e'Pap Helped Bring Khulu Back to Us!
Khulu Nyoni Siphulingi Phiri has been a part of our family
life for over 40 years. He has also been
an integral part part of my children’s lives from birth, chastising them when
they were naughty, sharing his sadza when they were hungry, always encouraging
them, ready to catch them on their first wobbly bide rides. He has helped us to mark our milestones,
celebrated our joys and eased the burden of our sorrows.
Nyoni is a man who has the most remarkable integrity, he is
simple, both proud and humble, and his warm sense of humour belies the hardship
he has endured throughout his life. In
1949, when he was 14, Nyoni and his father left Mozambique to find work in the
mines in South Africa. They walked
2000km from Tete province to Durban. Two
years later they were back on the road, walking another 1000km to find a job in
Zimbabwe (still Rhodesia then), the country was welcoming migrant labour and
they believed they would find their fortunes there.
Tall, dignified, with not an ounce of fat on him, Nyoni is a
legend for his strength and would not think twice to lug boulders around the
garden. He first worked for family
friends and came to work for us in 1984.
He is the one who turned our garden into a paradise, a landscape that
will always bear testimony to his hard work and love of the land.
Nyoni is now 78 years old and two years ago he decided it
was time to retire, not because he wanted to, but we did not realise then that prostate
cancer was starting to take its toll. He
left our home to live in Bulawayo’s western area, leaving a great big hole in
our lives. The cancer got worse, and a
year ago Lucy and I carried him from his house to the car to take him to Mpilo
hospital. He was wasted away, in pain
and unable to walk. My heart was broken.
He was operated on and although the
cancer is still there, it has been arrested.
Nyoni’s recovery is nothing short of miraculous. A year ago I was preparing to say goodbye to
him, but he has sprung back with remarkable tenacity. The surgery was successful, and to help him
get back to health he eats e’Pap every day.
Last year I would make a monthly visit to give him his pension and his e’Pap,
but a few months ago he arrived at the gate, bent over a walking stick, but he
had come on his own steam. He insisted
that from then on, he would come to us once a month. This morning Nyoni arrived, still with a
cane, but standing upright, his skin glowing, a spring in his step and the
sparkle back in his eye.
Yes, the surgery played its role, and so has the medicine he
has been taking. But I am now more
convinced than ever that the e’Pap effect is amazing, and the proof is right
here in Nyoni, our Khulu, our grandfather.
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