Women Of The Year 2024

 

This women's month Horus Media has chosen three great women who are kind yet assertive. They are compassionate and vulnerable towards those they love in their lives without feeling weak for doing so. These women strive for their goals even in the face of the adversity that they may encounter along the way. They are Shana Moosa from Slimming and Beauty by Shana, Renee Benny, a professional nurse, from Hope and Harmony, and Wendy   Connor from Plum Awards.

With her long history in skin care and slimming, you're in the best hands for your transformative journey into pulchritudinous pleasure.

Shana originally saw the need for a beauty salon in Wentworth with the core purpose of providing a haven for ladies to escape the stresses of everyday life, while achieving their optimum goals in weight loss and beauty. She has been in operation since July 2006.

For Shana, being a beauty therapist is meaningful beyond the skillful use of equipment, it is about enhancing each unique canvas with strokes of skill and passion, and an understanding of current beauty trends, which involves continuous learning and staying abreast of the latest innovations, offering her clients the best and most up- to- date services

This transformative journey doesn’t just make you look more beautiful; it also helps you feel empowered to embrace your unique self. In the realm of beauty therapy, Shana is not just a practitioner; she is also a confidence builder. Her hands have the power to unveil the confidence that resides within each client. Whether it’s a rejuvenating facial or slimming therapy, it serves as a catalyst for self-assurance and self-love.

Over the years Shana has become a confidante, whose clients share their stories, joys, and challenges with. Her ability to lend a listening ear and offer not just a healing touch but also emotional support is becoming an integral part of her practice.  It’s not merely about physical transformation; it’s also about holistic well-being.

Many people assume that nurses enter the field because of their compassion yet this nursing characteristic isn’t necessarily a given. Many who choose nursing prioritize the job security of nursing or see it as a career starting point while failing to consider whether they have the compassion needed to become a good nurse.

For Sr. Renee Benny, compassion as a nursing quality, makes all the difference.  She has subsequently opened an affordable clinic for the elderly and those folks who live below the breadline at one of her houses in Newlands East, and she never turns a patient away. She has embarked on the effective treatment of chronic health issues and wound healing. She says that whether it is physical or mental health, a support system is important in the recovery process. Sr Benny also utilizes her excellent communication skills to effectively communicate with other nurses' physicians, including patients and their families; interpreting and accurately conveying critical information, while showing empathy for every patient. She has also started a free service in Quarry Heights, where she encourages the school children to adopt a gran, to ensure that senior citizens are never overlooked. She makes a true effort to put herself in their shoes. By practicing empathy, she treats her patients as individuals, focusing on a person-centered strict care approach.  To derive satisfaction from such a mentally and physically exhausting role this wonder woman still finds time for a laugh by incorporating a lighthearted attitude into her everyday existence. She is a reminder that nurses are human too.

This lady's commitment to patient advocacy is second to none. The concept of advocacy is a core tenet of her practice from the Hippocratic Oath to her mission statement – keeping patients safe and delivering the highest quality of care– she continues within every stage of the nursing continuum. She has an immense capacity for critical thinking, and after years of education and training, this is evident to everyone she encounters.

Exercising leadership skills in her role

shows that she serves as a model of integrity and effectiveness for the youth, and others. Being a mentor in any capacity helps others become better nurses and benefits both her organization and the nursing profession.

 

On recovering from a serious bout of covid in 2021   Wendy Connor realized that many individuals selflessly contributed to all areas, and were never acknowledged, even in small ways.  This is when the need to humanize experiences, observations, and interactions with each other rose to the surface of her emotions. It was the pandemic, and miraculously recovering from its scourge that brought into sharp focus the need to pause and act with compassion for herself and others, including those unsung heroes and heroines who were never even acknowledged for their efforts.

While scrolling through her computer, she noticed that not many people from previously disadvantaged communities ever received recognition for their contributions in any field.  This is what motivated her to introduce the Plum Awards.  This connotes; PROJECT- LION/ESS-UNCHAINED -MEMORIES

 As a result, Connor first introduced and hosted PLUM AWARDS at the Riverside Hotel in 2021. This started as a result of Conner honoring the relevant peers in her community. The awards over the years have wielded enormous talents from various fields and disciplines.

Conner expounded: "The vision of Plum is to celebrate men and women who have made an impact in and around our communities and award them in gratitude annually to celebrate their wonderful human effort and expose their tenacity and testimony to other people in the community so they too can be encouraged or inspired to do the same, if not better

Where do I see PLUM AWARDS in the future? I honestly am led by where God is taking me and most of our honored guests have inspired me to push harder and further.

So, I hope to go Nationally and who knows, maybe our families who have emigrated will end up on our Scout's list and we will be able to see an international explosion of PLUM. I say this in humility as it's not I, but a joint effort with my team that will get us to this place

Our mission is to search the Communities as well as surrounding areas and bring them into the limelight award them and promote them to greatness. We have some unsung heroes who have done remarkable things. Legends in our time.  Some have graduated out of this world into eternity, and nobody has ever acknowledged or even gone back to the family in appreciation and gratitude for the remarkable impact that these people have made on our communities.

The timing is now more than ever before. We would like to correct this mishap and ensure that everybody is equally celebrated and awarded for the remarkable and inspirational work they or their family members have done. History needs to understand that we are about to break the Alabaster box and scent our communities with a tangible fragrance of good, unchained memories of the magnificent hard work and dedicated accomplishments that have come out of our disadvantaged communities in Durban, South Africa.

Our mandate is to uplift and acknowledge our mentors, create accomplished men, and women, and project them into acknowledgment for their remarkable accomplishments.

Our team scouts are from the youth to retired seniors. It's a privilege for us to be allowed to be inspired by their testimonials on the day of the event and beyond.

So, there we have; Wendy Connor is not only among the most ambitious people, but also values integrity and tends to conduct herself with professionalism and consistency. She is encouraging and loves to see others triumph, but also wants it to be earned and respected. Likewise, she appreciates excellence wherever she finds it and is most supportive while being incredibly hardworking.

These three most inspiring women are proof that as an empowered woman, you're able to change the world. Be a warrior, while finding time for self-care for you to have the mental and physical energy to fight for what you want, and also stand up and be heard. You can also empower each other by celebrating one another's success and backing each other up.

Lorraine Richards