Pinkie arrived at Tanda Tula on the 1 November 2001, yes, she has been part of the family for 22 years and is one of the longest standing team members. You will always recognise Pinkie by her brightly coloured jewellery, beautiful hair, but most recognisable is her gorgeous, generous smile.
![A smiling staff member in a red Tanda Tula uniform stands with her arms crossed in front of a stone wall. Her name tag reads PINKY.](data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 1 1"%3E%3C/svg%3E "Smiling Staff Member Against Stone Wall")
There have been many, many changes over the years at Tanda Tula, but right now she absolutely loves the new building! Her role has changed and evolved as has the lodge around her, both being in a place right now that they are very proud of!
Pinkie started in housekeeping all those years ago, then one of the managers loved her smile and so decided she should be at the front of the lodge working with guests. They trained for three months, she learnt the ropes quickly and was made a waitress, and that’s where she has been almost exclusively since. She absolutely loves talking to guests, making sure that they have a good time and that they enjoy their time in camp.
She openly admits when she was younger, she was very naughty and had her first daughter when she was 15, which sadly forced her to drop out of school. A lonely and hard time as she had no school and no job. But fortunately for her both her mum and dad already worked at Tanda Tula so they could support her.
After a couple of months, she managed to get some temporary work at Tanda Tula too, leaving her brother to look after her baby. Even though she could not speak English well and her maths was not strong the managers encouraged her to be the best she could be, and over the years with her dazzling smile and wonderful charm she managed to become a waitress.
When she was older and a little more settled, she had another little girl. Both her daughters are now grown up and her oldest is already working while her younger one has just finished school.
One day when she retires and leaves Tanda Tula which has become her home her dream is to start her own business where she brings clothes in from Mozambique and can sell them in her local village. Until then, we celebrate every day that we have this shining, happy person in camp, bringing joy to our guests and taking pride in her work.