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Veronica Gwaze
ZIMBABWE senior netball winger Beauty Sithole survived an abusive childhood and rose to be part of the history-making team that made impact at the World Netball Cup yet she remains unhappy.
Behind the soft-spoken and shy Gem, who also turns out for Platinum Queens, is a bruised girl who longs for closure. She is determined to open a netball foundation.
The foundation, meant to identify and groom potential at grassroots, will focus on youngsters who come from similar backgrounds as hers in order to help them find closure and reboot their self-esteem as they pursue their netball careers.
Speaking during an interview from her Zvishavane base, Sithole believes there is nothing yet, in her life to celebrate.
She will only celebrate, she says, after finding her mother, Sithokozile Dube, who abandoned her in 2000 when the player was only three years old.
Together with her young brother, Mxolisi, who was still a year old then, they grew up under the care of a step-mother who made their lives “a living hell”.
Sithole neither communicates with her mother’s family nor does she have an idea of what her mother looks like.
While it may be hard to tell if she is still alive, the netballer only has information that Dube is alive and lives somewhere in Bulawayo.
“It breaks my heart when I see my team mates happy with their mothers, chatting on their phones or even receiving calls,” explained Sithole.
“I actually feel a huge void and ask myself why she left us and never bothered to communicate up to date.
“When I meet her — that is if I ever do — I will ask why she abandoned us the way she did.”
Sithole, who is known by her moniker “Dhaiza” in netball circles, arrived from Lupane State University as a late inclusion on the Gems squad ahead of the Netball World Cup in 2019.
Ordinarily, a mere rise to being a Gem would have been a lot to celebrate. However, her past seems to haunt her.
She describes her upbringing as tough and even though her father and step-mother now reside in Mberengwa, the netballer finds it difficult to visit them.
“Growing up things were rough. At some point we had to go and stay with our grandmother in rural Gwanda after our step-mother threatened to poison us.
“It has been years now. I have a new life. Obviously I have forgiven most of the things, but definitely won’t forget how we grew up,” she says.
To escape the wrath of her step-mother, Beauty used to spend time playing netball at Daisy Primary and Secondary Schools in Gwanda.
Despite her stature, her rise was quick as she found herself on the school team in a short space of time.
Within a year, she signed for her first club, Blanket Mine juniors, and by the time she was in Grade Seven, she graduated into the senior team.
“Joining the seniors meant I then had to relocate to Bulawayo where I then joined Golden Girls although they were not very active,” she says.
“Although I would enjoy myself on court, memories of what used to happen back at home constantly flashed back and I found myself withdrawn.
“I had no confidence in myself until I learnt to see my life as it is and to appreciate what I have become.”
In 2014, Lupane State University Head coach, Prosper Mubayiwa, identified her and signed her on to the university team.
It is during her stint with the campus team that her first national team call-up came.
Since joining Lupane State University, the netballer dreamt of one day featuring in national team colours.
For five years Sithole was loyal to the team that she had become one of the senior and trusted players until late last year when she found a new home at Platinum Queens.
Sithole is the first player to receive a national team call-up from Lupane. She cherishes memories of the day the surprise call came.
“Considering where I came from, it was hard to think that I would ever get a call-up to the national team. We thought it was only a Harare thing.
“I felt really excited about it but on the other hand as someone who grew up without a mother to nurture her, I asked myself if I would fit in.
“I understood nothing about camp. I had no mother to pack my bag for me or to ensure that I had all that I needed. Fortunately, the Gems camp felt like home and family,” she recalls.
Sithole made her international debut at a friendly match against the world’s seventh-ranked side Uganda on May 6, 2019.
Representing Zimbabwe at an international stage among international stars was a dream come true and a chance she never thought would come, let alone being part of the World Cup squad.
Despite all that, Sithole maintains that she cannot celebrate until she finds her mother.
“A poor girl from Lupane rubbing shoulders with international stars some of whom I had probably only watched on TV is something I still find hard to believe,” she says.
“Had it not been for netball, maybe I would have never boarded a plane. I will forever be grateful for getting the chance to don national team colours.”
Online Reporter