Mandela's Children

by Deon-Simphiwe Skade

A view from a village called Nxasa in Tsolo, Eastern Cape. Photo: © Deon-Simphiwe Skade

  

There are folds in the sky above the village of Mpunkone near Tsolo in the Eastern Cape. The folds are so grey and so tremendous – so sinister! The large wrinkles also appear to be like a blanket in the sky that is drooping so low it may tear in the middle to pour out large rivers of rain. There is going to be a huge downpour! And those boys below that big fruitless tree better run away and hide. Otherwise, they may be soaked by the imminent rain and possibly catch cold or fever. Getting sick may be the last thing they need. For their dreams may be interrupted for a few days; so is their playing in the fields and their learning! This inevitably means that the boys under the tree would not be seen together for a few days. Only the ones who would have taken precaution against the rain would be free to roam about the village and play. But even so, playing and learning would be less fun now that there would be a few of them out there. Children cannot afford to have these kinds of interruptions. They are Mandela’s children and the old man wants to see all of them dream and prosper in good health. That is why that lot below that big fruitless tree need to stay clear of the coming rain, before it starts pouring down. They have South Africa’s dreams to protect – Mandela’s dreams! And just how big those boys’ dreams are is a wonder. I suppose their dreams could be as big as the universe and as infinite as their imaginations allow them. They are children after all; their minds are always hungry for meaning and relevance.... THE COMPLETE STORY CARRIES ON ELSEWHERE...