Mbombela woman who grew up in a shack rebuilds her life after years of hardship

• Sandisile Sithole grew up in a shack in Mbombela, raised by teenage parents who struggled to make ends meet
• Sithole faced teenage motherhood, physical abuse, retrenchment and job loss before returning to education to rebuild her future
• Her dream of launching Sandie Beauty and Spa represents years of sacrifice and her belief that hardship does not have to define a person's ending

Sandisile Welma Sithole, a woman from Mbombela, Mpumalanga, is turning years of hardship into a foundation for something new. She's working towards launching her own beauty and spa business.

Born on 2 February 1989 to teenage parents, Sithole grew up in a fragile shack where her father's income as a builder was unreliable, and the family often struggled to cover basic needs. Her great-grandmother helped raise her while her mother completed schooling, and from an early age, Sithole understood what it meant to go without.

Her school years brought fresh challenges. In Grade 11, she fell pregnant, and in 2007, while completing Grade 12, she gave birth. The matric results she had hoped for did not come, and a second attempt also fell short. Despite the setback, she refused to stop. She said:

"This was discouraging because I knew that education could open doors to a better future. However, my circumstances did not allow me to give up on life; I had a child to raise, and somehow, I had to find a way forward."

Sandie Beauty & Spa owner escaped abuse

In 2009, she made the painful decision to leave an abusive relationship to protect herself and her baby. The fallout was brutal: her child's father's family withdrew their support and demanded the return of the baby's clothing and nappies. She recalled:

"It felt like a sharp dagger piercing my heart. I was forced to find a way to provide for myself."

Mbombela woman becomes homeowner

From casual retail work in Mbombela to a promotion to assistant manager in Barberton by 2012, Sithole kept climbing. She married, and in 2015 the couple built a home in Kamagugu, on the outskirts of Mbombela. For a woman who had grown up in a shack, the house carried enormous weight:

"It represented the stability I had lacked as a child and the chance to give my family a secure place to live."

She later improved her matric results, enrolled for a Diploma in Business Management in 2018, and in 2024 completed a beauty technician course. A retrenchment in 2014 and a job loss in 2024 tested her resolve yet again, but neither stopped her.

Sithole's goal of establishing Sandie Beauty and Spa is the culmination of every lesson her life has taught her. She sees beauty as more than appearance; it is about helping people feel valued and at ease in themselves. She explained:

"I refused to be defined by my circumstances, but rather by how I overcame them and claimed victory on the other side."

Her vision extends to her children, whom she hopes will grow up with the confidence and opportunity she had to fight hard to find. Sandisile concluded:

"Our beginning need not determine our ending."

Other Briefly News stories about youth entrepreneurship

• Ronaldinho Norman, a 19-year-old Grade 12 learner from the Cape Flats, chose to forgo expensive pre-matric dance celebrations to organise a massive community food drive.
• Tamia Nontsikelelo, founder of the brand Tol'Thema, shared how a personal struggle with managing her hair on a tight student budget led her to start wearing headwraps.
• Tshidzi Muthivhi, a 22-year-old entrepreneur, gained widespread admiration after sharing her journey of building Revive Day Spa in Soweto from a small back room.

Source: Briefly News

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