magazine Archives - Womens Post

News October 25, 2018

Rihanna turns down Super Bowl half time offer

Rihanna has added her name to the list of celebrities standing in support of Colin Kaepernick. Recently the ‘Work’ singer has declined an offer to headline the coveted Super Bowl LIII Halftime Show, because she did not agree with the NFL’s stance on the kneeling controversy during the national anthem, or the league’s treatment of the quarterback.

Rihanna who has made a point to be aware of how ethnicity and body type affect ‘living experiences’ in her entrepreneurial ventures, including her makeup line, Fenty Beauty, which has 40 shades and her lingerie line, Savage X Fenty, which was touted as the most inclusive the New York Fashion Week (NYFW) history by including plus size and pregnant models, has joined a slew of other celebrities who also support Kaepernick, including JAY-Z, Ava DuVernay, Jenifer Lewis and John Legend.

Kaepernick made waves in headlines all over the internet when he first knelt during the national anthem, in an attempt to bring awareness to the far too many instances of police brutality and racial injustices.

However, as the trend caught on and other players also began to take the knee during the national anthem, many criticized the action; misinterpreting it as the players being disrespectful toward the flag as well as the military.

Outrage sparked so quickly that even President Donald Trump getting involved, calling for players who knelt to be fired for the action, which then lead to the NFL establishing the ‘kneeling ban’.

The former quarter back has not had an easy time following his stance and in spite of his amazing abilities and talents on the field, has failed to be picked up by an NFL team since he opted out of his contract with the San Fancisco 49ers in March 2017.

Since then he has filed a collusion suit against the NFL and team owners claiming that they conspired to shelf him and keep him out of the leagues over his protests.

In September, Kaepernick became the face of Nike’s ‘Just Do It’ campaign spreading the message that is uniquely his, “Believe in something. Even if it means sacrificing everything.”

This campaign has also seen backlash with many of Nike’s customers who are anti-Kaepernick burning their Nike gear in protest.

None of this has fazed Kaepernick and his supporters, and recently Amy Schumer has also made a call for more people to boycott the NFL and continue the protest police violence against young black men, by taking the knee during the national anthem.

In an instagram post, Schumer wrote “I wonder why more white players aren’t kneeling. Once you witness the truly deep inequality and endless racism people of color face in our country, not to mention the police brutality and murders. Why not kneel next to your brothers? Otherwise how are you not complicit?”

Kaepernick’s former teammate, Eric Reid, returned to the field this season with the Carolina Panthers and continued to protest during the anthem. Reid said he would continue to fight for the rights of African-Americans and other people of color.

Rihanna has reportedly made plans to work with the activist athlete in a ‘fun and powerful way’ that may see Kaepernick featured in a new music video addressing social justice reform.

News October 24, 2018

Contract between Saudi Arabia and Canada ‘frustrating’

With the revelation of the killing of Washington Post journalist, Jamal Khashoggi, in Saudi Arabia’s consulate, Turkey, there is increasing pressure for Canada to cancel its contract for sale of light armoured vehicles (LAVs) to the kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

Canada’s Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said that while Canada has condemned the killing of the journalist and is not afraid to freeze permits on arms exports, the contracts that bind them to supply LAVs to Saudi Arabia are very difficult to break.

Speaking to Matt Galloway on CBC Radio’s Metro Morning on Tuesday, Trudeau explained that the way the previous Conservative government negotiated the contract made it very frustratingly difficult to suspend and prevented disclosure of conditions.

“The contract signed by the previous government, by Stephen Harper, makes it very difficult to suspend or leave that contract,” Trudeau said. “We are looking at a number of things, but it is a difficult contract.

“I actually can’t go into it, because part of the deal on this contract is not talking about this contract, and it’s one of the binds that we are left in because of the way that the contract was negotiated.”

Germany has already stopping its arms sales in light of the incident and other countries, and are working to figure out what kind of diplomatic and economic pressure could be applied to Saudi Arabia to make it clear that the apparent murder of the once Saudi royal family insider within the walls of the Saudi embassy in Turkey is unacceptable.

The world has of course noticed that Canada, which has had a very serious rift with the kingdom, beginning earlier this year, when the government publicly criticized the arrests of women’s rights activities, is still sanctioning the military deal.

While Trudeau said the government was not afraid to suspend military export permits like they had in the past, he explained that this contract could have more of a back lash on Canada and they were doing their due diligence with looking into the matter.

