By KOPANO MONAHENG
For Thato Ditshego, losing her mother was not simply losing a parent – it was losing her best friend, adviser and the person she could turn to when life became difficult.
“When your mother is still alive, you have everything,” Ditshego said, reflecting on the special relationship she shared with her mother before her passing in 2019.
The two were inseparable. They could talk about almost anything, from everyday challenges to the biggest decisions life could throw at them. Her mother was always there with advice, encouragement and a listening ear.
But when she died, Thato was left with a painful emptiness.
Instead of allowing the loss to silence her, however, she decided to turn her pain into a platform that could bring mothers and daughters closer together.
That vision gave birth to the Mother and Daughter Programme, an annual gathering aimed at creating an open space where women and girls can share their experiences, learn from one another and strengthen the relationships between parents and their children.
Held during Women’s Month, the programme encourages mothers and daughters to have conversations that are sometimes difficult to start at home.
For Ditshego, the gathering is about much more than bringing people into one room. It is about sharing lessons that can be taken beyond the event and applied in everyday life.
“Each and every parent or daughter in this room is able to learn and educate one another,” she said.
The message appeared to resonate strongly, with the latest gathering drawing people from across Gauteng.
Women and daughters travelled from the Vaal, Ekurhuleni and Soweto to attend the event, showing just how important spaces for honest family conversations have become.
The gathering was held on Saturday, 15 August, at I Deserve Spa and Projects in Orlando West, Soweto is situated at the famous street in the world, the Vilakazi Street.
For Ditshego, the overwhelming attendance was a sign that the programme is touching lives – but she believes it can grow even further.
She hopes to see women and daughters from other parts of Gauteng, including the West Rand and Tshwane, joining future gatherings.
What began from the heartbreak of losing a mother has now become a celebration of the precious bond between mothers and daughters.
And through her mother’s memory, Ditshego is ensuring that other families are reminded of something simple but powerful: while we still have our mothers, we should cherish every conversation, every lesson and every moment.
