The ‘Ladybrille Woman of the Week’ is a feature on Ladybrille that celebrates women who empower themselves and others, through their contributions and actions, in their local and international communities. These women are intelligent, courageous, confident, and innovative. They strive for balance in their personal lives (whether emotionally, mentally, and spiritually), are persistent, and when they fall, they get right back up. These women honor and stand in their truths. They are business and community leaders, visionaries, and game changers. They are our sisters, aunties, mothers, friends and so much more. They are “Ladybrille” (brilliant) women.
If you are a woman or know of a woman who should be celebrated as a ‘Ladybrille Woman of the Week,’ please feel free to email ([email protected]).
This week, we celebrate Mazuba Kapambwe, a Social Media and Communications Director and a name to watch in the African media and entertainment space.
LADYBRILLE: What do you do professionally and what have some of your accomplishments been to date?
Mazuba: For my ‘day job’, I am the Social Media and Communications Director for a performance based theater company in Lusaka, Zambia called Barefeet. I am the co-host of travel/reality-docu travel show ‘The Fest Gurus’, a radio correspondent for Australian based Radio Afro and a freelance writer for Afripop mag and Digital Art Africa .
My accomplishments to date: I’ll focus on my ‘recent accomplishments’ for 2013: I am honored to be one of the eleven inaugural Lusaka Global Shapers. Shapers are young leaders who are passionate about bringing change in the community and is a global initiative of the World Economic Forum (WEF). I serve as PR Director of the Lusaka shapers hub.
I was named one of the ‘Top Zambians To Follow on Twitter in 2013′ by Corporate Heelz (women’s entrepreneurship magazine), one of the ’35 Under 35’ outstanding African women by Afro Elle magazine and one of the ‘Youth Doing Positive things in Zambia’ by The Best of Zambia website.
LADYBRILLE: What drives you to make a difference the way you currently are?
Mazuba: I was scrolling through my timeline the other day, and I saw this tweet from Lola Ogunnaike which was said by Al Sharpton “You owe because you’ve received”, and I think that’s the best way to describe my motivation for making a difference. I struggle sometimes with answering this question because I’m in the social media/entertainment space, so what I do to ‘make a difference’ is connecting people who sometimes end up collaborating, using social media to let the world know about the theater company and it’s mission which is to keep youth off the streets by teaching them skills like acrobats.
LADYBRILLE: When self-doubt creeps in, what do you say to yourself to stay focused?
Mazuba: Great question. When I was growing up, we had the serenity prayer poster on the living room wall. Because that poster was always there, I memorized it. It’s only later when I realized how powerful those words are. “God grant me the serenity, to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference”. We doubt ourselves as creatives all the time, so saying that prayer, which is more of a mantra to me helps.
LADYBRILLE: What makes you smile?
Mazuba: My little cousins. They’re both below ten years of age, super cute and have personality to match. When I spend time with them, I almost feel like a kid again.
LADYBRILLE: Health is so important but often many brilliant women simply neglect self because they are always so busy serving others. How are you taking care of your health?
Mazuba: I admit that I’m not as health focused as I should be. I drink a lot of coffee, and don’t have a proper sleep schedule (the typical creative story). However, when my dad’s around, I sometimes go on long walks with him which is my preferred form of exercise. There’s this hill behind our house in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia that my parents and I hike up to when I’m there, and its quite a workout. The best part is the view at the top!
LADYBRILLE: What is it you hope, when you look back on your life, you never regret not doing or being?
Mazuba: One of my biggest dreams was to travel around the continent of Africa and attend music festivals. I decided to JUST DO IT with three of my friends in April and since then, we’ve been to Zimbabwe, Zambia and Malawi. We’ve created a show out of it called ‘The Fest Gurus’ which I co-host and I hope we’re able to travel full time next year. So I dont think I’ll die regretting not having travelled and experienced new cultures.
LADYBRILLE: Tell us how you define yourself, the Ladybrille (brilliant) woman?
Mazuba: I’m definitely ambitious. I have a very ‘Do It yourself’ mentality and not waiting around for people to do stuff if I can find a way of getting it done. I’m also creative and committed to supporting and promoting my fellow #zedcreatives as I call the bloggers, designers, photographers etc in Zambia.
LADYBRILLE: As a woman, what is the one most inspiring/empowering piece of advice you can give to our community of brilliant women as they navigate their personal and professional lives daily?
Mazuba: This quote by Maya Angelou sums it up I believe “You can only become truly accomplished at something you love. Don’t make money your goal. Instead, pursue the things you love doing, and then do them so well that people can’t take their eyes off you.”
Photocredit:Silumessi Maboshe
A running feature for 12 years on Ladybrille.com, The ‘Ladybrille Woman of the Month’ celebrates women in business and leadership, who empower themselves and others through their contributions and actions in their local and international communities. In 2014, the feature expanded to include a podcast show. If you would like to nominate a woman to be celebrated, please email [email protected].
Well Deserved! Go Maz
Nice one Maz keep doing wat u do best