Ntombenhle Gwala, a determined single mother of a 7-year-old daughter, hails from the small town of
Her name, which means ‘beautiful girl’ in isiZulu, embodies her spiritual and physical attributes. As the second born in a ‘God-fearing’ family of six children, Nhle, as she known by those close to her, celebrates her love of life by actively participating in church activities at her
Motherhood, Career & Fun
She enjoys spending time with her fellow worshippers because, as she says, ‘My job as an events co-ordinator allows me to have fun almost every day, so church is like my place for relaxing. That is where I get to fellowship and praise God.’
Ntombenhle also understands the importance of spending time with her daughter whilst also making time for herself, which she describes as ‘lovely’. She spends her ME time reading, watching movies and generally pampering herself.
The Fuller-Figured Woman
She enjoys her job, but also harbours a secret (not so secret anymore!) ambitions to own her own boutique, which will supply clothing for fuller-figured women.
‘I am sure I am not the only one who gets frustrated when out shopping for decent clothing, I mean you should see what they have for us out there, the colours, the design….totally unacceptable!’
Plans are already in place and Nhle has already taken the first steps to make sure the curvaceous body is honoured, something all the women with an ‘S’ to their frame will look forward to.
Relationships and Finding the One
Not one to take nonsense, especially from a man, Ntombi is not concerned about the men that have peppered her past. She accords her previous relationships to who she was at the time and realises each brought something valuable to the table, which has made her the beautiful person she is today.
Although not married, she is currently seeing someone and she refuses to delve any further into the subject. But she will reveal that she is attracted to men who are spiritual and have a personal relationship with God as well as being supportive and appreciative of life and nature. That said, she looks forward to getting married in the future and sharing a family with her knight in shining armour.
Life’s Challenges
It wasn’t always easy for Ntombi. Life has toughened her and for her the old adage, ‘what doesn’t kill you, makes you stronger’, has been her lifeline.
‘My whole life has been a challenge,’ she laughs. ‘The greatest challenge I had to work through was learning that the father of my child got married to someone else when we were still together and our child was a few months old. There was nowhere to turn to but God. Forgiveness does not come easy, I had to pray and fast so that I could let go of the hurt, anger, pain and embarrassment. God being the God of his word, He will never leave me alone. It took a while, but eventually I overcame the anger and the hurt and I have managed to raise a beautiful (inside and out) daughter who loves her father to bits.’
South Africa
Knowing that just as you climb to the peak of one mountain, there is a valley down below. Ntombi understands this. ‘I still think that I have not fulfilled my purpose in life and that worries me. I dream of making big changes in the lives of other people in some way.’
Apart from her own personal aspirations and challenges, she recognises that our country is not perfect, but, nevertheless, she believes
‘A lot can still be done to improve
