Nomfundo Xaba

Nomfundo Xaba, aka Mfundo Dazzling, describes herself as a broadcaster, a mom, a wife, a lover of life, and most importantly a lover of development. Although born in Port Shepstone, Nomfundo was raised in the small town of Mtubatuba in KwaZulu-Natal.

While her radio career spans just six years, Nomfundo has proven talent and versatility. She has hosted radio shows, business shows, and an award-winning gospel show. Nomfundo has also hosted live music shows, summits and seminars, gala dinners, business dinners, corporate team buildings, wellness workshops and personal development sessions.

She says that she did not plan her career path. “One of the beauties about life is that if your passion and your heart are focused on something, somehow the universe brings it to you,” she explained.

A love for story telling

In sharing about her journey in radio, Nomfundo says that she was a fan of the radio station that she currently broadcasts on as a university student. “I used to daydream about one day meeting the broadcasters and telling them how great of a job they were doing on air,” she remembers.

When Nomfundo eventually was provided an opportunity to audition for radio, the intent was to meet the people that she had admired so much. And she says that it is remarkable that she ended up winning a competition, getting into broadcasting, and learning so much about it. “I fell in love with telling stories. This evolved to wanting to make people feel that we are part of their lives and having them appreciate what is going on in their own lives and identifying what was going in society around them. That love for story telling got me starting campaigns and initiatives that spoke to life in general and how the everyday person was affected.”

Nomfundo’s biggest inspiration, is the fact that she gets to work with the people that influenced her career choice each day. While there were a number of broadcasters that she grew up listening to, one person comes to mind. “The voice of the people – Alex Mthiyane. I consider him to be a wonderful inclusion in the media space – having asked the questions the people at home want to ask.”

Another thing that inspires her in this space is not just the professionals but the ordinary people. In particular Nomfundo feels that we do not spend enough time listening to our older people – to hear them and have that transfer of knowledge happening.

“What has always inspired me is to learn from the best, hear their stories, and look at how we can bring that knowledge forward, as we look ahead, as we think and as we shape the now,” she added.

Creating opportunities

There have been moments in her life when Nomfundo thinks she should have given herself permission to succeed in communities where men are leaders. Thinking back on how she was raised by a mother who was a widow within a community and who was able to raise her children and afford them opportunities and schooling, she considers to be incredible leadership. “It took me many years to appreciate that it is not a lack of capacity that we have as women, but it is just opportunity. Opportunity doesn’t come because you scream and shout for it, but it comes because you say, ‘Yes, I am ready, and I am creating this opportunity for myself ’,” says Nomfundo.

Another challenge was balancing her love for the media space as a driver of stories and influencer with the responsibility of reflecting what greater society is really like. “I think that this responsibility has influenced a lot of the initiatives that I do. I am a person, and I am ambitious. I want to be known as someone who respected her craft. I also want to be known as somebody who wasn’t afraid to speak up and address inequalities. I want to be remembered as a person who created campaigns and initiatives that spoke directly to challenges and problems that society is facing. And beyond just addressing or highlighting a problem, bringing solutions. I am also observing moments in which I can share my knowledge with others and especially the younger generation.”

Nomfundo says that her family is her absolute centre. “My children and my husband centre me. To relax I spend time with my kiddies – but truly this calms my mind. They stop me and remind me that life needs you to be present. We have goals and dreams, but they are for nothing if we can’t appreciate the simplicity of life… I also enjoy good music, movies, and series. And yes, I chill!”

Do extraordinary things

One thing that Nomfundo has learnt over the years is that life is difficult and that is one thing that we shouldn’t forget. She explains, “The journey is a difficult journey, but it is worth it. If your why is strong enough, the why is the one thing that picks you up. On days where you have been faced with a lot of ‘No’s’, your why will get you up and say I am one step closer to the ‘Yes’. The reason why this is important is that we are living in a country that requires innovators to rise up. The tide is against you, but that is how worlds and nations were transformed and economies were grown. It is just ordinary people who said that they would be extraordinary and do extraordinary things.”

In conclusion, in advising others Nomfundo says, “Give yourself permission to dream, give yourself permission to do and know that you are what the world’s been waiting for to change, transform and build.”