The moment straight after interviewing Naledi Moleo served to be a good time for me to reflect on the most popular quote in development circles means: “If you educate a man, you educate a person – if you educate a woman, you educate a nation. Deny her education and the world will suffer.”
These wise words describe Naledi Moleo’s grandmother, Eunice Moleo.
“She was a domestic worker with education up to Sub B, and she still at every opportunity shoved a book in my face. My school holidays always involved getting through a novel in just a few weeks and it was a race between the two of us. She always said that in a book is a secret little world where the joke, the fear and the wonder is all mine! Just for me. She taught me the lesson and fun in seeking knowledge at every opportunity’’ says the feisty radio personality.
It blows my mind how much Moleo’s reading background has been able to shape a part of my childhood too – although we lived worlds apart. Moleo was one of my first role models as a little girl – I watched her on Kids News Room (KNR) and longed to be like her in my teenage years. To me, she epitomised everything that ten-year-old me assumed a young adult should and must be before becoming a twenty-something-year-old woman. But hard life lessons, now that I’m a twenty-something-year-old, have taught me to eliminate thoughts that there is a social expectation that I do certain things by a set deadline.
I’ve learned that it’s not imperative to be a non-virgin by 21, it’s okay to still be living with the folks at 23, and there’s nothing wrong with still finding oneself pursuing a junior degree at 25. Yes, there’s no real pressure. Even at 30, it is not a sin or disgrace to be unmarried and happily single. You know why? No one gets an extra cookie for achieving certain things by a certain age. However, when we are purpose driven and journey in our path with contentedness then we find the peace that transcends all pressures.
Even the over-achieving Moleo agrees with that bit. “I moved out of home at a point when I thought I was ready to stand on my own two feet as a 19-year-old. Paid rent for four years in a really expensive apartment while living from hand to mouth. When I encountered a bump in the road and I couldn’t afford the expensive lifestyle anymore, I had to move back to Alexandra’’, she remembers. Even though she was filled with regret, this lesson taught Moleo the importance of patience and investing in her own self. Now, several years later, she is established in her field and a proud property owner.
However, her journey to the top wasn’t easy although she fondly remembers, “when the tertiary fees weren’t paid and my access card was blocked because of fees, I would hide in a friend’s car boot just to get onto the school property and get to sit in that lecture room. I was naughty, challenged but always focused.”
Her story attests to the reality that success is not sexually transmitted from sugar daddies to young women. No! We too, as young women, can achieve things in our own ways and in our times. “There really is nothing more liberating than being able to dream your own dreams, work towards them and finally attain them. The “blessee” movement is robbing girls of that very fulfilling sense of achievement’’ she says…
But before, anyone can accuse Moleo of being judgemental – here’s a quick fact: Moleo doesn’t have a problem with, us as, young women finding joy in our bodies and how we use them. I asked her about the twerking movement and her response was honest. “When the mood is right and it’s me and my girlfriends – in private – I might twerk a little too. It’s fun! What I do have a problem with is when we attach our view of ourselves to that action. When Is’khothane spends thousands of rands on clothing just to make him feel like he is valued, it says we have done something fundamentally wrong in addressing our sense of identity and self-love. When a girl’s posts on Facebook and Instagram are all fleshy, then she must truly believe that that is who or how she is supposed to be.”
Nonetheless, Moleo admits that she’s not pessimistic about where she believes that our country is headed regardless of the blessee movement, twerking lifestyle and iskhothane trend. “We are a generation of innovators. We are vocal and curious. We are hungry and ambitious. The future is fine and we will be okay. Our parents used to smoke benzene for fun and they turned out okay. Maybe I am the eternal optimist but I think some things we will outgrow” she says.Moleo has worked as a television producer on “Youth Expression” on SABC News International, she hosted LoveLife’s “Make Your Move TV”, in 2010 she produced inserts for RECORD TV, a Brazilian News Network as part of their coverage for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. For three years was Chairperson on the Board of the Organisation of African Youth (OAYouth). The organisation was a network of young people from across the continent running Non-Profit Organisations of their own and sharing their skills and efforts with each other.
Moleo has worked as a television producer on “Youth Expression” on SABC News International, she hosted LoveLife’s “Make Your Move TV”, in 2010 she produced inserts for RECORD TV, a Brazilian News Network as part of their coverage for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. For three years was Chairperson on the Board of the Organisation of African Youth (OAYouth). The organisation was a network of young people from across the continent running Non-Profit Organisations of their own and sharing their skills and efforts with each other.
In December 2014, she worked with Neo Ntsoma Productions to produce a documentary and book looking at the transmission of HIV from mother to child on the African Continent. The book and documentary were later published by UNAids. Her role as host of SAfm’s In Tune (One hour Youth slot) is yet another highlight, as it affords her the opportunity to engage and motivate young South Africans on a more regular basis. Her continued work as host of In Tune also led to the show being awarded the MTN Radio Award for Best PBS Weekend Show in 2013.
Currently, she hosts the Talk shop on SAfm which broadcasts Monday to Thursday evenings at 19h00 – 21h00. This show is centred on nation building and critical discussion. On this show she has been able to interview academics from all across the world (Including Vice-Chancellor of the Oxford University), she has interviewed Ministers and political figures. The intention behind the show is always to speak to the active citizens of South Africa about what else they can do and where the work still needs to be done. On Saturday evenings, Naledi hosts The Mash-Up, a show that brings live music and poetry to the listeners from 20h00-21h00.
Considering Moleo’s grace within the media’s sphere, I asked her to give advice to the fame-hungry readers and her words aren’t what I expected. She’s a big sister and she keeps it real, “We celebrate celebrity far too much in this generation: every young woman should think about what kind of contribution she wants to make to their community or country, and then decide how to make that contribution through their work. Plus if its recognition you are looking for, it comes with honourable work but it’s more than being adored because of your thighs and outfit, but it’s a genuine respect that is earned this way.”
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Yours in love and inspiration,
Tshwanelo Fokazi ❤
Smart ZAR Girls 