Sometime around the middle of this year fellow publisher, Anton van Zyl phoned me and proposed a challenge. Anton runs the Limpopo Mirror and the Zoutpansberger, two independent community newspapers in Limpopo.
He proposed we both fly up to Arusha in Tanzania and climb Mount Kilimanjaro, the highest mountain in Africa.
To cut a long story short, the idea was soon developed into action and I found myself speaking to my publishing partner, Caxton, about what Anton and I viewed as a personal challenge to each reader of Kathorus MAIL. We wanted the readers to join us on this monumental uphill journey.
We do not have to hop on to a plane and fly to Arusha to climb Mount Kilimanjaro.
However, I hope each of you will join me by embarking on your own mental trip to get to the top of “Kili”. I believe that climbing our own little “Kilimanjaro”, no matter how high, is part of a healing process that can help us unload the burdens of life that hold us down.
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As we approach the end of a decade and begin a new one in 2020, I believe we will all venture into the new year a lot lighter at the top of our individual mental “mount Kilimanjaro’s” after discarding the heavy baggage that weighs us down.
As I said, we don’t have to all visit Arusha, but we can enjoy the journey together as I take my very step to reach the almost 6 000m high peak, hoping to reach the summit on New Year’s Day.
Anton and I want to savour the dawn of a new year while, as Johnny Clegg says in his lyrics, “Sitting on the top of Kilimanjaro”.
We want to see the new tomorrow Clegg dreamt of because we believe it will be there. South Africans have many mountains to climb, but we believe we are more than able to do so. All we need is take that first step.
We need to get to our individual mountains, no matter how high or low they may be.
Join us and share with us your own mental trip which we wish to share with each one of you.
By attempting to achieve this task and reach the top, we shall have achieved our greatest feat to conquer our fears, and shed the heavy load of life’s baggage off our shoulders and start a new decade with refreshed hope and new inspirations.
I would like to thank all the members of our families, business partners, our colleagues, friends, and readers of our publications as well as the Park director and the management of the Suikeboschraand Nature Reserve, management at the Cape Union Mart store at The Glen Shopping Decathlon Stores in Alberton for the support, advice and the good wishes.
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