Aged 13, identical twins Hlengiwe and Nonkululeko Mazibuko were left alone to take care of themselves and their two much younger siblings when their mother, a domestic worker, was forced to move to Johannesburg to find work. They never met their father who was, says Hlengiwe, a gardener.
Life in the rural village of Verdriet in KwaZulu-Natal, in a child-headed household was, at times, brutal. ‘Days would go by where we had no food,’ says Nonkululeko. ‘Some months we didn’t even have the money to pay our school fees.’
On the upside, the circumstances in which they found themselves taught both girls that they wanted more from life. ‘We asked ourselves if we wanted to live a life of poverty and misery or if we wanted more,’ says Nonkululeko. The answer was rather obvious.
The problem was that there was limited access to information in the village – the girls barely watched television – and they had little exposure to anyone who wasn’t a teacher, nurse or police officer. As a result of these limited options, both girls initially wanted to become nurses when they grew up.
The turning point in their lives came when their much older sister – who no longer lived in the village – took them under her wing and enrolled them in a high school in nearby Dannhauser. Moving in with her was their first taste of the ‘better life’ to which they both aspired. ‘The school we attended was multiracial – that was a first for us. It was also the first time we were exposed to the English language,’ says Nonkululeko.
In 2003 – their matric year – the twins attended a career expo in Newcastle, where they both decided to pursue a career in Human Resources. ‘We knew nothing about HR at the time, but because our classmates were keen on it, we decided to follow suit,’ says Hlengiwe. Little did they know HR would become a shared passion. After school the twins relocated to Johannesburg, moved into a house together and studied a Bachelor of Administration HR at the University of Johannesburg.
Fast forward 18 years and Nonkululeko now works in the mining industry as a talent specialist, while Hlengiwe is employed as a project specialist in the education and training space at the Insurance Sector Education and Training Authority.
Nonkululeko was helping a colleague fill in an application to study at Henley Business School when she realised that she, too, wanted to study further. She didn’t waste any time, signing up for the honours-level Postgraduate Diploma in Management Practice (PGDip) at Henley like her colleague. Doing the PGDip, she says, has had far-reaching implications in her professional life. ‘Because the programme is so practical in nature it integrates what you already know with what is currently happening in the market. The course helped me grow mentally, and I became more efficient at work. It also taught me discipline and resilience.’
Not to be left behind, and inspired by her sister’s experience at Henley, Hlengiwe signed up for the PGDip as well. ‘I want to be a great leader, and I believe the PGDip will help me grow both professionally and on a personal level’ she says. ‘I’ve only completed the first block so far but already I have learned a lot about leadership styles, personal values and bias behaviours that I need to implement in all aspects of my life.’
Life does not begin and end with study and work, and Henley’s balanced, family-friendly structure appealed to the twins, who are both mothers and want time to spend with their families. ‘In my spare time I love cooking and spending quality time with my two little girls,’ says Hlengiwe. ‘Studying at Henley makes this possible for me.’
Does their learning journey stop with the PGDip? Absolutely not, they say. Hlengiwe is considering a Masters in Leadership, while Nonkululeko has her sights set on Henley’s Global MBA.
Watch this space.