MADIBA

On the 5th of December 2013 we had a storm in Harare and when I got home from work I heard that a tree had fallen in the garden. Not only had it fallen but when it fell it fell with a large hive of bees. If that was not enough because of the rain we had an electrical fault and the lights went out. It was in the early hours of the morning of the 6th of December when i woke up around 1a.m that I learned from facebook about the death of Nelson Mandela. As I had no electricity i could not watch the news and I saw nothing on the TV for two days until power was restored. The death of Madiba caused an out pouring of condolences from all over the world with facebook posts coming from all over the world from Oprah Winfrey, Tyler Perry, Bishop TD Jakes, President Obama, Maya Angelo and people who had never even met him people like me.I began to wonder who was this man? How can the whole world be touched by him. He has brought Obama and Castro in one room, Blair & Mugabe. The whole world is setting aside their difference to come and honour this hero. So who was this man? He was the man we all want to be. The man who can say I forgive you, lets live together, lets put the past behind us. For some us us who were children of Activists we never really experienced the harrowing effects of discrimination because independence came while we were young and though we were exiles in the West we came home just after Independence. Growing up in london we had some friends who were from South Africa and I remember that the struggle they spoke about seemed like the struggle for one country. They spoke of Zimbabwe and Azania (Which is what they called South Africa before independence). I never knew that Zimbabwe was actually called Rhodesia until the Lancaster House Agreements. When we moved to Zimbabwe in 1983 we moved into a house in marlborough with a large garden. It seemed like a mansion because in london we had lived in a two bedroomed garden flat. I could not comprehend that only a few years earlier we could not have lived in this house beacause of the segretaion Laws. Even trying to explain it to my daughter that if people had not fought against white supremacy gone to war and died we would still have been segregated to this day. It is to the many men , women and children who took a stand and said no that many of us enjoy the previledges we have today.It is because of People like Nelson Madiba Mandela, Robert Mugabe, Martin luther King, Mahatma Ghandi, Winnie Mandela, Samora machel, Kwame Nkrumah, Wilfred Mubvakure, Nelson Samkange,Zebadiah Gamanya, Charles & James Chikerema, Kenneth Kaunda, Joshua Nkomo, George Nyandoro,ndambaningi & Vera Sithole and the many many people who took a stand for freedom. Many of them we will never know. After I read Madiba's Long walk to freedom a few years ago I remember saying to myself that I as the next generation still had a struggle to fight. Not an armed struggle but a struggle to improve the lives of our people, to fight against social ills. In particular I feel called to work in the area of education to build libraries all over the country. To give children the chance to better themselves through books. God has positioned me for such a time as this and He has prepared me over the last 11 years. Life is not about riches and power its about making a difference in the lives of others Its about being passionate about whatever you choose to do. As Madiba said no one is born racist we are taught to be racist. So if we can be taught to be racist we can also be taught to love and not be prejudiced. The many people who took up the armed struggle were able to make tough decisions and fight and kill because that is what was warrented but those same people where able to put their arms down and forgive. Tommorrow the world decends on South Africa to honour a man they once called a terrorist, a man who has now impacted the world. Thank you Nelson Mandela. We will carry on this legacy that you and many others have left for us. May your soul rest in peace.