“I do not want to leave Canadians holding a billion dollar bill because we’re trying to move forward on doing the right thing. So we are navigating this very carefully and that’s pretty much all I can say on that.” said Trudeau.

Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland has made it very clear that Canada condemns the killing of the journalist and that the Saudis’ “explanations” of the killing of Khashoggi “lack consistency and credibility.”

She has also agreed with the federal government’s call for a thorough investigation in collaboration with Turkish officials, demanding a full and transparent investigation.

“We are gravely concerned by the murder of Jamal Khashoggi,” she said. “We do not find the explanations that have been offered to date to be credible or consistent. That is a serious problem for Canada.” She said.

However, while the Opposition is calling for government to invoke the new Magnitsky law which gives the government the authority to freeze Canadian assets of foreign individuals who have violated human rights, to sanction those responsible for Khashoggi’s death, there is as yet no concrete word on whether that is the course Canada will take.

Featured October 23, 2018

First time travelling to the Big Apple

I live in beautiful Barbados, literally the land of white pristine sandy beaches, turquoise waters, tropical fruit trees and lots of coconut trees. I live in a country where it is impossible to never see greenery, with hills and pastures stretching for seeming miles, all lush with thick flora, so imagine my shock when I first traveled to New York City for a two week vacation and could not see anything but concrete and insane squirrels.

It was a culture shock for sure, but I was ready for the adventure!

Hopped up on the amazing stories from the TV shows like Sex and the City and Gossip Girl, I was beyond excited to get this vacation going. I had plans on shopping and a lot of eating. Now I’m not a ‘travelholic’ and this trip to the Big Apple was something that I had dreamt of, but had not actually considered doing.

While I was excited to go over there and I had of course air marked few places I wanted to go to because I was all about that sales shopping life and had dreamt of running around in huge malls, I also had to make sure I took care of a couple of things.

First time on the train was such an experience!

Now not many of you may have to ever worry whether the bank you use is accessible in another country, or that your credit card may not work, but as it turned out, these were things I had to make sure of and have a plan of attack finances wise.

Sorted all of it and before I knew it I was in the air on my way to the concrete jungle and thus began my sojourn into the world of USA.

I rode my very first train and was freaking out because, it was more or less punctual and people were so casual about the fact that they were on a train going underground, but for me, I was legit in a whole new world. I fell in love with the graffiti, with the characters on every train and the total ease of movement. I became lost in the Museum of Natural History, geeking out about dinosaurs and the cosmos and then could not for the life of me figure out how to leave the building.

And let’s talk food. My first deep dish pizza, my first time at an IHOP and saw the massive amount of pancakes they offered. The drinks that I was incapable of finishing!

I went out a lot. I don’t think I even spent one day in my hotel room. One of my friends made sure that i experienced authentic Chinese food and Japanese food. I took a bus for the longest bus ride of my life- a whole two hours and ended up in a mall that as you can imagine I also for one heart stopping moment was sure I was stuck in because I could not find my way back to the ground floor. It seemed to go on forever!

I was able to see my friends going about their daily lives and explore different parts of New York, all culminating for me in Brooklyn, where I went to an art party and ended up ‘palancing’ ( a Trinidadian dance) with over a hundred people on the main floor of the art museum.

My time in the Big Apple was exactly what I thought it would be: awesome, inspiring and eye-opening.

I came back to Barbados full of ideas, but also with a very real appreciation for how calm and slow paced life really is on the island and how much I also enjoy that.

News October 22, 2018

Latest layoffs in Barbados too rushed

Like a storm brewing in the ocean just about to hit land, the latest layoffs in Barbados have caused its own disaster with dangerously swirling emotions of anger and confusion.

On October 14, Prime Minster Mia Mottley made the announcement that the government was seeking to send home around 1,500 public servants during her national address from the official prime minister’s residence, Ilaro Court.

The retrenchment exercise, as explained by Mottley was in an attempt to cut government spending, in line with the objectives outlined in the Barbados Economic Recovery and Transformation (BERT) program, which has received backing from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

News of the impending layoffs were not met with any great enthusiasm, despite the Prime Minister’s attempts to lessen the blow, by utilizing the last in, first out policy, saying that more than 80 percent of the people who would be affected by the lay-offs were those holding temporary positions.

However, even as she explained that those being handed their notices would not be leaving empty-handed, the lay-offs were met by resistance nonetheless.

