Real Housewives star spills tea on popular show

The Real Housewives Ultimate Girls Trip – South Africa has come to an iconic end and in true Housewives style, it was dramatic, shady, funny and all-out outrageous.

The larger-than-life cast included Beverley Steyn (The Real Housewives of Cape Town S1); Christall Kay (The Real Housewives of Johannesburg S1-2); LaConco (The Real Housewives of Durban S1-2); Lethabo Lejoy Mathatho (The Real Housewives of Johannesburg S2-3); Liz Prins (The Real Housewives of Gqeberha S1); Londie London (The Real Housewives of Durban S2); Melany Viljoen (The Real Housewives of Pretoria S1); and Nonku Williams (The Real Housewives of Durban S1-4).

In the dramatic season finale, we saw the aftermath of the explosive fight between the longest-serving housewife, Williams, and her fellow Durban cast member London.

The ladies, who have been frenemies for a long time, got into a heated argument after Williams questioned London about why she came to Jamaica two days before the trip ended.

To give us all the tea and shade, we caught up with Prins.

She became one of the fan favourites throughout the season because of her wickedly funny sense of humour.

True to form, she did not hold back: she spilt the tea on the show, her friendships and the off-screen drama that has been trending.

1.How was your experience on Ultimate Girls Trip?

I had a wonderful time. Jamaica is a beautiful country with beautiful people. I enjoyed the villa and getting to know the ladies. My highlight was meeting Alton and his team; they were so lovely and took care of us.

2. How was it different from The Real Housewives of Gqeberha?

Unlike The Real Housewives of Gqeberha, I actually got along with all of the ladies and formed friendships with them. They are fashionable and have a sense of humour, very different from the ladies of The Real Housewives of
Gqeberha.

Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo reveals what it means to be a woman writer in South Africa

What does it mean to be a woman in contemporary South Africa?

Lindiwe Sangweni-Siddo: [It] means I have had to sharpen my skills when it comes to claiming my space. I know the importance of my opinion in my personal and professional space.

As a writer, you are gifted with the ability to express yourself clearly and powerfully, and writing has become important for me on both formal and informal platforms.

Before I published my debut book, The Syndicate of Twenty-two
Natives, I was known as a writer of short stories or reflections on life published on social media.

These are contemporary platforms that can be used to express one's thoughts and tell stories.

From time immemorial, women have been strong and influential, even in traditional settings.

I like to think of myself as an extension of my greatgrandmother, Khokho Mandlesilo (my father's maternal grandmother), who was a very strong and influential woman in her family and community. She was outspoken and feisty, and she did not feel threatened by being the fourth wife in a patriarchal traditional Zulu setting.

She claimed her space and was well-respected well into her 90s. I am a modern extension of Khokho Mandlesilo, but in contemporary times.

I still have to make sure patriarchy and misogyny do not drown out my voice and those of other women.

Close friends struggle to find employment inspires entrepreneur to create platform that offers people practical skills in IT #FridayFeeling

A close friend's struggles with finding employment despite getting good marks at tertiary level inspired former University of Cape Town student Mvelo Hlophe to create a platform that would offer people practical skills in IT and boost their chances of employability.

  

The founder of Zaio, an online school teaching digital skills such as coding, data science and cybersecurity, started the business as a third-year student, working with his friends in their dorm rooms.

  

Zaio is a play on the isiZulu word "okuzayo" which means what's coming.

  

"The goal was to solve the challenge of employability among new graduates in the IT sector, but I realised that we were faced with a deeper problem as a country where people needed the necessary practical skills to be employable," said Hlophe.

  

At this time, he had switched from studying for a bachelor of business science degree, majoring in finance and accounting, to a BSC in politics, philosophy and economics. His passion changed at the height of the Fees Must Fall protests, when he realised he wanted his work to have a social impact.

  

"I wanted people to walk away from this programme with a portfolio they could use to approach companies and show them that they have projects they have worked on and know what they are doing."

 

With no background in IT, Hlophe reached out to people who understood the sector and could assist with the operations of the company. Once the website was set up and ready to be used, he encountered the same problem he was trying to resolve.

"One of the challenges we encountered was finding people who had the skills necessary to meet the needs of the company. We had to start by upskilling our staff to efficiently do what they needed to do."

The other hurdle for Zaio was securing funding in its initial stages. Hlophe said the project was selffunded when it began, which brought about some limitations for growth. As it was funded through his and his friends' monthly allowances received from their bursary grants, the company could not invest in digital marketing to attract clients.

"We had to knock on doors and approach people, we would find start-up projects in Cape Town and offer our services. It was a manual process, a timeconsuming process."

Once the company started attracting clients, the money generated was used to grow the project and expand its digital marketing side. Hlophe said one of the platforms they paid for was Google Ads, to ensure that as many people as possible knew about Zaio.

As the company grew, it was recruited to an accelerator programme that eventually led to it receiving its first round of funding.

"This helped a lot with the growth of the business, and it played an important role in where we are today. We were able to grow the subjects that we offered to our clients".

Zaio's operations are two-fold, where they offer their services to companies and also host boot camps for people interested in learning the skills they offer.

The six-month course costs R25,000, with payment plans made available for those who need it. He said at the inception of the company they offered their services for free, but this became unsustainable in the long run.

"We have a lot of people who approach us trying to get into the programme but cannot afford it, so we also work with a funding partner called Manati Alternate Student Funding, which pays for them to take the course, and the client arranges to pay Manati monthly."

Currently, Zaio's boot camps have limited seating, with 30 slots available for those wishing to enrol in the course every two months. 

The company is planning on increasing its intake to accommodate the influx of aspirants who apply for the course.

Hlophe said while the courses may be pricey, Zaio ensures it is able to connect successful participants with potential employers at the end of the six months of training, with the company maintaining a 92% placement rate.

"When someone walks away from us, on average they will earn R10,000, which is a good start for someone who might only have that short course as a qualification."

Miss South Africa fights for inclusivity

The moment she stepped onto the stage for the final round the world around her faded to a muted, fuzzy buzz and an echo from the sound system reverberated through the implant in her ear.

But Mia le Roux is used to the challenges of being deaf in a hearing world and took it in her stride – and when she made the top three she dared to believe she might actually see her childhood dream come true. 

And it did. The 29-year-old marketing student from Oudtshoorn was crowned Miss South Africa 2024 – the first hearing-impaired woman to take the title.

When the medis met her the day after the pageant she's every inch the beauty queen, gorgeous in a striking red dress, her Miss SA sash draped across her body and the crown on her glossy head – but Mia still has to pinch herself to make sure she isn't dreaming. "Wow," she says.

"I know there's still a lot ahead and I'm here to take things day by day. But I know I want to promote inclusivity."

Mia is all too familiar with the feeling of exclusion. As a child other kids often said hurtful things, such as "deaf children don't go to heaven" and the taunting took its toll. 

"I struggled a lot with depression," she says. "It took an incredible amount of work to get to where I am. But there's a line I love: 'I know my worth because I have felt my unworthiness'."

Despite the challenges she faced, her resilience and determination have brought her to a place of empowerment.

Intense care for sensitive skin

 Intense care for sensitive skin

  E45 has long been a source of solace for those with dry, sensitive and eczema-prone skin, and now this skincare expert has launched an impressive line-up of products just for face care. 

There are five new products: a gentle foaming cleanser, a daily protect moisturiser complete with SPF 30, a nourishing night cream, an instantly boosting hydrating serum, and a lip balm. Think intense care for sensitive skin – that's E45. For more info go to e45.com/za.