Bertus de Bruyn spoke to Halima Omar, new caregiver at the Care Centre Group in Tzaneen.

Omar was born in Durban, Kwa-Zulu Natal and studied Biotechnology. She moved to Limpopo and is a proud resident of Tzaneen for just over a decade. Happily married to the love of her life and her right-hand man, Feroz Omar, with two sons, Taariq (16) and Siraaj (13). Omar has always been there for people. And the badge of super woman can be bestowed on her.

‘Before joining the Tzaneen Care Group, I always tried to be a good friend and always felt I needed to assist people and the community that I lived in as best as I could,’ she said. Omar has a passion for people. ‘I have a passion for working with people, just helping where I can – especially cancer patients.’

Omar is currently the new manager at the Tzaneen Cancer Care Group.

‘I oversee the day to day running of the centre and in my free time I give support to the cancer patients assigned to me. But never depressing. Not for Omar.

‘When you work so closely with patients that are so sick, it is sad, but not depressing. It makes you change your outlook on life. You realise you must live in the moment and be mindful. You also start to thank God for things that you otherwise take for granted. Being able to walk, eat, shower and dress unassisted, these are things that we do every day, that we don’t even give much thought to.’

‘I treat all our patients with kindness, dignity and love. I may not be able to cure an illness, but I can try and make our patients that are terminal as comfortable as possible and make sure that they are not alone when they take their last breath. ‘It is not easy at all to come to terms with losing a loved one. The grieving process is different for each person. What helps is knowing that they are pain free and in a better place,’ this big-hearted woman told Letaba Herald.

Halmima is all over the community with her big and understanding compassionate heart. Uplifting the community comes as second nature to her. ‘What I do is definitely uplifting. Every religion teaches us to love all and hurt none and I think as human beings, nothing can make you feel better deep in your soul, than helping the next person. One sometimes need to escape from the gloom and dark side of life. Halima knows how to escape from the harsh reality of heartache. ‘I love spending time with my immediate family and my close circle of friends.

She believes that all women are super heroes. ‘Absolutely. We all are. Every woman definitely has her own special set of skills or super powers. Tzaneen is a beautiful example. There are so many women involved in different organisations that are helping to change and improve our community.’

Halima also escape into literature, good food and cooking. And her happy place?

‘Coffee and an island holiday would make me very happy,’ she bursts out laughing. But, then all off a sudden Halima becomes serious. ‘Family, good food, good friends and spending quality time together – these are the things that make me happy. It’s simple and not complicated, but it’s what matters to me.’ But it is not all laughs. Halima gets red around the collar when people are cruel and unkind. ‘Whether its towards other people or children or animals – I really do not like it. Like Ellen DeGeneres says “Be kind to one another”. It costs you nothing to be kind.

She boasts that her greatest achievement was finding herself and being true to herself. If stranded on an Island, Halima would like to be with Oprah Winfrey!

‘Her rise through all the challenges that she faced from a very early age is awe inspiring. Also, anyone who knows me, knows that I am a talker, so being stranded on an Island with Oprah would mean I would never run of things to talk about.’ But in the end, she takes a local angel back to the phenomenal women in Tzaneen.

‘Each lady that serves on the Tzaneen Care Group with me, inspires me. We are all from different religions, races and socio-economic backgrounds, but we come together for a common purpose. What can be more inspirational than that? I am honored to know and serve with them, and I am blessed to call them friends.’

This kindhearted, caregiver shares her message to all the ladies in Tzaneen on Women’s Day.

‘As women, we often tend to put our children and families first. We do not take care of ourselves and make ourselves a priority. I think the majority of women will identify and agree with that. We need to start making time for ourselves! Self-care is so important. We need to learn that it does not make you selfish to put yourself first. Remember, you cannot pour out of an empty cup. Refill your own cup first before you can fill someone else’s.’