To the women who gave birth to disabled children and took care of them regardless of their difficult situations...

TO ALL WOMEN - IN SOUTH AFRICA AND AROUND THE WORLD

• To those women who are single parents who gave up everything they had 2 raise the children they considered a special gift but paid dearly at the end because of those children.
   
• To all the women who struggle everyday to put food on the table, 2 all those who have sleepless nights because the child they raised decided not to come home. 2 those who have tried everything in vane to help their children who are abusing substances.
   
• To the women who are suffering because some dumb drunk man turned them into punching bags but they still quiet, to the women whose dreams were put on hold or even shuttered because a man forced himself on them.
   
•  To the women who doubt their self worth because they have been repeatedly told how useless they are, to all those who cry with hope that their loved ones who just vanished without a trace some day will show up.
   
• To the women who have taken in orphans, cared for them and raised them as their own. To those women volunteers who wake up early in the morning to lend a hand to elderly people, to all those who care for bedridden patients with no one to turn to.
   
• To the women who take care and watch the children they raised die because of the AIDS epidemic and to the women who are HIV positive today because a man they trusted with their lives was unfaithful. 
   
• To the women who gave up their childhood, dreams and aspirations because of the struggle to liberate this country.
   
•  To the women who are on their knees day in and out praying for God’s mercy upon this generation.

WE WANNA SAY, THANK YOU FOR:

• Taking those baby steps with us, for making everyday a special occasion, for taking and making time to listen to us, for nurturing us and our talents, for believing in us, for supporting and loving us unconditionally, for guiding us, for unleashing the potential in us, thank you for making us realise that we are powerful beyond measure. Thank you for being our pillars of strength, our inspiration and motivation and thank you for giving us a shoulder to cry on, for turning our tragedies into triumphs.

YOU ARE:

Powerful, wonderful, special and very much appreciated. You are capable of making dreams comes true, you have come against all odds, you have been through it all yet you  kept your heads up and did not give up, you can make it no matter what they say because you are not just women but women of integrity, our country’s pride and we love you for that.

This was written by BONGA MABALEKA for YouthTube, a Sowetan LIVE initiative dedicated to the youth.