Shelf
Her Story
Lived experience, told in the first person.
How Charlene Motshegwe Fought Cancer, Debilitating Pain as a Teen
Charlene Nadine Motshegwe is a 24-year-old Motswana woman who is currently studying events management at Limkokwing University in Botswana and is set to finish next year. She told The Weight She Carries that her background was a fair one. She had a normal childhood expect for having to deal with her parents losing their jobs, which resulted in family and friends helping with fo
TWSC Submission: Starting Over
Sophie Atieno Odumu is a mother of four kids, a teacher and a women and children’s rights activist. She opened up to TWSC Contributor Gladwell Wachira about what drives her to fight to educate women and children about their rights.
Abandoned in a Box: How Embracing Her Truth Opened Doors for Miss South Africa 2021 Hopeful Fikile Cele
This saying coined by 22-year-old Fikile Cele is more than a metaphor, it’s deeply personal; and, in many ways, describes how she managed to land on both feet despite a bleak beginning and years of identity crisis and being picked on by imperious peers.
TWSC Submission: My Greatest Battle Outside the Courtroom – Surviving Financial Abuse from my Child’s Father
I'm a mother of one and a lawyer. Since high school, I have been passionate about the law and advocating for people. I enjoy it now, every day. My story is one of mental and financial abuse. Even though I am a shark in the courtroom, I was manipulated by a man I once loved and almost lost my dream. My experience is proof that abuse can happen to anyone. This is my story.
TBT: Gems from Teresa Njoroge's Story - Stay the Course
What do you do when things go horribly wrong; when the actions of somebody else changes the course of your life? We did a story two years ago about a respectable banker named Teresa Njoroge who found herself wrongfully imprisoned for a fraudulent transaction she unknowingly handled on the job. It’s one thing to be in trouble as a result of your own actions, but to be accused of
TBT: Gems from Kimberly Coleman's Story - the Hardest People to Forgive
Today we are going back to a story we first published in 2018 about a woman who had just returned to modelling 20 years after walking away from a successful modelling career. Kimberly Coleman had a rough start to life. By the time she was five she was being physically abused by her parents; by age seven, her father had begun abusing her sexually; and when she was nine, she was
TBT: Gems from Priscillah Kabura's Story - The Cost of Better
In late 2019 I had the privilege of interviewing a woman named Priscillah Kabura. I remember it was morning for me and I sat in the car as I dialed her number. She was is Italy. For the next hour, I listened as she took me through the heartbreak she experienced that turned her into a single mother in Kenya, the financial crisis she lived through and how she ultimately chose bet
A Single Mother's Determination to Get Back Onto Her Feet After Loss
Samantha Mpofu (Sammy) grew up as the oldest of four children. Her parents divorced when she was young but she still has fond memories of her childhood.
TWSC Submission: Pregnant and Alone - How I Found Love After Being Rejected by my Family & Child's Father
My name is Portia* and I am 38 years old. I come from Gokwe, Zimbabwe. Growing up, I have faced quite a number of challenges, one of which was falling pregnant at a young age of 22 out of wedlock. I was childish at the time because when I was around five months pregnant, my aunt, who I was staying with at the time, is the one who noticed that I was pregnant even though I had tr
Martha Koome Set to Become Kenya's First Female Chief Justice
Martha Koome, 61, surprised many by becoming the first female chief justice in Kenya. This comes after she topped a contest which involved nine others. The interview was conducted by the Kenyan Judicial Service Commission.
I Refused to Let HIV or Cancer Keep me From Living my Best Life
Andrea de Lange found out that she was HIV positive when she was just 23 years old and in college. Today at 57, she has found love and is a cancer survivor. This is her story…Andrea is a Jewish American who was raised in California. Life is good right now, but that wasn’t always the case.
A Single Mother's Experience Raising Two Autistic Children
The following story is about 41-year-old Samira Njoki from Kenya. Samira is mother to two autistic boys and has been single-handedly taking care of them for five years after her husband turned his back on them.