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Bonang plans to celebrate big birthday in style

Johannesburg - A massive party with ballgowns and Champagne: that is how TV star Bonang Matheba is going to celebrate her upcoming 30th birthday in June.

Matheba has a reason to go big. She is giving herself two big pre-birthday gifts: a reality show and a book, both of which will be launched just before her celebration.

“It is going to be a big party. Imagine you are going to a wedding – that’s how massive my birthday is going to be,” she said this week.

“I have three Johannesburg venues in mind: Summer Place in Hyde Park, the Saxon Hotel in Sandhurst or the Four Seasons Hotel in Westcliff. I want everybody to be in ballgowns. I want flowers everywhere and Champagne must flow the entire day.”

City Press spoke to Matheba at the Four Seasons Hotel on Tuesday, on the sidelines of an event at which she was announced as a brand ambassador for French cognac Courvoisier, alongside businessman Thabo “Tbo Touch” Molefe and fashion designer David Tlale.

Matheba’s reality show is currently in the works and she has just finished approving the cover of her book, From A to B: Invest in Your Sparkle, published by BlackBird Books, which details some of her life.

“People are going to see the other side of me. I have unpacked elements about my personality, my life and the decisions I have made, and how I have been able to build brand Bonang and get to where I am,” she said.

She also writes about her childhood, spent living between Mahikeng, the capital of North West, and Fourways in Johannesburg, and the events that influenced her.

“It is intimate and reveals a part of my personality that people don’t know. It is a feel-good book and when people read it, I want them to be inspired,” she said.

She admitted that, as a “very private person”, she struggled to share some of the more intimate details.

.....hopped up outta bed.... Turned my swag on.... ????????

A post shared by Bonang Matheba (@bonang_m) on

“It took over a year. The difficult thing was finding time to stop and pen down my thoughts,” said Matheba, adding that she now felt whole, content and at peace.

“I have done everything I wanted to do as a young woman with my career. But turning 30 means paying it forward and giving to other people so their lives can be great – be it through education, charity work, giving back or a bursary fund.”

Matheba said she was at a point where her concerns lay with others, rather than just herself. “It is all about empowering other people and pushing them to be a better version of themselves.”

The idea for the Bonang Matheba Bursary Fund was born when she received a call from a listener on Metro FM’s The Front Row, the show she co-hosts with Quinton “Naked DJ” Masina. A young woman called in, asking for a bursary. A few days later, another woman wrote to her on Twitter, asking for financial help with her studies. “I said to myself: ‘I can do this. After all, I make enough money and I have the right resources, and I know the right people to help me put this together,’” Matheba said.

The initiative began in November and now 10 young women have been helped by the fund. All are studying at tertiary institutions. Last Sunday, Matheba spent the day with them.

“That moment comes with maturity and age. At a young age you are still partying,” she said.

“As you grow, you realise that all this greatness cannot stop with you. All I want is to make a difference in people’s lives.”

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