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Humans of RCL FOODS – #StrongHer Edition
#StrongHer: Lorraine Bvuma – Paving the way
Growing up in the village of Shihoko, outside Tzaneen, Lorraine Bvuma never questioned whether she would help support her family. It was simply what everyone did. As the third of six children, she learnt from a young age that responsibility was part of everyday life. While her father found different ways to earn a living, including using his donkey cart to transport firewood and assist people in the community, Lorraine spent many afternoons walking through the village with a basin balanced on her head, selling chicken feet and heads, tomatoes, avocados, and homemade guava juice.
Looking back, she reflects that helping her family felt normal. It wasn’t something she thought twice about. It was simply how they worked together.
Her father had never received a formal education, but her mother, who had completed Grade 12, believed wholeheartedly in the power of learning. She constantly encouraged her children to pursue opportunities she had never had herself, planting a belief in Lorraine that education could open doors to a different future.
Life wasn’t without its challenges. Lorraine still remembers a woman in the village who would call out to her as “the girl who sells guava juice.” As a young girl, the comment embarrassed her, but today she sees it differently. Rather than dwelling on the memory, she recognises it as part of a journey that shaped the resilience and determination she carries with her today.
When the day’s work was done, Lorraine turned her attention to her schoolbooks. Before electricity reached the village, many evenings were spent studying by candlelight. It wasn’t always easy, but with her mother’s encouragement and her own determination, she remained focused on creating opportunities beyond the life she knew.
After matriculating in 2008, Lorraine enrolled for a Bachelor of Accounting at the University of Venda, becoming the first person on her father’s side of the family to attend university. She graduated in 2012 before completing an Honours degree in Internal Auditing the following year, another first for her family.
Those milestones represented much more than personal achievement. “When people saw what education had done for me, it changed how they looked at it,” Lorraine says. “Now the younger generation sees that it is possible.”
Without having a role model to follow, Lorraine became determined to be one herself. Today, many of her younger cousins and relatives have graduated or are pursuing higher education, and seeing education become something the next generation aspires to is one of her proudest accomplishments. Her journey changed more than her own future. It helped change what her family believed was possible.
Long before Lorraine became an accountant, she had already developed a love for numbers. Her parents ran a small business where customers often bought groceries on credit until pension day, and someone had to keep track of who owed what. That responsibility naturally fell to Lorraine. Together with her mother, she carefully recorded purchases and payments in a handwritten account book.
“I was trusted with the money,” she says with a smile.
Without realising it at the time, those childhood responsibilities were laying the foundation for the career she would one day build.
After qualifying as a Professional Accountant (SA), Lorraine gained valuable experience before joining RCL FOODS in March 2024 as an Accountant at Sunbake Polokwane. Moving into a larger organisation gave her the opportunity to learn, grow and collaborate with people who shared a common goal.
“What stood out to me was how everyone understands their role,” she says. “There are systems in place, people support one another, and everyone contributes towards the bigger picture.”
Outside of work, Lorraine’s life is just as full. She is a wife, a mother of three, including twins, and someone who has never stopped investing in herself. This year, she enrolled for a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Management, balancing family life, a full-time career and further studies with the same quiet determination that has guided her since childhood.
When asked what #StrongHer means to her, Lorraine doesn’t speak about titles or achievements. “For me, strength is knowing who I am and where I come from,” she says. “When I think about everything I’ve experienced and everything I’ve overcome, it gives me the courage to face whatever comes next.”
Her story is a reminder that the strongest legacies are often built quietly, through perseverance, education and the courage to keep moving forward. For Lorraine, paving the way was never about being the first. It was about making sure she wouldn’t be the last.
