My mother, Chikondi Mtawali, is the strongest woman I know. Her life has been filled with struggles, but she has faced every challenge with courage and determination. She taught me the value of hard work, resilience, and love. Her story is my greatest inspiration and the reason I will keep pushing forward no matter what life throws at me.
It all started when my father passed away, leaving my mother widowed with my elder sister, a four-year-old, and me as a three-month-old baby. As if losing her husband wasn’t enough, my mother lost everything else too. Her in-laws took away all her belongings, leaving her with nothing but her two children. With no job and no one to turn to for help, she had to figure out how to survive.
I remember how hard she worked just to put food on the table. She did odd jobs like washing clothes, cleaning, and selling small items in the market. Life was tough, but she never gave up. Luck came her way when she got a job as a fuel attendant. With that, she was able to send us to school. I started nursery school, and my sister began primary school.
But my mother wanted more for us. She decided to take a bold step and travel to South Africa. She left us in my aunt’s care, knowing it was the only way to give us a better future. When she arrived in South Africa, she had no one to receive her and no place to stay, but within days, she secured a job. It was hard for her to leave us behind, and we didn’t see her for six long years.
During those years, she worked tirelessly, always keeping us in her thoughts. When she finally came back to Malawi, she took us back and started small businesses to support our secondary education. I watched her work day and night to make sure we didn’t lack anything.
But just when things seemed to be looking up, disaster struck again. My mother was arrested and wrongly accused of human trafficking. She spent months in prison, crying day and night, worrying about us. She didn’t know how we were surviving. By then, my sister and I were in college, and though we were scared and uncertain, we remembered everything she had taught us.
We started our own small businesses to support ourselves, just like we had seen her do countless times. Her strength had become ours, and we managed to make it through. When my mother was finally released, she had lost everything. She was penniless, but she was never defeated. She bounced back, rebuilding her life from scratch yet again.
Today, my mother’s sacrifices have paid off. My sister is a nurse, and I am a journalist. We are both independent women, and my mother continues to work hard, now for her grandson—my son, her first grandchild. She says she’s doing it for the next generation, ensuring that her family will always have a foundation to stand on.
As I look at my mother, I see a warrior. Her life is a lesson in perseverance, and her love for us is her driving force. She taught me that the sky is the limit, that no matter how many times you fall, you can always rise again.
Now, as a single mother myself, I find strength in her example. Like her, I will work hard for my son, giving him a life filled with love and opportunity. My mother gave us purpose, and now I have found mine in my child. She’s not just my mother; she’s my hero. Everything I do, I do because she showed me the way.
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