5 QUESTIONS WITH JOY OF INCLUSION PROTAGONIST – PALESA MOSIEA
1. Tell us about yourself (150 words)
I’m Palesa Mosiea, I’m a motivational speaker, wellness coach and entrepreneur. I’m an International Communications graduate with 13 years of experience in the PR, marketing and communications space. My calling in life is to help people which is the reason behind everything that I do.
I have a non-profit organisation called Basia Foundation and its purpose is to assist people that are born with a visual impediment called Nystagmus, an involuntary movement of the eye that causes short sight. Our goal is to help 20 people with this condition to acquire a driver’s licence, something I was told was impossible until I found the technology called biopic glasses that literally changed my life. These glasses are expensive, most can’t afford them, this is how the foundation was born.
I’m a driven young woman who is passionate about life, I’m family oriented, a mother of one and the second born of four children. I was blessed with two sets of parents, no divorce, who raised me to be fearless and to love myself abundantly.
2. You are one of the five Inclusion Heroes who are part of NESTLÉ CREMORA’s reimagined Joy of Inclusion advert “It’s Not Inside… It’s On Top”, what does inclusion mean to you?
Inclusion means being seen and treated as an equal, growing up people had very few expectations of me because I was different, which fuelled drive. My defining moment was when I was headhunted for my first job after completing my internship and then being promoted to general manager in 6 months at the age of 23. The company saw ME. Palesa, a capable, driven professional with a strong work ethic and an ability to lead. Inclusion is seeing me and not my condition and giving me equal access to opportunities.
3. To your understanding, what perception did society have of inclusion in the past? Would you say there is a noticeable shift in that perception regarding today’s behavioural conduct from society?
Society was and to a large extent remains ignorant on the subject of inclusion, it is an uncomfortable subject because it makes people have to face and admit their bias towards people that are “different”. It is only when we have these different discussions that we can start to learn and grow. There is an improvement but there is so much more that still needs to be done.
4. What does the Joy Of Inclusion mean to you?
It is that moment of elation when I realise that something I have yearned for all my life, something I’ve worked so hard for and sacrificed so much for is finally starting to happen on a large scale. The revolution is inclusion.
5. What is your daily mantra?
It is our choices not our circumstances that determine our outcome.