Mottley said it was regrettable to have to lay off so many, and explained that to her it was important that those who were terminated, left with a cheque dealing with the severance-type payments as well as the notice and the termination.

“None of us would feel good having to go home without knowing where money is coming from and who is going to help us tomorrow or to come back next week or next month and be begging for money,” she said.

The Trade Unions, most notably the National Union of Public Workers (NUPW) were not impressed by the news or how government has ‘rushed’ the layoff process and ‘kept them in the dark’.

On Tuesday it was revealed that most of the 955 central government workers who were to be laid off were female, and the largest public sector trade union described this move as ‘an attack against women’.

NUPW General Secretary Roslyn Smith told the media she was ‘a little bit disappointed in the way that things went’.

“Yes, we recognized that there will be layoffs, but at the same time, we believe that we should have had more time for consultation on such a sensitive issue . . . and when we look, we recognize females . . . as the householders. They are the single parents, they have to look after their children, they have mortgages and rents to pay,” she said.

Giving some credence to her words, many workers received their walking papers on Friday, October 19, less than a week after news broke about the layoffs, creating an atmosphere of anger and confusion.

Confusion because some of the workers were unsure of their employment status as they were terminated by word of mouth and then urged to continue to turn up for work by trade unionist Caswell Franklyn, furthering a very messy situation.

While Mottley said Government would be establishing a household mitigation unit to assist those now on the breadline to ensure that none of them fell below the minimal standard of living, the Unions are calling the exercise a ‘rush job’ and stating that they themselves were not given enough or proper notice of what was going to really happen or how to proceed.

News October 15, 2018

Corruption to be purged from Barbados

The Government of Barbados is on a mission to ‘purge’ the country from the ‘stain of corruption’ in all instances that it may be occurring.

Attorney General Dale Marshall, joined the Prime Minister, Mia Mottley on Sunday as she addressed the from her official residence, Ilaro Court and explained that while the Barbados Labour Party (BLP) was in opposition, they were not totally aware of the levels of corruption in the island by the then ruling Government.

He explained that it was only now that they were in power that they had made various ‘startling’ discoveries and were meticulously gathering information to clean up the messes made.

“It was difficult for us to make a clear assessment being in opposition at that time… We’ve gone through file after file and have found a number of startling things.” He said.

This address to the nation of Barbados was not the first time that the now ruling party had leveled accusations towards the now out of power Democratic Labour Party (DLP) who lost the 2018 May elections by a landslide.

Read about why Barbados must vet foreign institutions more deeply here

In fact Marshall, had revealed that just three months after going into office, they had uncovered several instances of corrupt practices on a seeming daily basis, including those made by the Central Government, by state-owned enterprises, by Ministers and that all of the decisions pointed towards personal gain being a motive.

The Attorney General (AG) told reporters at that time that government would be reviewing the books of two statutory corporations who he believed played in creating the ‘stain of corruption’ within the island, but that the process would be slow and ‘painstaking’ since they were looking over a decade of government and political activity.

On Sunday the AG highlighted a case where a million dollar invoice was settled in one day, which fell on the eve of the general election and asserted that the previous administration had lost many millions of dollars because of corruption.

“In many instances, contracts were awarded without any tender… There was another glaring set of circumstances and it related to the matter of exorbitant professional fees and legal fees which could not be justified by any reasonable measure…” He said.

“It was clear to us that this was all part and parcel of a whole attitude where Government was there not to benefit large numbers of Barbadians, but a chosen few.” He continued.

In light of this, Marshall said that there was a variety of efforts being utilized to address this issue, including allowing people to provide whistle blowing information, where they can come forward, speak to the authorities and even admit their ‘ part in the misdeeds and hopefully be able to purge themselves from the stain of corruption.”

Prime Minister Mia Motley reinforced her administration’s position on the issue by also urging Barbadians to play their part in ridding the island of the corruption cancer.

“We will need to be disciplined, we will need to engage in sacrifice… because corruption is a cancer that literally takes away money and resources, that takes away from spend on those people who actually need it.” She said.

Featured October 6, 2018

Remote working may not be for you

Social media is full of remote workers exploring and discovering the world, while still managing to rake in sizable incomes but, is being a digital nomad really all it’s cracked up to be?

Will you really be able to relax in a pool while creating websites in Bali one week, and hop over to Germany’s Oktoberfest for a well-deserved beer the next?

