CC LAMONDT South African singer FINDING HER SPACE IN KENYA

C C Lamondt is assertive. You can count on her to give her honest opinion any day. Fiercely driven and tenaciously dedicated, the South African born singer describes herself as an overachiever. The 43-year-old mother of two has worked as a singer, model, studied medicine, forensic psychiatry, business, and catering and hotel management. A feat she achieved while running family businesses, raising children and juggling studies. The word ‘superwoman’ comes to mind.

Born Catharina (Cat to most of her friends) in Mpumalanga Province in South Africa, CC has always believed in reaching for her dreams. “I cannot stand not knowing something. Every time I get frustrated with something, I have to learn more about it,” she says. Growing up, her biggest influence was her family especially her late father – a farmer, businessman and singer for the South African men’s choir, with a knack for playing musical instruments including the piano, guitar, harmonica and the accordion. “I had lots of ideas growing up. People thought I was ridiculous but my father, with whom I enjoyed a special bond, encouraged me to dream my fairy castles and he would paint them for me,” explains CC.

It was also her father who taught her that to be successful one had to work hard, sometimes starting from the ground up. Coming from a strong musical background, CC ventured into music at a young age even winning several competitions. At 14 years, her mum sent her to Paris to work as a model. However, CC returned home after six months and signed with a modeling agency in South Africa. But it was Sol Kerzner, CEO of Sun International, who discovered her after hearing her singing at one of the concession stands at the Sun City Resort.

While CC considered music as a career, her parents did not and after much pleading from them, she enrolled to study drama. She dropped out after realising she had no passion for it and started her own business selling foil balloons.

Tragedy strikes…

At 25, CC, already married and with a son, enrolled to study forensic psychiatry. She was also working for a local company, and her work involved traveling back and forth between South Africa and the US. It was only a matter of time before she burnt out. Soon she started complaining of fatigue and abdominal pain and on checking with her gynaecologist, it was revealed she had ovarian cancer. Doctors said she would never have children again. She was devastated.

However, shortly after the diagnosis, CC got pregnant with her daughter Ayla. To add the icing on the cake, the cancer went into remission. “This is the most amazing thing about the human body. When you become pregnant, your body wants to protect that baby with everything in it,” she remarks. Her joy knew no bounds.

Unfortunately, what followed thereafter reads like a Greek tragedy. CC found herself fighting for her life once more, and in more ways than one. Shortly after Ayla was born  her father and idol got a heart attack and passed on. Her marriage, following years of a busy work schedule, had taken a beating and was falling apart. As if this was not enough, a year and a half after Ayla’s birth, the cancer resurfaced and CC was forced to go into chemotherapy and had to drop her singing engagements.