Forced to Work as Teen To Support Family, Tumi Ramakoaba Rose Above Her Challenges To Earn 2 Master’s Degrees

• Abigail Tumi Ramakoaba, born and raised in an township in Soweto, had no choice but to start working when she was 14 to help support her family
• 40-year-old Ramakoaba always believed that she was destined for more than a life of poverty
• She holds two Master's degrees in science but works in the Department of Housing for the City of Johannesburg
• For her amazing story of resilience and strength, Tumi has been selected as one of the Briefly News Women of Wonder 2022

Abigail Tumi Ramakoaba survived and lived through adversity for most of her life, from going to school on an empty stomach almost daily to navigating the reality of poverty.

She worked hard to pursue a life that was rarely attainable for people with a similar background. The two-time Master's graduate was born and raised in the informal settlement of uMzimhlophe in Soweto, Gauteng.

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Tumi Ramakoaba started working as a teen to support her family

At 14, Ramakoaba was forced to find a job to assist her mom financially to pay for basic needs, as she was a domestic worker.

While living in poverty and working at a young age, Ramakoaba says flipping through magazines and seeing life outside her reality motivated her to work hard to change her circumstances.

"I knew there was a life that was different from the one I was living. From then on, I worked hard in every aspect from my involvement at school and in my community work," said Ramakoaba.

Ramakoaba's interest in politics peaked at 16, and she was always drawn to politics despite pursuing formal education in microbiology.

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She explained that while navigating different career paths, all roads seemed to lead back to politics, and she knows many women in the same boat as her.

"I have always harbored an interest in politics. I know quite a lot of educated, capable women in politics with different academic backgrounds.

"Sadly, they do not sit at the right tables," she explained.

Ramakoaba now works for the City of Johannesburg in the Department of Housing as a Stakeholder Manager in the MMC's office. However, she hopes to work in the health policy environment sector someday.

Tumi explains that being a woman in this role can be difficult because she works with many traditional leaders who rarely believe women can help solve their problems.

Ramakoaba also had to overcome certain stereotypes that come with being a woman and working in a political space.

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"There are certain community settings or issues I cannot attend to as a woman.

Now and then, I will have to seek help from my male counterparts to intervene because, traditionally, engagements have been held with men," said Ramakoaba.

For Ramakoaba, politics is only inclusive for women in theory, not reality

Tumi laments that big political organisations such as the African National Congress, Inkatha Freedom Party and the Economic Freedom Fighters still have men at the helm of leadership positions.

This frustrates Ramakoaba because a large percentage of South Africa's population is women, but they are not adequately represented in leadership roles.

She explained that she finds it ironic that men are at the forefront of discussions about the emancipation of women like it is some favour that needs to be handed down to women in politics.

Ramakoaba's problem is not just with men in politics but with women who have the power to vote and place women in leadership positions but still choose to vote for men.

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"Women voters are more than men voters during elections, and who do they vote for? They vote for men.

"I think women are self-sabotaging when it comes to leadership roles in political spaces.

"It is not a matter of women not having the capacity to lead; women are equally capable, but we do not see them at the right tables," she added.

It is no surprise that Ramakoaba feels this passionately about women occupying leadership positions in politics because she looks up to powerful women such as former deputy president Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka.

The first female deputy president inspired Ramakoaba because she navigated spaces predominantly occupied by men, such as mining and energy.

Ramakoaba is also inspired by the policies that Mlambo-Ngcuka implemented during her tenure, which addressed poverty and uplifted women.

"The role she [Mlambo-Ngcuka] played in the UN as ED of UN Women is a culmination of leadership that has not ceased to provide opportunities for the development of women’s leadership and the emancipation of women.

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"That is the woman I aspire to be!" she added.

Determined graduate standing outside hut looks forward to building proper house for her family

Briefly News previously reported that a happy and proud graduate standing in front of her family's hut inspired South Africans by saying that she would build her family a new home.

Squad Magazine uploaded the snap in a Facebook post that was accompanied by this happy and inspirational quote:

"Mama, I made it... Now I can afford to build a proper house for my family."

Briefly News 2022 Women of Wonder aims to inspire women

Briefly News wants to celebrate the female changemakers of 2022 by honouring a few influential, inspiring women.

The team looked for women who made a success despite some tough challenges they faced in their respective sectors.

Our goal is the create inspirational content that shows our audience what the embodiment of a resilient and strong South A woman is.

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Briefly News hopes to motivate other women to go beyond their limits.

If you want to participate in our next special project or want to be featured in one of Briefly News' women empowerment articles, please email contact@briefly.co.za with Women Empowerment in the subject line.

Source: Briefly News