HASEENA PATEL
I’m a born and bred South African. I have always believed that one is born in a particular country for a reason, and that country provides what is needed to shape you into the person you are supposed to be.
Through my BA degree, majoring in education and English, I have had the experience of teaching students both in a classroom and privately. I have learned as much from my students as they have from me! Receiving motivational and leadership training from well-known speakers and authors, such as Dr Myles Munroe, John Mason, and Charlie “Tremendous” Jones, has also shaped my life.
Having experienced my own life-changing crises, I have been able to support people who are going through crises. It is from these experiences that my books, I Choose Victory and The Question Powerbook came into being
Recently, the issue of girls’ empowerment, that has meant so much to me my entire life, culminated in the Leave No Girl Behind Movement. I believe in the power of a woman to impact the world. Women and girls are an untapped resource as well as the people who shape young minds and influence their actions – what enormous power they have!
One of my biggest dreams is to become a naturopathic physician (and then branch out into energy medicine), and make a difference in people’s lives in this way.
I’m grateful to be alive during what I feel is a magical era – we are experiencing so many “world firsts”, and I see so much possibility and hope around me. Oh, and lastly, I’m a Harry Potter fan – I love the series. My mantra has been that you can’t die before you’ve read the Harry Potter series!
SHAMEEMA PATEL
Perhaps the best way to describe me is using one of my strongest beliefs: what happens to you in life doesn’t define you – you define yourself and your experiences by how you respond to them. So while we’re discussing this, let’s deal with the “elephant in the room” – the reason for the phoenix picture here! Some may know (because of my sister’s first book, I Choose Victory) that I went through a life-threatening health challenge. I have the battle scars to prove it, and since I do not allow the experience to define who I am, I prefer others to get to know who I am first as opposed to what I’ve been through! And I think the phoenix (with all that phoenixes represent) describe who I am best.
Although I have a BCom Information Management degree, my first love is books and reading. I love to sink my teeth into a well-written fantasy novel which doesn’t have the blood, guts and gore! Among my favourites are: the Lord of the Rings trilogy, the Harry Potter series, Mercedes Lackey’s books and David Eddings’ books.
Another obscure passion of mine is creating gluten-free, whole food delicacies – brand new dishes from basic, healthy ingredients. Eating them is fun too!!
Sometimes you don’t choose part of your life purpose, it chooses you – this is what happened to me with Leave No Girl Behind, and I am now co-author of my first book, Leave No Girl Behind, which will be published soon! It has been and is an exciting adventure and I can’t wait to see it in print!