Saray Khumalo is the first black African woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest but there\u2019s a lot more to her than that – she\u2019s a sister, a mother, an executive leader and loves creating entrepreneurial businesses out of nothing \u2013 especially when also making people\u2019s lives better. Saray is Mandela Day Libraries ambassador and through her climbs has been able to raise over R1 million which has gone to literacy and education.<\/p>\n
Hi Saray, many thanks for your time, why is literacy and education so important to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI believe that literacy and education is the only way we can secure the future leaders of Africa compete on the global stage. We keep saying the world is a global village \u2013 but what are we doing for our kids to make sure they do not remain colonised? I feel that women leaders are a lot more equipped and ready. It is our time to actually make that happen because we are the first in contact with these kids and we have an opportunity to raise them to be responsible adults and responsible global citizens.\u201d<\/p>\n What is your definition of a modern day warrior woman?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cI think it\u2019s being fearless, assertive and confident in who they are. Recognising that they are unique and they have something to contribute. What is nice now is it is not only certain jobs we can do; it is what we want <\/em>to do and what we are passionate<\/em> about. \u00a0It is the ability to almost go against the grain and be fearless in that respect. Being a warrior woman is recognising that you can fail forward, then get up and do this. I believe that a summit is just a next step away \u2013 when you stop taking those steps \u2013 you\u2019re not going to summit. So get on with it!\u201d<\/p>\n Why do you identify as a warrior woman?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s an interesting question. I think I was raised by warrior women and that\u2019s why I identify as one. Unlike some, I\u2019m not ashamed of my failings. One of the most difficult things that happened to me is I fell off my mountain bike and I had a terrible head injury and was in a coma for three weeks. When I woke up I had scars on my face and it changed my dynamic. I could either have stayed in my house and hid myself from everyone or accept that this is the new me. I can deal with this so the whole world must deal with this. I think that\u2019s important \u2013 it\u2019s trusting in what you can still give, moving forward and working with what you have.<\/p>\n I\u2019m a fighter, I\u2019m not afraid to fail and I\u2019m not ashamed of failure because I know in every failure there\u2019s a learning. Those learnings move me forward and they build my character. I am what I am today through the successes and failures I\u2019ve had throughout my journey and I think it is recognising that. It becomes more evident with maturity I suppose \u2013 we learn to forgive ourselves and just move on.\u201d<\/p>\n What has been your biggest and most important battle? <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt has been leading myself even though everyone around me was starting to doubt me. Cheering myself on- \u00a0even though it seemed crazy to people around me. It\u2019s waking up and saying \u2018I can do this\u2019, even though the person who believed in me yesterday does not believe in me today.\u00a0 It is waking up at Camp Four on Mount Everest and realising I\u2019m frostbitten, I\u2019m not going to be able to climb again, I have to go down and yet I was 99 metres from the top. It\u2019s convincing myself that it\u2019s okay, it wasn\u2019t my time, I need to wait for God\u2019s time and that\u2019s been challenging.<\/p>\n Also, lot more than that, when people you trust suddenly think you shouldn\u2019t get funding because no black African female is ready to climb the mountain. It is like I am being judged not by my capability but the colour of my skin as well as my femininity. But I am going to show you, for the next girl to come along, to be taken seriously. So, it\u2019s sad and it has been the most low and the most challenging thing. I had multiple legitimate reasons not to go back and fight and anybody would have understood if I hadn\u2019t. But you try and that\u2019s why you have to be your own cheerleader. If you don\u2019t believe in yourself why should the world believe in you? Just the fact that I have summated and you thought I couldn\u2019t is enough revenge.<\/p>\n I climbed Aconcagua and I was the only girl and non-European and one of the guys said, \u2018Oh, you\u2019re from South Africa, there are no huge mountains there\u2019, very condescending you know \u2013 you\u2019re black, you\u2019re female \u2013 you\u2019re not going to summit. But he didn\u2019t and I did. When I came down I just said, \u2018Hello \u2013 it was amazing up there.\u2019 That was a lesson for the rest of his life; I didn\u2019t need to say anything else and next time he sees somebody like me he won\u2019t judge them because of the way they look or the colour of their skin or where they come from but by their ability. I think we as a generation can live anything and pass the right baton to the next generation of young girls and boys so they can compete at the same level as everybody else.\u201d<\/p>\n What type of warrior woman would you describe yourself as and why?