The power of one

Fhatuwani Ramabulana has always loved chickens - particularly their eggs. She kept a few chickens to ensure that she always had fresh eggs. In 1985, she decided to leave her teaching job to start a small poultry farm. Today that farm has an annual turnover of R4-million, and her 80 000 chickens produce eggs in the thousands every day.

The Wamondo village in Limpopo Province is a small, disadvantaged community of people who desperately needed a way to earn an income. Fhatuwani's farm has achieved just this - she has created 55 jobs, and uses her teaching skills to train members of the community on good farming practice.

She hasn't stopped there, either: Fhatuwani sponsors the local football team and provides holiday employment for the village's school children.

The farm has also been instrumental in improving the nutritional health of the Wamondo people - with a cheap and readily available source of fresh eggs, they have all managed to up their protein quota. The benefits have even spread to prisoners in nearby jails, who also get to eat Fhatuwani's eggs.

Fhatuwani's incredible achievements have not gone unnoticed. Last year, she won the award in the National Business category of the Shoprite Checkers / SABC3 Women of the Year competition, and was also nominated as the overall winner.

Fhatuwani's story is an inspiration to all South Africans, giving us reason to believe in the future of the country and the difference that one individual can make.