Carol Sanderson started out as a volunteer at a community radio station. She used this opportunity to develop every skill she could, from reading the news to producing current affairs to answering the phones and making tea. Four years later she joined the SABC News team as a current affairs producer and presenter and gathered several awards. She then resigned to start the Casambo Exclusive Guest Lodge in Nelspruit, which she has grown to become an award-winning lodge that’s 100% black women owned.

When asked what has inspired her to take this journey, to redefine boundaries and constantly explore new opportunities:

I am inspired by the things I see on a daily basis. The woman selling vegetables on the side of the road with a baby on her back. A woman holding a flag slowing down cars at a construction site on a hot summer’s afternoon. Women who wake up early and endure hard work just to make sure that their families are provided for.

Sanderson’s success with Casambo is something she shares with others. She not only credits her husband, with whom she started the lodge, for helping her to make this dream into a reality, but for being her inspiration. She also uses the lodge as a platform to support local artists, and even funds their trips and competitions. She hasn’t completely left her radio roots behind either, and has a regular slot on RiseFM where she focuses on local artists, authors, culture and tourism.

“We are starting to realise that there is power and magic in unity,” she says. “There is power in talking to each other and feeding one another, rather than backstabbing. The dialogue is changing and women are initiating change every day. We still have a long way to go, but change is there.”

When asked what advice she would give other women looking to expand their dreams and horizons, she says, “Research your idea, see it, feel it, dream it and eat it. When you feel the fire, you will know it’s time.”

— Tamsin Oxford