HARARE – Sometimes challenges can belittle our capacity and we wish we could just die. Yet, we are made to last, only if we search to locate...
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HARARE – Sometimes challenges can belittle our capacity and we wish we could just die. Yet, we are made to last, only if we search to locate our true calling.
Words by Derick Matsengarwodzi: media consultant, author of forthcoming books (The Winners’ Workshop and Death is not Dearth) and founder of Aloe Media Group. Let us interact on: Facebook; Email: derickmats@gmail.com; Twitter handle: @TinzweiDerick
Here are extracts from our forthcoming book: The Winners’ Workshop
True Life Experiences
Towards sunset, we pulled into Mooi River Town, my drop off point. The sun was slowly dissolving beyond the dense mountain summit.
I opened the door and a narrow figure approached the truck – everything about him is narrow, except his broad smile. He projects his lean hand. I respond. Instantly, we are both greeting keenly.
“Hi, my name is Erick. And you are Pi.” He smiled broadly.
Erick was to be my anointed guide to my new home. So he courteously grabbed my bag.
“I will carry it for you.”
With no option, I let him help. I never doubted his sincerity.
I admit Erick was one jovial guy you never wanted to miss at all. He just elevated your mood the moment you saw him. He was gifted at that.
Overcoming Challenges
One day I sat down as Erick dished food. He always insisted I should consume larger portions. Every time I left food on my plate he scolded me that I would never grow big as if he was a big man himself.
That’s what I liked about him. He was always in a friendly disposition. So, today I thought I would ask him something more personal. I began my probing. “So, Erick,” I began, “How did you end up here?”
He paused, his smile vanished momentarily. That was my first time I noticed him without his regular grin.
“I will tell you because you are a good friend.”
Growing up, Erick tended to his father’s livestock with unequalled loyalty in a village of Malawi. He, too, had ambitions. Sadly, one by one, the beasts he addressed by name gave in to the persistent droughts leaving piles of hides and bones in the paddocks as a painful reminder.
At only sixteen years of age, he left school. “There was nothing left for me in the village.”
With his lucky charm safely tucked, a perforated pair of trousers, a remnant of a previous Christmas, he left home for the capital. Having a passport was considered a luxury that could deter one from attaining total salvation – so many youths preferred “border jumping”.
After two weeks, he arrived in Johannesburg.
Keep On Smiling
“That’s how I got here my friend. This is my fifth year. I like it here,” his smile steadily returning.
Erick was never afforded the chance to get educated like me but his wisdom was extraordinary. He never blamed his parents for his current situation but chose to be positive and search a way to remedy it rather than seat and pity his life to death.
His smile said it all – he was prepared to forego his past in search of happiness. It was a sure way to heal his past challenges.
Words by Derick Matsengarwodzi: media consultant, author of forthcoming books (The Winners’ Workshop and Death is not Dearth) and founder of Aloe Media Group. Let us interact on: Facebook; Email: derickmats@gmail.com; Twitter handle: @TinzweiDerick
Here are extracts from our forthcoming book: The Winners’ Workshop
True Life Experiences
Towards sunset, we pulled into Mooi River Town, my drop off point. The sun was slowly dissolving beyond the dense mountain summit.
I opened the door and a narrow figure approached the truck – everything about him is narrow, except his broad smile. He projects his lean hand. I respond. Instantly, we are both greeting keenly.
“Hi, my name is Erick. And you are Pi.” He smiled broadly.
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“I will carry it for you.”
With no option, I let him help. I never doubted his sincerity.
I admit Erick was one jovial guy you never wanted to miss at all. He just elevated your mood the moment you saw him. He was gifted at that.
Overcoming Challenges
One day I sat down as Erick dished food. He always insisted I should consume larger portions. Every time I left food on my plate he scolded me that I would never grow big as if he was a big man himself.
That’s what I liked about him. He was always in a friendly disposition. So, today I thought I would ask him something more personal. I began my probing. “So, Erick,” I began, “How did you end up here?”
He paused, his smile vanished momentarily. That was my first time I noticed him without his regular grin.
“I will tell you because you are a good friend.”
Growing up, Erick tended to his father’s livestock with unequalled loyalty in a village of Malawi. He, too, had ambitions. Sadly, one by one, the beasts he addressed by name gave in to the persistent droughts leaving piles of hides and bones in the paddocks as a painful reminder.
At only sixteen years of age, he left school. “There was nothing left for me in the village.”
 |
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With his lucky charm safely tucked, a perforated pair of trousers, a remnant of a previous Christmas, he left home for the capital. Having a passport was considered a luxury that could deter one from attaining total salvation – so many youths preferred “border jumping”.
After two weeks, he arrived in Johannesburg.
Keep On Smiling
“That’s how I got here my friend. This is my fifth year. I like it here,” his smile steadily returning.
Erick was never afforded the chance to get educated like me but his wisdom was extraordinary. He never blamed his parents for his current situation but chose to be positive and search a way to remedy it rather than seat and pity his life to death.
His smile said it all – he was prepared to forego his past in search of happiness. It was a sure way to heal his past challenges.
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