Growing up on Zebediela Citrus Farm, one of South Africa's oldest and largest citrus farms, Mokgadi Ndaba believes no one could have imagined the heights she has achieved. She credits her school teachers for their insight, recognising they probably do so with every student given the hours they invest in developing their potential.
The Limpopo-based Zebediela Citrus Estate spans more than a few thousands hectors with the 1978 edition of Reader's Digest Illustrated Guide to Southern Africa reporting nearly 400 million oranges were harvested annually from the Zebediela groves. This output was sufficient to provide one orange for every eight people on earth at that time.
It was Ndaba's mother who was determined to change her daughter's life journey into one of excitement and novelty. However, she admits she would be lying if she claimed she anticipated the hurdles she has negotiated in listening to those prophetic words: "I don't want you to work on this farm like me".