Words: Harriet Burke
When Thandeka Xapa finished school in 1997, she realised that she would never be able to look after her family and give them the life she had always wanted with only a matric qualification. Today the young girl who grew up in Butterworth in the Eastern Cape is not only an accountant at JUSTpaper and the mother of one happy, healthy son, aged nine; she is also an inspiration to every woman in South Africa who wants to rise above difficult circumstances to achieve greatness.
Xapa, who now lives in Gugulethu in Cape Town, always knew that she had a head for figures and that she wanted a career in accounting. Willing to work hard, Xapa started working at a local take-away shop and saved all her money. At the age of 20, with enough money saved up and support from her parents, she started on her journey to become an accountant.
“As a woman you always need to be strong and keep on believing, even if it seems impossible,” says Xapa. After three years of hard work and multiple setbacks she received her accounting qualification and became an Independent Accountant.
At one of her first accounting jobs, Xapa caught her colleague and relative stealing money from the company. “It was an incredibly difficult situation to be in, I had no choice but to report it. My integrity has always meant a lot to me, and without integrity I am nothing,” explains Xapa.
During this difficult time Xapa’s son was her motivation. She constantly thought of him and what kind life she wanted for him and the role model she wanted to be for him. One day Xapa’s brother visited and asked her to help provide financially for his son. Xapa could not say no, and instantly her responsibilities, and inspiration, doubled.
After exposing the fraud at work, Xapa decided it was time to move on and was appointed as an accountant at JUSTpaper in July 2014. “Thandeka is one of the most inspirational people I have ever met. She always takes great responsibility for her work. It is our vision at JUSTpaper to invest in our people and by so doing in the community in which we operate. We are inspired by Thandeka’s hard work and motivation.” says Nicole Rosenbaum director at JUSTpaper.
“Working for JUSTpaper has been such a privilege, I really feel at home here,” says Xapa who is a living example of how anything is possible with hard work and determination. She is now able to look after her family and be part of her son’s life. “I always tell him that it is important to believe in yourself and not to limit your potential,” says Xapa who is a woman leading by example.
For more information on JUSTpaper, visit www.just-paper.com or www.hrspapers.co.za. Join their Facebook page at www.facebook.com/JUSTPaper.
