Episode 2 of the Pat On Brands Dialogues: Flourishing Women’s Edition (brought to you by MTNPulse and Lerato Agency) took place this past Wednesday, the 11th of August. We watched Miss Mamelodi Sundown North West 2021, Fortune Mbopo hosting a Banyana Banyana star who has since joined Atletico Madrid, Thembi Kgatlana.
Humble beginings
Thembi shared her journey from humble beginnings of being a little girl in Mohlakeng (west of Johannesburg) to becoming an international soccer player. Her self-awareness and her knowing that she is destined for greatness started from a very young age. “I knew that I was needed somewhere, I just did not know where”, said Thembi.
One highlight that gave the viewers more knowledge of Thembi’s personality has to be the part where she shared her view around hard work, friends, and education. There is a strong stereotype around soccer players being uneducated individuals. Thembi brought a little bit of light on how she values education. She attributes most of the opportunities she had to have gone to school.
Determination drives excellence
Determination is what separates those who follow their passion from those who choose to follow one path. It is safe to say that Thembi falls under the group of determined individuals. In her matric year, she was selected to play for our national team, Banyana Banyana. She only attended school for 6 months and still managed to pass with an average of 85%.
A lot of lessons came from this Dialogue, like diet, the importance of staying true to oneself as well as knowing when to strike.
Catch next week’s dialogue on Wednesday the 18th of August at 12:00 featuring Nandi Jiyane and Pertunia Sibanyoni. The dialogue will be live on all Pat On Brands social media pages, you could be the next winner for Thembi Kgatlana’s book, titled Strike A Rock.
