabeleng said a few affirmations to all who attended and stated that they hope to have a similar event again next year. “To good health, to have the courage to go after our dreams, to use every opportunity we get to meet new people and lastly to help empower one another”.