Sophie Ndaba Inspires Women To “Reset and Rise” as Me Time Builds Empowerment Movement
- Me Time founder and director Tebogo Modisane says the women’s empowerment platform is meant to enable people to take a break and connect with themselves in order to find their purpose
- Guest of Honour and actress Sophie Ndaba gave an emotionally charged speech encouraging women not to let difficult chapters in their lives define their future
- Speaking to Briefly News, Modisane revealed that the platform has grown beyond South Africa's borders to eSwatini and is expected to visit Lesotho in 2027
- Women who attended the event shared with Briefly News freelance writer Mkhululi Chimoio their experiences with Me Time, which offers networking, mentorship and self-reflection opportunities
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Mkhululi Chimoio
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Women from various age groups and professions gathered at the Me Time event to enjoy a time of self-care, empowerment, networking and personal growth.
The Me Time platform has been developed by Tebogo Modisane through Isago Foundation and has grown into an experience that helps women take a break from their duties and focus on themselves.
The founder said that she started the Me Time in 2014 when she realised that many women, including mothers and professionals, are overloaded with responsibilities yet lack self-care opportunities.
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Speaking to Briefly News freelance writer Mkhululi Chimoio, Modisane explained that the platform was born out of the desire to remind people that taking care of oneself is important even when one feels well-rested.
“Me Time is about reminding people that while life asks for a lot of you, you cannot lose yourself in the process.”
Sophie Ndaba urges women to reset
One of the most memorable moments of the event was the motivational speech from guest of honour and actress Sophie Ndaba.
In her speech, Ndaba encouraged women to develop enough courage to rebuild their lives after challenging times, rather than considering starting again as failure.
“Life will challenge you in ways that you never imagined. But a difficult chapter doesn’t have to become an ending of your story. As women, we must learn to reset, rebuild and rise again.”
Ndaba stressed the importance of self-care for women who often spend so much time taking care of their families, careers and community without focusing on themselves.
Her speech was inspiring for first-time attendee and emerging entrepreneur Dintshe Mahabane, who is the CEO of Rakgadi D Events.
Mahabane found Sophie Ndaba’s speech very powerful as it made her reflect on her own life and the importance of self-care.
“I felt reinvigorated from the event and feel differently,” Mahabane said.
Me Time offers networking opportunities for women
Generation: The Legacy actress Tinah Mnumzana believes that the event offers something much more valuable than just entertaining the audience.
She pointed to networking and geographical expansion of the platform as evidence that Me Time has every chance to become a hub for women's empowerment, health, business partnership and networking.
Tinah also mentioned the value of meeting women from different generations at the same event.
“The younger generation is learning how to navigate through life, how to face challenges and handle successes from the people who have walked through this path before.”
According to Mnumzana, all successful personalities have a certain obligation to mentor young people and lead by example.
“Every leader has the responsibility to inspire, mentor and set a good example to young people.”
Modisane agrees with this point and mentions that the audience often sees the successes of the people but never sees the rejections, sacrifices, insecurity, and failures they went through.
She thinks that allowing these people to share their stories will show young people what success really looks like.
“Your journey becomes the roadmap of somebody else’s journey.”
Young attendee encourages youth to expose themselves to new spaces
Samantha Dube is one of the young women who attended the Me Time for the first time at the age of 23.
Dube encourages other young people not to consider such empowerment and networking events exclusive to older or established professionals.
“As a 23-year-old attending Me Time for the first time, I realise how important it is for young people to expose ourselves to spaces like this. We often think such events are meant for older or more established people, but there is so much we can learn from other people’s journeys.”
According to Dube, young people should be ready to go out of their comfort zones, network with people, and listen to stories of people with different life experiences.
“Sometimes one conversation or one person’s story can completely change your outlook on the future.”
Hlengiwe Khumalo is another attendee who considers venturing into entrepreneurship. She says that being surrounded by women from various stages of life shows her the importance of prioritising self-care.
Ndaba’s speech particularly stood out for her due to the challenges she managed to face and maintain her faith.
Entrepreneurs find business opportunities at Me Time
For Mabel Ledwaba, who is the founder and CEO of Havillah Beauty, the Me Time event is also a business opportunity.
According to Ledwaba, her company partnered with makeup artists in North West for the Me Time, which created business opportunities for local professionals while introducing them to the Havillah Beauty business.
Modisane says that established women should help the next generations.
“I do a lot of mentoring; I do a lot of coaching. So for me, it comes naturally to impart and nurture those that are still coming so that they don't have to pay the school fees that we paid.”
Modisane also says that small businesses, exhibitors, creators, vendors and service providers can also use this event to showcase their products and develop relationships with clients.
“When you take away a platform like Me Time, you take away much more than an event. You take away opportunities for people to be seen, heard, supported and economically empowered.”
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Me Time plans on expanding beyond South Africa
Modisane has some ambitious plans regarding the development of the initiative.
Speaking to Briefly News freelance writer Mkhululi Chimoio, she said that Me Time has grown beyond South Africa’s borders to Eswatini, Zimbabwe, Botswana and will visit Lesotho in 2027.
The plan is also to launch the Level Up programme aimed at girls between 12 and 18 years old from Gauteng province.
According to Modisane, investing in these girls while they are still building their identities and ambitions will have an impact on their decisions later in life.
Ultimately, Modisane hopes to make Me Time grow into a pan-African women empowerment movement.
“Everyone, everywhere, deserves the opportunity to pause, reconnect, level up and realise their potential.”
However, Modisane will consider the development of the initiative to be successful not based on how many people attend it. The real measure of success is what happens to people after the event is finished.
“For me, the real measure of Me Time is not simply how many people attended. It is what changed in people after they attended.”
Sophie Ndaba received a letter of demand from SARS
In more entertainment news, Briefly News reported that Sophie Ndaba is allegedly being hounded by the South African Revenue Service (SARS) to pay her returns.
It is reported that the veteran actress's business, Sophla Trading, owes the taxman R23 million and was issued with a second letter of demand.
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Source: Briefly News