Is remote employment the never-ending – work hard and play harder existence that many public highlight reels would suggest?

Those questions really boil down to a simple one – is remote working actually fun?

Before I get into the details, note that remote working doesn’t mean you have to be Instagram’s poster child for some travel network. You can work remotely from your hometown, population ten, if that’s what you want.

Most remote employment opportunities just require you to have a decent computer and an internet connection. Some will ask that you come in at times, but this isn’t a general rule. The idea of freedom and working from home – or anywhere really, has opened doors for people worldwide.

For women, it provides great opportunities as now the housewife or stay-at-home mum can have a job on the side, or the ‘9-5er’ can earn extra income, without having to do much but log on and get to work.

A few truths: It can be a hassle navigating freelance sites, trying to figure out the best way forward for your remote business, which jobs to take, and how much to charge. Basically, all the small print that social media doesn’t share, as it excites to the point that many want to be as free as the people in the pictures. Witnessing the glamour can make it hard to think about the work that comes with it.

My need for work freedom came well before Instagram made it visually enticing, and it truly wasn’t always pretty. As a contract/freelance worker for over five years, after being a journalist for many years prior to that, I can tell you that as with any job, remote work has its ups and downs.

Unless you’re already established in the field you choose and can immediately get new work, or are graced by a lovely bit of luck, it’ll take a little time to build a loyal client list. Even then, depending on your field you may get mainly one-off jobs.

In these cases it’s best to try to find contract work, which means you’ll be in the money while the contract lasts. In my opinion, as a freelancer or contract worker you need to always keep looking for that next job opportunity, even if you’ve already built up a lucrative base.

Why?

Things happen: companies change, contacts move on, and clients can decide to go in another direction. Being prepared can stave off financially lean months. Bonus though? The more you get out there and provide quality work, the better your chances of being discovered and sought after for your services.

Here’s the verdict: Yes, remote working can open a new world that can be pretty fun, just expect the actual work that goes with it.

What's Hot October 4, 2018

President Trump’s mocking of Dr Ford sparks outrage

The apparent mocking of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford’s testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh by United States President Donald Trump has sparked wide spread outrage and real fear that it will be even harder for survivors of these heinous deeds to come forward.

“I had one beer. Well, do you think it was — nope, it was one beer,” Trump said, mimicking Ford’s testimony. “How did you get home? I don’t remember. How’d you get there? I don’t remember. Where is the place? I don’t remember. How many years ago was it? I don’t know.”

These comments were made during a rally in Southaven, Mississippi Tuesday night by the President and unsurprisingly have many advocates for victims of sexual assault positively livid.

Ian Henderson, Director of Legal and System Services at the Wisconsin Coalition Against Sexual Assault (WCASA) is worried that the President’s remarks will not only discourage victims from coming forward about assault, but also that if they do they might not be believed.

“It creates a disincentive for survivors to come forward,” said Henderson. “There are already enough reasons why victims don’t come forward because of fear of not being believed. But on the flip side, we’ve seen a lot of positive movement on social media like #IBelieveSurvivors and #WhyIDidntReport.”

The White House has come to the defense of the President, saying that it was not mocking Dr. Ford; instead he was simply stating facts.

“The President simply pointed out the facts of the matter and that is what the Senate will have to use to determine whether or not they vote to support him or not,” Press Secretary Sarah Sanders said Wednesday.

The President also reacted to the public’s outcry from the allegations against Brett Kavanaugh and expressed his concern of how this would impact other men.

“It is a very scary time for young men in America, where you can be guilty of something you may not be guilty of,” Trump said. “This is a very, very — this is a very difficult time. What’s happening here has much more to do than even the appointment of a Supreme Court Justice!”

Actress, activist and sexual assault survivor Alyssa Milano, who continues to be very public in her support of Dr. Ford, reacted to Trump’s comments, saying that it was in fact a ‘scary time for women’.

“Men are having a hard time right now? I mean, c’mon,” Milano said. “Women, young people, have had it difficult for generations and generations and generations.”

In an interview with MSNBC, where she spoke of the backlash against victims who spoke up about their abuse, she said that right now they were in the process of finally defining their boundaries, and would no longer be silenced.

“And if that means men have a hard time right now, then I’m sorry, this is the way the pendulum has to shift for us to have the equality and security in our country.” She said.

Henderson, also took issue with Trumps’ comments, saying that they completely discount men and boys of sexual violence and lumped men into the ‘category of potential perpetrators or at least complicit in rape culture’.

