Nothabo Ncube fulfils mother’s death-bed wish Dr Nothabo Ncube
Dr Nothabo Ncube

Dr Nothabo Ncube

Ruth Butaumocho Gender Profile
When a 14-year-old Nothabo Ncube lost her mother she was devastated. However, in the midst of all the pain and loss – a promise was born.

It was a promise that she would become a doctor and fulfil her mother’s wishes. Fourteen years down the line Nothabo is now a medical doctor, in fulfilment of the promise she made whilst her mother lay in her coffin.

Not only did she turn the words of a little girl into a reality, but she is slowly becoming a force to reckon with on the global scene using motivational speaking to inspire and uplift multitudes of people across.

Dr Ncube, who also goes by the moniker, Dr Thabo, is a motivational speaker and a Millennial mentor, who have featured on various forums.

“I have always known I am called to inspire people and I am thankful that now God is opening doors for me to do just that,” she recently revealed in an interview from her base in Canada, where she is domiciled.

Dr Ncube (28) recently shared her story on TEDx platform and will also be speaking in August at the Divine Feminine Conference and at some schools in South Africa.

She is also expected to feature at another similar platform at the University of Science and Technology in Bulawayo to empower, to educate inspire and use pain as a pedestal towards the pinnacle of purpose.

For someone who grew up like any other girl in her neighbourhood of Mahatshula in Bulawayo, with childhood dreams that needed to be nurtured and supported by both her parents, Dr Ncube’s journey has been one filled with loss, pain, failures, mistakes, resilience, courage, hope and overcoming adversity.

When many thought she would turn out to be waylaid kid, following the death of her mother, Dr Ncube, dared to be different and motivated herself to greatness, despite her difficult circumstances.

Although she temporarily stumbled following the loss of her mother and at one time thought of quitting, she realised that there was no way she could let the dream of becoming a doctor falter.

“Becoming a doctor was regarded as the best achievement possible for a black child so being a doctor would make not only my family proud but my entire community.

“My late who was a medical doctor affirmed to me that it was possible. I would also say that it was my grandfathers’ and parents’ prayer that I would become a doctor so naturally their prophecy over my life was my driving force,” she revealed.

When the family migrated to Canada in search of greener pastures two years after the death of her mother, Dr Ncube still believed in the beauty of her dreams, and started work in achieving this.

Thrown into the deep end of life, where she was exposed to drug addicts and sex workers she had to soul search in order to overcome. “I had to dig deeper within myself to rise above that. I had to dig within myself for inspiration.

“I remember growing up with kids who often were pregnant as teenagers, who had lost their way in school and I had to make a conscious decision that I was not going to be a victim of my own circumstances,” she said.

She worked hard in school and graduated with an A and made it to university. However, it was while she was at university that depression got the better of her, seriously affecting her academic work.

“I lost my way. I could barely wake up to go to classes. I lost my energy and zeal to life. I lost hope. That young girl who was driven and was set to become a doctor, had lost it,” she recalled.

Dr Ncube got kicked out of the programme when she flunked some of the subjects. It was at that point that her late mother’s words jolted her to reality. “Qina mntanam”, (Be Strong)

Dr Ncube reapplied and was admitted. She knew that she had to fulfil the promise that she had to her mother. “The promise to become a doctor was my gift to her for all that she had poured into me.

“As destiny would have it turned out that the journey leading to the fulfilment of the promise would in turn be my greatest gift as it awakened me to my purpose of inspiring and changing lives,” she said.

With financial assistance from well-wishers, she managed to complete her medical studies. Looking back, Dr Ncube concedes that her life has not been rosy, but she managed to work hard to achieve what she has today.

“You are not what happened to you. You really are not. You are who you chose to become in this moment. You are the result of the story that you tell yourself, about who you are,” she said.

Living in foreign land has also not been without its own fair of challenges. “Being a foreigner I have faced systemic racism. There have been times when I felt let down by the system though I have never been the one to succumb to racism. I don’t allow anything to get in the way of me and my goals,” enthused Dr Ncube.

Now a fully qualified doctor, Dr Ncube has set her sets in building her name in motivational speaking, an ingrained passion that she discovered while counselling family and friends. “I am a motivational speaker.

“I feel I have always been one. It started off on the phone with family, friends and on Facebook, I would always find myself motivating and encouraging other people, even those much older than me. I am the kind of person everyone calls when they are going through something,” she said.

Having made inroads in her career, Dr Ncube hopes to build an empire. “My dream is to have a successful empire and impacting lives on a global scale.

“It is my intention to create a platform where we can share our stories of triumph – stories that remind us that we are more alike than we are different – stories that will awaken us to our true human potential,” said the motivational speaker who is inspired by Oprah Winfrey, Tererai Trent and Michelle Obama.

Dr Ncube urged aspiring young men and women to have faith in the Lord.

“My advice to aspiring young women and men is for them to know always that they are supported by a force bigger than them – God,” she said.

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