Award-winning musician Zahara sent out a strong message to a packed East London ICC on Tuesday during a panel discussion to mark the provincial launch of the Silapha Wellness Intervention Programme.

Silapha, which is aimed at assisting artists and sports stars across the country, is the brainchild of the department of sport, arts & culture.

 

 

Zahara said in the early days of her career she felt overwhelmed but she had a core goal which kept her going.

“When they found me and took me to Johannesburg, I’d never trained to be on TV or radio. What I knew was I wanted to inspire people and give them hope. I didn’t know what it meant to be on TV or radio. I didn’t want to do interviews.”

She cautioned the audience against falling into the trap of constantly comparing themselves to others.

“I wanted to inspire people, but not to be them. You don’t know how many challenges someone fought to be there, but they can inspire you to be whatever you want to be in life.

“Zahara means ‘blooming flower’ and you can only find it in the desert. That means I hang on even when it is so hard.”

Zahara was joined by rapper Gigi Lamayne, former IBF featherweight champion Vuyani Bungu, seasoned actress Nambitha Mpumlwana, NBC Wellness therapist Salome Nyaku and former Springboks Women’s Sevens captain Mandisa Williams, who related how they had overcome challenges such as mental health, financial problems and other issues.

The department organised the panel to celebrate the Eastern Cape launch of the Silapha Programme.