Kogivethi Govender, Master Service Advisor at McCarthy Toyota Edwin Swales in Durban, was named the 2015 MISA Woman of the Year at a gala banquet in Johannesburg on Tuesday night.

Kogi, who was the Regional Finalist for Natal, is living proof that dynamite comes in small packages.

She is a single mother of two, who has not only uplifted herself and her children from less than ideal circumstances, but has also recently qualified as a Master Service Advisor, which is the highest level a Service Advisor can achieve in Toyota. She has her sights firmly set on becoming a Service Manager.

She has dedicated her life to helping abused women in her community to rise and shine above their circumstances and achieve their full potential. She is the Outreach Co-ordinator in Umkomaas and, every Saturday, co-ordinates three soup kitchens in three different informal settlements, and physically cooks in one of the camps every week.

She lives by the motto that one’s past should not determine your future and that ‘ordinary’ people can achieve extraordinary things. She would like to open at least five more soup kitchens in the Umkomaas area and has a dream of opening a counselling centre for abused women and children, which also offers support to divorced women.

"The judges were unanimous in their decision," says Martlé Keyter, MISA's CEO: Operations, and National Co-ordinator of the MISA Women's Forum.

"Kogi impressed our judges with her inner strength and quiet determination to succeed on all levels of her life. We know Kogi will do us proud as an ambassador for the women in the motor retail industry and we know she has all the qualities to be a role model for everyone in the industry.”

As part of her prize, Kogi wins a working trip overseas in 2016.

Pictured above are, from left: Martle Keyter, Tracy Weise, Lauren Scott, Kogi Govender, Celeste Grunder, Cheryll Jeftha and Louise Bennett.

Return to main article