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Meet Drum’s Sis Dolly

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PHOTO: Supplied
PHOTO: Supplied

The rumours can finally be put to rest!

When radio personality Claire Mawisa tweeted that her team had asked to meet with Sis Dolly a few years ago only to find out she was an American woman, it set off a social media storm and left readers with many questions regarding the identity of DRUM’s Sis Dolly.


Now, to put all the rumours to rest, DRUM has interviewed the current Sis Dolly, Pearl Ramotsamai (who’s been answering your questions since 2016), so you can get to know her better:

So who’s the woman behind Sis Dolly?

My name is Pearl Romatsamayi. Born and raised in Johannesburg, in the mining town of the West Rand. I currently reside in Durban. I’ve been a wife for 28 years and I’m a mother of three teenagers. I am a marriage counsellor and family therapist.

What would you like to say to people who believe that Sis Dolly is a white lady from America?

I would say to the doubting Thomas’s out there: This is Sis Dolly, Pearl Romatsamayi. The face in the magazine is real, I am a living breathing being who lives in Durban. I gladly work for DRUM magazine as your Sis Dolly. 

What is the most memorable question you have received?

I would say the question about a lady who was struggling to get a man. She was asking for advice on how to keep men attracted to her if she finds a relationship, and she also wanted advice on how to get onto a dating site that was right for her. It was really interesting to see that people regard Sis Dolly as a love guru.

Why did you chose this job?

As a counselling social worker, I hadn’t been out in the field in a long time and I missed the interaction I had with clients as well as the satisfaction of seeing that you ca make a difference in someone’s life.

Have you ever not been able to adequately answer someone?

Yes, there are times I have felt I didn’t do justice to a question posted to me. I sometimes feel like I have failed the person because they wrote to me with confidence of getting the assistance they needed.

Have you ever wanted to meet and help someone through whatever they were going through?

There are questions that when I read them, I feel like reaching out to the person and meeting them face-to-face. Doing follow ups and finding out if what I assisted them with has worked helps because there are some heart-wrenching stories that come through the magazine. Sometimes I feel like it’s impersonal to just write and not meet that person face-to-face so, yes, sometimes I wish to do a follow up with a person to see how things turned out in the end.

What is the hardest part of your job as Sis Dolly?

One of the hardest parts is when I am walking in a mall and people ask me where they know me from. I don’t say that I am Sis Dolly, but I suggest that maybe we worship at the same church or we met at a meeting. The most difficult thing is when someone recognises me as Sis Dolly and they want me to talk about their problems while I am with my kids or other people. It doesn’t look good when I have to change my hat from being a mother to being Sis Dolly at that time.  

How do you differentiate between responding to a question as Pearl and as Sis Dolly?

It is very difficult to take myself away from a situation in a question. I try very hard to keep it professional even though it may be something I have gone through or seen a family member go through.  I take away the personal part of it and keep it as professional as possible, I cannot mix personal and work issues as there are ethics one has to follow when dealing with people and their challenges.  

 

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