You South Africa – 29 August 2019

ANINCREDIBLEJOURNEY

Congratulations,KennedyGihana,for

takingyourlifeintoyourownhands,not

blamingyourpastandtrekking6 000km

fromRwandathroughTanzania,Kenya,

MalawiandZimbabwetoSouthAfrica

(YOU, 15 August).

I havetheutmostrespectforyoube-

causeofyourperseverance.

Youngpeopletodaykeepdemanding

everythingforfreeandwhentheydon’t

getit theydestroyinfrastructure.

Blesseveryonewhohelpedyoualong

thatjourneywithfood,moneyanda

placetosleepuntilyouattainedyour

master’sininternationallaw.

God’srichestblessingstoyou,your

familyandyourlawfirm.

JOYWILKINS,EMAIL

SWhataninspiringstoryaboutKenne-

dyGihana.Wordscan’texpresshowI feel

aboutthiscourageousmanwhonever

gaveup.

G WILLIAMS,PIETERMARITZBURG

IRRESISTIBLEYOU

There’ssomethingaboutYOUthatdraws

ONLINE FRIENDSHIPS ARE REAL

W

E’RE living in a

digital world

and there’s a

belief that the younger

generation has lost the

truemeaningofhuman bonds.

We’reaccusedofbeing superficial, fake

andcold.Ourfriendships on social

mediaareconsidered unreal.

Buttherearestill wonderful, amazing

peopleinthisvirtual world. Do we really

needtobesittingnext to one another to

berealfriends?Is it about distance or

connection?

Why is online friendship judged so

much? Didn’t people back in the day write

letters and stay best friends with just a few

words sent on paper? Friendship is beau-

tiful even when it’s hard to maintain. It

takes pure heart and pure love to keep the

bond strong. It takes a great deal of under-

standing, trust and loyalty.

Sometimes you might be sitting with

people but when that sudden “Hi” pops

up on your cellphone, your soul smiles

because the connection is real. Please

stop judging us!

PATRICKSEOBI,BETHLEHEM

N

OBODYcanpossiblyim-

aginewhatit’sliketobe

MichéSolomon.Because

fewpeopleintheworld

sharetheextraordinary

experiencethisyoungwomanhas

beenthrough– andcertainlyno-

bodyinSouthAfrica.

Michéis,ofcourse,theyoung

woman knowntotheworldas

ZephanyNurse.Herstoryhasbeen

documentedcountlesstimes,in-

cludinginYOU,butnowforthefirst

timeshe’sspeaking asherself,

revealingheridentity,readytoface

theworldwiththenameshe’s

chosentolivewith.

Foryearsshe’sgrappledwith

thoughtsandfeelingsnoneofus

canimagineinthatcontext.Disap-

pointment,anger,hope,love... all

ofthiswhilebecominga momto

twochildren.

Yetshe’sheldsteadysinceshedis-

coveredthetruthaboutherpast,

despiteherseemingvulnerability.

She’sincrediblybravetochooseto

showherselftotheworld– butit’sa

choiceshewantedtomakeinher

owntime,onherownterms.

Turntopage 6 forjournalist

MarelizeGrbich’sexcellentinter-

viewwithMiché.

WINNING

LETTER

‘Do we really need to

be sitting next to one

another to be real

friends?’

YOU subscribes to the SA Press Code, committing us to
journalism that’s true, accurate, fair and balanced. If you feel
we don’t comply, call the Press Ombudsman on 011-484-
oremailpressombudsman@ombudsman.org.za.

• Email letters@you.co.za • SMS 36489
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me like a magnet. In a doctor’s waiting

room among a selection of magazines I

automatically reach for it.

Not only are the crossword puzzles a

major attraction, the letters page is like

correspondence from a family member.

YOU is aptly named – there are topics

of interest for every reader regardless of

age. 

There’s just one problem – it’s hard to

put it down until I’ve read the whole

magazine and done the puzzles. I have

to confess I’m numerically challenged, so

sudoku is left for the next YOU reader.

MAUREEN SALTER, GEORGE

I NOW HAVE HOPE

I’m going through a divorce and it feels

like the end of days.

A week ago I dropped in on a cousin of

mine whom I haven’t seen in years. As I

arrived she’d just got back from work.

Her two kids, a boy and a girl, were sit-

ting at the table having supper. They

looked happy.

She then told me her fiancé had left

her last year. I could see things had taken

a toll on her but she was happy, confi-

dent and certain of tomorrow.

I realised then and there that I can also

do it. I don’t have to be hopeless and sad.

I can also be happy and hopeful.

SB, EMAIL

MY EXCITING DAY OUT

My friend Lolly recently invited me to

lunch on her 70th birthday. We were en-

joying our lunch when a young man ap-

proached me and asked if he could take

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E HAD to learn to fend for himself from an early age. His mom is Rwandan and his father was Burundian of

Burundi, the family moved to Uganda. By When political unrest flared up in Rwandan origin. Kennedy was born in Burundi.

this time his dad had died and he was raised mostly by his grandparents while his mom tried to keep things together.“It wasn’t easy,” he recalls. “When

you’re a refugee or you’re an immigrant you have to start from zero.”tion and coffee farm to pay his school Kennedy worked on a banana planta-

fees.1991 but, with tensions rising there, he was soon recruited to the army. Around He moved to Rwanda at the end of

the age of 19 he was in the Rwandan the genocidePatriotic FrontBut by 1996 takhengtryd hadplacengtoenoughputintheancountryofendfightto

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MY LONG WALK
TO FREEDOMHe trekked 6 000km from Rwanda to
certificate to his name – now Kennedy South Africa with only his high school
Gihana has his own law firm BYSHANAAZPRINCEPICTURELUBABALOLESOLLE
lpromptlessWithHeagainstantlynynohadincomeh mrecognfiredhesedwasKennedsoonhomy ande
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(^0) m0 togeteoffn Kennedy after his graduation ceremony in 2011 at the University of Pretoria where he received his master’s degree in international law.
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4 | 29 AUGUST 2019 you.co.za^
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