• Basani Queen B Rikhotso started Arise and Shine after her divorce and has spent four years helping women move forward after difficult experiences.
• The mother of three brings experts together to help women with their spiritual, mental, health, social and business needs after major setbacks.
A painful divorce could have kept Basani Queen B Rikhotso down.
Instead, the Giyani educator and mother of three turned one of the hardest periods of her life into a mission to help other women.
Rikhotso knows how difficult it can be to rebuild a life after a painful setback.
After her marriage ended, she had to find the strength to move forward while also taking care of her children.
She said she refused to allow the divorce to define the rest of her life.
As she started healing, Rikhotso met other women who were also facing difficult situations.
Some were carrying emotional pain and struggling to see a way forward.
Their stories inspired her to start Arise and Shine, an event aimed at encouraging women to heal, rebuild their confidence and continue with their lives.
For the past four years, Rikhotso has brought women together to remind them that they do not have to remain trapped in their pain.
She told Scrolla.Africa that her own experience helped her understand how important support can be during difficult times.
“Healing from divorce is not an easy journey, but I had to pull my socks up for my kids because if you are a depressed parent, you frustrate the children,” Rikhotso said.
Her Arise and Shine events do not focus only on her own experiences.
She invites different guests to speak to women about the challenges they face.
Experts cover areas including mental health, physical health, business, social issues and spiritual matters.
Rikhotso wants women attending the events to receive support for different parts of their lives rather than focusing only on one problem.
Faith also played an important role in her own healing.
She said prayer, reading the Bible and trusting God helped her through her difficult period.
Among the Bible verses that gave her strength was Isaiah 43:18, which encourages people not to remain stuck in the past and speaks about God doing something new.
She also found comfort in Philippians 4:6, which encourages believers to take their worries to God through prayer.
Rikhotso now uses what she learnt during her own struggles to encourage women facing divorce, disappointment and other hardships.
Her message during Women’s Month is that a painful chapter does not have to become the whole story.
“Focus on improving your life. God wants to do a new thing with your life even in that pain,” she said.
“Bury the past, as this is not the end of life, but a start of a new chapter.”
What began as Rikhotso’s personal journey has grown into a platform for other women.
Her work has also opened doors for her to speak at different events, where she shares her experiences and encourages women to find the strength to move forward.
She believes women can use difficult experiences as a starting point for rebuilding their lives rather than allowing those experiences to hold them back.
Rikhotso is now preparing for the fourth edition of the Arise and Shine event.
It will take place on 10 October at Mashamba Lodge in Giyani.
For Queen B, the event carries a message she learnt through her own painful journey: life does not stop when things fall apart.
Sometimes, the end of one chapter can become the beginning of another.
Pictured above: Basani Queen B Rikhotso turned her experience of divorce into a platform that helps other women heal and rebuild their lives.
Image source: Supplied.
