A close friend made many people proud by summiting Mount Kilimanjaro on the 18 July as part of #trek4Mandela. Before she left she asked me to write something she will read during her journey in the mountain. As stated in the letter to her, just writing for the sake of writing can be hard sometimes. Kodwa ke as the late grate Brenda Fassie once sang " bhala bhala mabhalane iyohhhh". This is the letter below, proud of you Neiba.
Dear Tebogo Monama
As I write this letter I am wondering how far you will be in
the adventure of climbing the Mount Kilimanjaro when you read it.
I have written a paragraph of this letter in white. The
information on this paragraph will lead you to precious treasury left by my
ancestors in that mountain many years ago when they embarked on the journey to
the south of Africa. To decode this message you will have to find a tree to
colour the paragraph and see the directions to the treasure. The best way to
find this tree is to taste all the leaves from the trees in the mountain. The
one that turns your tongue pink will be the one to use on the white written words
below.
Enough about the treasure, let’s get into something that
does not have monetary value. Ok before we get into that that let me start by
sharing excerpts from poems Susan Makin wrote while in Mount Kilimanjaro. A
blogger named Wizards Wireless dedicated them to his brother who was about to
climb Mount Kilimanjaro. Since you are already there, I hope they inspire
you. These are the three extracts from
her poems
Kilimanjaro, Day 4/1
Equal when challenged
Challenged when Equal
The Day is long
The body becomes strong
And so too the mind
In her other poem on Day 5 Susan Makin wrote
Step by step
Minute by minute
Ache by ache
We’re close to our goal
After her success to ascent Kilimanjaro she said
Those who can
Those who can’t
Those who could
Those who could
Those who would
Those who did
With that being said now let me return to writing
something that you can read while you are on the mountain. I must state that
saying you are on the mountain has all sorts of different connotation like you
have gone there from some sacred initiation. Secondly it is hard to write for
someone who is also a sub editor, you got me stressing about grammar and
punctuation.
The interest thing about you being in Kilimanjaro, is
that your journey is a product of hard
work and starting slow. In this fast paced world of technology and instant
gratification starting slow has become a myth told around the fire by the
elderly.
Your new found love of mountain climbing made me think about new love . This is because many people turned
their old love into careers. The love of reading and writing leading to being
an author and or journalist. The careers then has its up and downs and that
leads to the old love becoming more of a responsibility. Reading newspapers and
writing is no longer that enjoyable as it is synonym to work.
This has led to some to neglect their lover, as it is now
not about being happy but a duty that one has to do or face sleeping on an
empty stomach. But with new love, there is joy and endless possibilities. It
open avenues one has never thought of exploring. It gives hope. It gives
strengths and allows one to be dedicated to love again as it is not forced.
Like everything else on the planet, new love also has to
be natured, and most importantly has to be respected. As you enjoy the open
sky, (hoping no Moloi flies by to disturb your view), I can only wish you all
the best with your new love and that you nurture, respect, love and enjoy it.
Having looked at the word count I have realised I have
passed 500 words, and I fear being long and boring but then I realised the extracts from the Susan’s
poems are not my words, so I am going to continue writing. I also realised that
as much as this is boring you will be stuck in a mountain when you read it, so
you will have to read it or face another form of boredom as other kids will
also be reading their letters. Now that
I have passed the 500 words then I need to think of an ending.
Before I end though let me urge you to put safety and
your health first in whatever you do up there. We still need you down here. Do
enjoy every second of your journey Neiba. When you return we are going to open
a consulting room which will have a sign that reads. “Tebogo -the great Sangoma
who was initiated in Mount Kilimanjaro”. Please take as many pictures as
possible, we are going to need them as proof that you are a true Sangoma from
the tallest mountain in Africa.
Enjoy.
Ozithobileyo
Luzuko Pongoma (“The BFF”)
No comments:
Post a Comment