Natasha (Whoopa), Daniel (Nathaniel) , Almari (lady elbow), Angie ( the herbalist), Bertus (the pure breed), Jacob (Mr reliable), Hennie (Mr fix it), Jody (still in the closet, but on his way out), Gavin (the sledger), Nadine (Ms Thang -), Mhairi, Liam Mariette( The thumb lady), Michelle (Judge Judy), Natalie (Oats), Benedictor ( the crusher) , Nicole, Martinis, Sean and Peter, Craig (the brother), Jonathan (the comedian with hairy armpits and the cow charmer). Your names are engraved in my heart and you all qualify to be in my first 15. For the next challenge, I choose you first…starting of-course with those with less under arm hair… Daniel, Craig and Jonathan, you know what to do.
In the midst of all this excitement, joy and praises, I feel saddened that this amazing journey had to abruptly end. I am however more excited now that I have an extend family that I did not have before Sunday the 30th. I can not start to explain how we bonded in this past week and how easily we opened up and became vulnerable to each other. It felt like we had known each other for years…
Some interesting discussions included statements like “ the blind pulling the paraplegic”… this was referring to Gavin (the blind) helping Tendai (the paraplegic) uphill or a discussions around a “brother” going bird watching, or a brother paying R2500 to buy hiking shoes…ok maybe this doesn’t apply to me, but I do remember back in the day when I used to climb mountains (not for fun) in R200 shoes…
The one that took the trophy for me was “tea and scones” courtesy of Judge Judy….ok I have to admit that I kinda enjoyed it and will probably do it again with the little finger etiquette en’ll !!…I can’t say the same though about my brother Benny! He prefers brown bread and jam… I can relate!!
I so want to tell you all about how much we have raised, but unfortunately I have to hold back until we have collected all the pledges. Because of you, we are truly going to transform people’s lives in a meaningful and holistic way. It’s not just about buying a lot of wheelchairs and donating and walking away…it’s about giving real freedom to the less fortunate Paraplegics to purse one’s goals and aspiration with minimal assistance if at all. It’s about investing in the right chair and cushion that is suitable to their individual needs and capability. Only then can we begin the sustained process of changing and improving people’s lives. In order to fulfill this, we have created appropriate relationships to ensure continuity and on-going support.
What’s next?
Some ideas have been thrown around, but nothing concrete. One thing that is definite is that our next challenge will definitely be more extreme than Tour de Durban … touching and changing even more lives of some folks living with disability within the region… W4L has no boundaries!!!
Look out for the details of our next challenge in Jan/Feb.
I spend this past week with my heroes. I met some amazing mothers and fathers this past week. I met some strangers who cheered us on even though they had no idea why we were on this journey. My belief and faith in human kind has been quadrupled this past week and no negativity will ever take this away from me. I am truly honored to be in your midst and I thank for giving me back my legs!!!
Tendai I.K.
