Resilience …something for the brave, determined, assured? Yes, and something that 87-year-old Sikhombana Mkhize taught me all of last week. The soft-spoken, well-mannered elderly man told me his story a week ago. I stared into his watery eyes as I tried to understand the discomfort and sleepless night he’s had to endure. Although his story is one I’ve heard and written about before, there’s something unforgettable about this gentleman, I’ve decided to call it resilience.
This man travelled from Wembezi every morning since last Wednesday to be alerted of any updates in his story and as I typed it on Monday afternoon, I too was still awaiting answers. Yesterday, Mr Mchunu was the first face I saw when I pulled into our driveway at work. He asked me the question he’s asked every day, ‘have you heard anything?’
Well, I proudly show him the front page of our newspaper where his story is featured, he looks at it, at me, at the article again and smiles. We exchange a heart-warming moment that entitles silence before he leaves tightly holding onto his copy of the newspaper. I pray that Mr Mchunu’s resilience pays off and he is rewarded.
Read his story here, and tell me what you think bit.ly/1Es5qoP
