South African singer and songwriter, Lerato Moipone Molapo, famously known as Lira, graced fans with her voice once more after fighting a stroke that silenced her two years ago.
Lira made a name for herself following the success of her debut album All My Love in 2003, and became a fan favourite ever since. On March 22, 2022, while on tour in Germany, she had a stroke. The stroke took away her ability to speak.
In an interview Lira had at Kaya FM with Thabo Tbose Mokwele, she mentioned that she had to start relearning to speak from scratch, like a child. “I could feel what I wanted to say, but I had no words,” she said. Lira told Thabo that she had to learn small words that she could easily remember and that took practice.
In 2023, while Lira was in the process of re-establishing her speech, she celebrated her milestones and expressed how peaceful she was with her journey. The Good Things Guy publication shared her speech where she said, “In the year that I’ve needed to learn how to speak, I’ve enjoyed listening and the silence. I’ve learnt to be happier. I’ve learnt to enjoy the simple things. Life is a gift and I hope to celebrate the gift of life for many years.“
She recently shared a post on Instagram explaining what it meant to be performing on stage again: “This was so surreal! I never thought I would be singing so soon. I’ve worked hard but there’s times when the progress was so slow. Now I know that you can achieve anything you put your mind to, just do the work daily. I’m so proud of myself. I’m experiencing the season of being proud of myself. It was so emotional, I cried many tears yesterday, and I released so much. Tears of pride, joy, and triumph!!”
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She also mentioned that she will be performing with Maleh and Tamara Day on May 25 at Constitutional Hill’s Baseline Fest.
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