News October 3, 2018

Honorary citizenship revoked for the first time by Canada

History was made on Tuesday, when Aung San Suu Kyi became the first person to be stripped of honorary Canadian citizenship, following an investigation by the United Nations.

On Tuesday the Canadian Senate unanimously passed a measure revoking the Myanmar’s civilian leader citizenship and declaring the treatment of the Rohingya by Myanmar’s government to be nothing short of genocide. Last week, the upper house also followed a similar unanimous vote in the House of Commons.

These votes were prompted in large part by a United Nations fact finding investigation, which reported in August that the Myanmar military had systematically killed thousands of Rohingya civilians, burned hundreds of their villages, engaged in ethnic cleansing and mass gang rape. It also called for six top generals in Myanmar to be investigated and prosecuted on charges of genocide and crimes against humanity.

Sen.Ratna Omidvar, who introduced the motion to revoke Suu Kyi’s citizenship on Tuesday explained that Canada needed to recognize the ‘atrocity for what it is’, which was genocide and to call it as such.

Suu Kyi who had the symbolic honour bestowed on her in 2007 for her pro-democracy work, was stripped for complicity in the atrocities committed against the Myanmar’s Rohingya people.

The reports coming from the United Nations were nothing short of ghastly, and claimed that more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims had fled across the border to Bangladesh since August 2017, when Myanmar’s Buddhist-majority security forces began a violent campaign in Rakhine State, killing around 10,000 people among other heinous crimes.

Suu Kyi who is a Nobel Peace Prize winner and now leads the Myanmar government was accused by the UN of failing to use her ‘moral authority’ to protect civilians.

She has steadfastly denied reports of ethnic cleansing in Myanmar calling such reports ‘fake news’, has restricted access to international investigators and journalists, defended the military and denied humanitarian aid for Rohingya.

In fact it was her response to the Rohingya crisis that has dramatically transformed her global reputation as a democracy icon, with many on Twitter calling for her to be stripped of her honorary citizenship and her Nobel Peace prize.

Senator Ratna Omidvar, said that while the military wields considerable power in Myanmar, Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi is not without power herself, in fact hers is a post that is comparable to Prime Minister.

“Stripping her of her honorary citizenship may not make a tangible difference to her, but it sends an important symbolic message,” Ms. Omidvar said.

She continued, saying that Suu Kyi was “complicit in stripping the citizenship and the security of thousands of Rohingya, which has led to their flight, their murder, their rapes and their current deplorable situation.”

“We need to send a strong signal here in Canada and around the world that if you’re an accomplice of genocide, you are not welcome here. Certainly not as an honorary Canadian citizen.” stated Omidvar.

While Suu Kyi was stripped of her citizenship, she will retain her Nobel Peace prize award, which she won in 1991, ironically for campaigning for democracy.

Lars Heikensten, the head of the Nobel Foundation, explained that it made no sense to withdraw awards in reaction to things that had occurred after they were given ‘as judges would constantly have to discuss laureates’ merit’.

Travel October 2, 2018

Hameln- Travels to a fairy tale town

In Germany, there is a REAL town of Hameln, the setting of the fairy-tale, the Pied Piper, which just so happens to be one of my most memorable fairy tales as a child. I was always an avid reader as a child and I truly loved that tale.

As the story goes, in 1284, the town of Hameln was overrun with rats, so as a solution, they hired a rat-catcher to lure the rats away from the village. This man wore colorful “pied” clothing and walked through the village, playing his flute, luring the rats away with his song. He was successful, but the mayor refused to pay him for his services, cheating him out of the promised reward. A year later, the pied piper returned while the adults were in church and in revenge, played his magic flute and lured the children of the village away, never to be seen again.

In one version of the tale, it is said that the children were lured into a mountain cave. Another version has a different ending: the children were led to a river, where they drowned.

Dark, right? Despite that, I always wondered what it would be like to be in a real fairy-tale town and as an adult, my dream came true.

I visited the town of Hameln, in Germany!

As I walked through the streets of the town; my eyes wide like an excited child’s, as I took everything in, I was in awe of the dreamy feeling the town manifested.

From the cobblestone streets, the buildings …everything looked as if I were staring at a storybook page … except I was there…in real life and I imagined what it was like back in that time of the fairy-tale, and I started thinking about the different people who like me had walked up and down these narrow streets, centuries before.

