25 May 2021

Although she grew up faced with challenges and ridiculed for being dwarf, Kutlwano Molathwa’s  belief that she was born with this condition for a purpose kept her going.     

She was determined to be a force of change among those with the same predicament hence she released her autobiography titled The magic in my little self.

The 25-year-old’s 44 page autobiography was published at Poetic blood Publishers based in Gaborone.

“I intended to embrace and appreciate my condition of being ‘dwarf’ and to keep searching for better ways to live without fears of not fitting well in the society,” she explained in an interview recently.

“I also felt the need to pin hope and inspire those who find themselves in a similar position, for them to stand tall and never allow the community to dictate to them on how to live their lives. We might be different in terms of height but that should not kill our personal dreams,” she reiterated.

Prior to publication of her autobiography, she created a personal blog on Facebook that  has 177 000 followers thus far.

Through the blog, she interacts with her fans on a daily basis giving out life-changing advice and motivational talks on everyday life challenges.

Narrating her story, Molathwa said she had always known that she was different from her peers, saying her height was too apparent to ignore as she was shorter than those who were younger than her.

She said the love she received from her family never made her height an issues but things turned out nasty when she started primary schooling.

She indicated that the treatment she received from the public indicated that people were not ready to embrace her condition, saying she was  even bullied by those who felt she could look up to them for comfort and protection.

“I felt even more alienated when people gave me nasty stares, others would call me names such as Se sennye, Stompie and Sesekhutshwane among others that crushed out my confidence,” she said.

Kutlwano recalled a heart breaking incident where 12 years ago she had a strong belief that committing suicide was the only way out of her misery. She said that though she managed to keep up her appearance and walked down the streets, her soul was dead.

As years unfolded, she developed a tendency to play truancy at school and this weighed down her academic performance.

Molathwa also highlighted that even today she still has to continue to live with more challenges, citing failure to keep up with personal hygiene especially after using a public toilet, saying the hand wash sinks were out of her reach.

Being unable to reach out Auto Teller Machines (ATM) at the bank, she said also frustrated her as it had left her with no financial privacy since she had to ask for assistance often.

Molathwa said despite all the challenges, she always strive to find way out to keep up with her life and embrace it as a gift from God. ENDS