SOUTH African television actress and businesswoman Sophie Ndaba and local modelling guru and businesswoman Sipho Mazibuko have a lot of things in common.
The two, battled depression, went through highly publicised divorces and have had a myriad of rumours spread falsely about them.
Next month, the two are set to join forces when Mazibuko hosts a business and networking meeting for women drawn from across the country and neighbouring countries.
Running under the banner, Esteemed Business Women Zimbabwe, the meeting will feature prominent media and business personalities who will network and share business ideas.
Ndaba, who battled depression-induced diabetes and a hostile society, shared with Standard Style her anticipation for the event.
“We expect it to be a day of wisdom, sharing advice and getting together,” she said.
“When women or people in general connect and share they grow and become a better people.
“Reconnecting with Sipho after so many years was a pleasant surprise because it is exciting to know that somebody remembers you from over a decade or so; I am not sure how long it has been.
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“It means our previous connection had an impact, so I am very excited to be coming back.
“I have fond memories of Bulawayo when I was at Montrose High School for two years while living in Morningside.”
Ndaba said her never-say-die attitude has seen her bounce back.
“Yes I have been called the queen of reinvention and ambassador of survival,” she said.
“I think when you know that life is a project and that you need to live a purposeful life, you manoeuvre through any challenge.
“All I focus about and wish is to become something better.
“You say yes, I have made errors but it’s not the end of my story and once you take control of your life as a person and make a decision to move forward and make it better, operate on faith.
“You don’t see it or know if it’s going to work, but because of your faith you work around it and draw inspiration from people who went through it.
“I draw inspiration from other people just like others draw from me.
“All I know is that I serve a God of healing and in order for me to be better I needed to be mentally sane, physically better and then challenge the physical world that’s going to look at me and judge me.”
She explained that her healing process was not an overnight trick.
“People want to reinvent themselves in a day, you can’t do that,” she said.
“You have to give it time and I mean it took me two years to regain my weight, sanity and my confidence and my new purpose filled life.
“How patient are you as a person that’s the question. I gave myself time and I moved forward without being hard on myself.
“People around you can be hard on you, but you ignore all that.”
Ndaba advised fellow women in business that might be facing challenges.
“It’s OK to feel like, I don’t think I can start this, but it’s not OK to say I’m not going to,” she said.
“Restarting is the biggest success of your life; I have a friend whose sister was getting divorced and had a warehouse of furniture, which she lost in a fire. The furniture wasn’t insured.
“Things she had built over 10 years, but she had to soldier on with no money in the bank.
“I always say after every storm there is a rainbow.
“When you ask yourself how to restart, you may do it the same way you started but realise what to do differently this time and how to handle things better.”
Ndaba, who was born in South Africa before her family moved to Bulawayo in Zimbabwe, last year also launched She’s A Wonder (SAW), a platform for women to connect and empower each other.
She said SAW was centred on healing, restoration and empowerment for women.