Many other tourists and locals walked past me on the streets, taking photos and looking at the famous architecture. The houses were still in pristine condition and I wondered what the interior looked like, whether they were even more beautiful on the inside and when were they all built.

In a prominent position in the town square, a statue caught my attention, and lo and behold!

It was him, the Pied Piper!

I tried to hold in my excitement as I examined the statue that stood proudly on a fountain, but like the true tourist I was, I could not help but to take as many photos as possible, needing to document this amazing discovery.

Near to the statue, is a famous church in the town square with an inscription on the stained glass window which states:

“In the year 1284 after the birth of Christ
From Hameln were led away
One hundred thirty children, born at this place
Led away by a piper into a mountain.”

The inscription was made to remember the terrible tragedy, I realised and as I continued my exploration, I found that near the statue, was the Pied Piper House, which also bore an inscription about the incident. For me, it was blatant proof that this “fairy-tale” was actually real!

Something that I had believed was the imaginings of a wonderful writer may indeed be based on a real life story, which only made me love the town even more.

Hameln became famous centuries ago due to the fairy-tale and today there are museums, cafes and souvenir shops in the town square, which boost tourism even more. Every day, the locals put on an open-air play depicting the Pied Piper tale with colorful costumes and it is a one of a kind, amazing experience.

Another attraction is the “glockenspiel” which is a large clock at the top of the church that plays a mechanical ballet, three times a day. The bronze doors of the clock open and show figurines of the Piper, rats and children while the chimes play the Pied Piper song.

I highly recommend visiting Hameln for a truly unforgettable historic experience. Every step I took through the Altstadt (Old town) was a step back in time, into the storybook that forever exists in my mind.

It was more amazing and picturesque than I ever believed it could be. Now I want to explore other fairy-tale towns and walk through old castles and feed my inner child some magical adventures!

Featured October 1, 2018

Woman of the Week: Janet Mohapi-Banks

Janet Mohapi-Banks is nothing short of a truly inspiring woman.

Hers is a journey of never giving up and of having the faith to continue to push towards your dreams, even when all the chips are down and hope is in very short supply.

In today’s fast pace and seemingly hectic culture, it is never easy to feel as if all of the time, effort and love you put into creating the life you were proud of, all seems to be crashing down around you; and it takes a very special, committed and brave woman to not only weather the destruction, but to also stand up and do it all over again.

Mohapi-Banks is one such woman.

She went from being at the top of her game as a Luxury Wedding Cake Designer,- even winning a Precious Business Award in 2010 to being burnt out and trying her best to manage a seemingly incurable digestive disorder as well as chronic fatigue in just under a two year span.

“By 2012 I had burned out so badly I was left literally at death’s door for nearly 5 years with a rare (and according to my specialist at The Royal Free Hospital) incurable digestive disorder and chronic fatigue.

As a result, I was forced to close my cake business which was one of the hardest things I have ever had to do. I moved out of the London area, got my affairs in order and prepared for the inevitable.” She said.

For any entrepreneur, being forced to say good bye to your ‘business baby’ is a very hard and painful process which can fill you with feelings of guilt, frustration, resentment and a lot of fear.

It was unbelievable to her that in only a span of 18 short months she had gone from delivering cakes to some of the most prestigious venues in the UK, including the Ritz Hotel Mayfair and winning awards for her fabulous designs, to being so exhausted and in pain that she was not able to even get out of bed to care for her children- a boy aged 12 years, and a girl 15.

A second chance on life came for Janet in the form of a chiropractor who by cracking her spine released her vagus nerve, thereby curing her and allowing her to grow back to optimal health.

With this new lease on life, Janet launched her coaching business in an effort to help other women to grow their ideal business without the stress that had nearly crippled her.

“Before I was critically ill, I used to overwork, which lead me to burnout. I now realise that my overworking was due to a lack of self-belief that I truly deserved my amazing successes,” the Transformational Life Coach for Entrepreneurs revealed.

Mohaphi-Banks, who is a proud and happy mother of two explained that women almost always tried to do everything by themselves and her biggest take away from her own experiences was to know when you needed help and to outsource reliable people for the job.

When I asked what got her through the day, she said it was her refusal to waste a minute of her second chance and her amazing children. She noted that while she had gone through some ‘incredibly challenging times in my life’ she continued to get back up with a smile on her face and a determination to face her challenges.