Grade 11, Parktown Girls High School
I have always been a shy girl at heart, ever since the death of my mother and father when I was only thirteen years old. Before that, I was always the life of the party at home, cracking jokes during dinnertime, dancing to the most current songs during gatherings or celebrations and being the smartest child they have ever seen.
I was forced to live with uGogo from a young age, and to do so I moved from Gqeberha to Alexandra in Gauteng. Believe me when I say that the atmosphere was very different to what I expected, but I became more familiar with it in my last year of high school.
Alexandra was squashed, noisy and very stuffy, and is still like that now. Everyone just lives to survive, and more people live with no purpose. There is abundant crime every day, I always hear police sirens at midnight, and it’s flooded with substance abuse, particularly alcohol.
Gqeberha was so quiet and airy. I always worked harder there than I did in Alex. Here, it was an abomination for a child of my age to do such work, but I carried buckets of water for long distances and helped with setting up the fire to cook every night. But here there are taps and stoves, it’s the “suburban life” as many people say. I don’t know why there has to be a difference, I mean the Bible says we are all the same in the eyes of God, so we should be equal as citizens of South Africa.
Gogo was very old; she could not even do the easiest daily activities for herself, such as walking and bathing. Her type-2 diabetes had worsened significantly, and I had to take her to emergency rooms almost every month. I worried whether she would live to see me pass my matric finals. Without her, I was nothing but a small particle of dust in the atmosphere. I always prayed to uThixo to let her live a long life, to see my successes and enjoy them with me, as I believed such a future was possible. We had no one else; it was just her and me against the world.
Matric in Alexandra High School was not a piece of cake. I was underestimated because of my shyness and quietness, but I always said that I was only there for my bright future and nothing else. “I am not here to please anyone,” I would tell myself.
Over my years in high school, I made a friend whom I would rather call my sister. She was very smart, beautiful, and energetic. I only had her to speak to at school, and she always cheered me up when I was down, as she was lively and energetic, which was a true testimony to “opposites attract”.
She always supported me during the toughest of times, such as helping me out with uGogo by accompanying me when I took her to the clinic, and by standing up for me when I was being bullied at school. I had never seen anyone like her. May God bless her forever.
I was always happy when I was in the classroom because I learnt and discovered many things that were unknown about life and about us as human beings. I always put effort into my studies, because I wished to get out of the devastating lifestyle that I have made out to be normal when it was not supposed to be. I wanted to leave poverty behind me and move into the rainbow and stars.
I once woke up early at 5 am to get ready for school, and following my daily routine, I went to check on Gogo. “Sawubona Gogo, unjani namhlanje?” I asked. I received no answer, so I asked again, more and more. Getting no reply, I felt the world shatter into pieces around me. Many thoughts rushed into my mind. UGogo lay there helpless, which I had never imagined in my entire existence. I did not know what to do, so I ran to Lwandile’s house which was two blocks away. “Noxolo? Kwenzenjani mngani wami?” asked Lwandile. I said, “Uhambile uGogo,” and she quickly came over and gave me the most heart-warming hug ever. I didn’t go to school that day, as much as I loved school. I had lost my caregiver, my lover, my role model, and my everything in the whole wide world.
Planning the funeral was very difficult and sometimes I felt like giving up. I lacked almost everything that was required. I did not have enough money for the coffin and transport, plus I did not have food for the funeral attendees and helpers. Fortunately, Lwandile and her family gathered some people that they trusted in the community to help me with the funeral. Other people brought maize meal for pap, pumpkins, and soup, while others handed in monetary donations. Thanks to Lwandile and her family, the funeral was a success and a dignified one for uGogo. May she rest in peace.
Continuously, Lwandile helped me through the pain of losing my Gogo as well. She provided everything to help me, and I never lacked anything. When my marks dropped, she tutored me by herself. This was almost too good to be true.
Sometimes I would sit alone and ask myself, “Is Lwandile an angel in disguise?” Honestly, I do believe that she was indeed an angel.
Currently, I am twenty years old, and I am very independent and working towards my degree in dermatology at Wits university. I will forever be grateful for Lwandile and everything she did for me. She was a beautiful pearl in my life. Lwandile died of brain cancer when she was only eighteen years old. I always pray for her and thank God for bringing her into my life. I tried my best to help her family by assisting with the funeral and by letting them know that I was with them when she died. Izandla ziyagezana (hands wash each other). I still check up on her family as well, because Lwandile was like my sister and I will never forget her.
In these times of darkness in our lives, we always come to help each other either by organising and coming together. No human ever made it through troubles in their lives without help from another human, just like Lwandile and me. Communities mourn for their members together, people protest together against what is bad, like people protesting against Israel, and people organise to request service delivery from the government and so on. As humans, we can conquer anything as long as we are together. Let us continue to work together, because as the famous saying goes, ‘Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu’.
Rest in peace Lwandile Zikode.