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cNot being afraid of failure is a big thing for me and I wasn\u2019t always like this, it is something you learn over time and it makes you take chances and they may not be calculated but usually I take calculated risks. Also, not being afraid to be vulnerable – because there is strength in vulnerability. For the longest time women were not allowed to air their views \u2013 even in boardrooms \u2013 being too emotional as a female. But maybe that\u2019s what leadership needs, vulnerability, so that the world can run better. I think we\u2019ve given the male species enough time to rule the world \u2013 it\u2019s our time \u2013 and if it is, are we ready? We must prepare ourselves for that.\u201d<\/p>\n What are the skills, characteristics or tools of a warrior woman?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cNatural stuff \u2013 quite frankly. It\u2019s really about being comfortable with where you are, because maybe where you are is not where you want to be, but in that specific moment, be content with it. Run your own race, it is the discipline to know your own lane and stick to it because your time is coming. We always try and chew more than we need because we\u2019re watching the neighbours \u2013 but they\u2019re on their own journey.<\/p>\n Also, being authentic \u2013 you are unique for a reason \u2013 show us that. Maybe that\u2019s what the world needs to be in a better place, don\u2019t hide it away, be you. We have one Kim Kardashian we don\u2019t need more. And, I think, honesty with self and honesty with the environment. We are who we are because of those around us, Ubuntu<\/em>, it is something we should all be proud of because it has brought us to where we are.\u201d<\/p>\n Why is it important for warrior women to see themselves as warriors?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important for us as individuals because it\u2019s the only time to optimise showing who we are to the world and ourselves. We owe it to the next generation and if we look back, we are generally a paternalistic environment \u2013 very submissive \u2013 and we\u2019re not doing the world, the family, the community, our countries and our continent any favours by not contributing, by not stepping up and stepping forward effectively.<\/p>\n Seeing yourself as a warrior woman is also important because life is for the living, life is an adventure \u2013 explore it! Whether it is through cooking, go do that \u2013 we need good cooks! It\u2019s climbing mountains, go and do it because that\u2019s what we need at that specific point. Leadership, that\u2019s what we need, there\u2019s a leadership crisis \u2013 who is going to fix it? You talking about it isn\u2019t going to fix it.<\/p>\n Our kids are watching us more than anything, our girl-child is watching, our boy-child is watching because that boy-child will treat the girl-child in the future based on how we behave. Which is why I think its important \u2013 especially for mothers \u2013 we carry babies for nine months and we can direct where this world moves and that\u2019s a huge responsibility. It\u2019s not just about being a warrior and getting excited about that, let\u2019s also recognise how much responsibility that comes with.\u201d<\/p>\n What are your words of affirmation? <\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt is our time and that says it all. You need to figure out what makes you extraordinary, what makes you unique \u2013 you owe it to yourself, you owe it to the world, you owe it to the sisterhood to show up and step forward because it is time for us to actually change the game.\u201d<\/p>\n Which women warriors do you look up to?<\/strong><\/p>\n \u201cIt is two people mainly who have made such a massive difference in my life \u2013 my mother and my grandmother. My grandmother was the Gogo who got us all into her fields to cultivate and whenever she harvested it wasn\u2019t just for the family it was for the neighbourhood. She was a Pastor\u2019s wife and the only Granny I saw who could cycle. She was one of those people who if there was a knock at the door at dinner time she would say bring your plates and share your meat with the visitors because there was no more meat in the pot. For her it was important to share and she taught me a sense of responsibility for the person next to me. If there\u2019s suffering, why am I laughing? \u00a0Tomorrow I may be suffering. It\u2019s my duty to lift them up because there\u2019s a lot of sun for everybody.<\/p>\n My mother, oh my word! She wasn\u2019t as educated as her siblings but she just believed so much in education and she would always say, \u2018I didn\u2019t get a boy and that\u2019s okay \u2013 you can be anything that you want\u2019, and she always reminded us of that. If you cried too much about something which went wrong she would tell you to get over it, look at what you learned and move on. She and I at one point didn\u2019t really get along because she was so militant and I suppose she felt she had to be a mother and a father at the same time. I absolutely look up to both of these women because I am what I am today because of them and the role they\u2019ve played in my life.<\/p>\n There are other women I look up to and say, \u2018Wow!\u2019 Like Serena Williams and Thuli Madonsela. Where you least expect it we have a voice and the world will cheer you on afterwards. Not everyone will like you, but if what you\u2019re doing is earnest with good intentions, let\u2019s get on with it.\u201d<\/p>\n Many thanks for sharing your vulnerability and wisdom with us Saray. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n Listen to Matoyana Media’s Podcasts here:\u00a0https:\/\/soundcloud.com\/user-201756680-698831979\/8-episode-06-in-conversation-1<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Warrior Women with Sarah-Jane Boden<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n