My late mother always used to say 12 months is a very long time to let it go to waste. She said, at the end of each year you need to reflect and count your blessings, no matter how small. At the same time, she said, you need to interrogate your failures as well. Use the lessons learnt as your guidance for the following year.
My mother was from a rural village in Lesotho, Teyateyaneng, Ha-Motjoka. Locals call it Lioli (pronounced Diodi). Although she didn’t complete high school, she had an abundance of wisdom and humility. I doubt they teach that in institutions of higher education.
There were always people, especially women, coming to consult my mom on all sorts of things. She had the time. She made time for everyone.
Many years ago when I started traveling, it was mostly for fun. However, the more I traveled, the more I got intrigued by people’s cultures. I was fascinated by the different languages, even things such as vegetation and climate of a place.
I knew where to go and when. For example, I knew to always go to Mpumalanga just before winter starts. Because then, I won’t have to deal with spiders or any other creepy crawlies – especially spiders.
Then I’d bring home the last of their summer harvest and their first winter fruit like avocado and oranges. I do this everywhere I go, I take at least one item, no matter how small, to remind me of where I’ve been
I have a chopping board from Graskop in Mpumalanga, an Augrabies fridge magnet from Kakamas, a canvas painting from Maputo and a wire sculpture from Sedgefield market, not far from Knysna in the Eastern Cape.
Besides dispelling the myth that travel is expensive, I made it my mission to always support local businesses whenever I travel.
This year, my biggest mistake was falling in love with some of the women I met in places I frequent a lot – especially in Kwa-Zulu Natal where I go every second month to either pick up or drop-off my son, Mthetho, and my mother-in-law.
Mine wasn’t love at first sight especially with the women at the Blood River four-way stop. It started with me buying meals and asking for a picture on my way back to Joburg after dropping off Mthetho and uMama. But now, each time I’m headed that way I make sure to include them in my travel budget.
As most of us are about to go on holiday, spare a thought for the women trying to make ends meet on the side of the road. You may have promotional items such as umbrellas or sun hats that are in good condition but not being used.
Take them with you on your road trip and surprise them. These items may not be of value to you and I but useful to them because they spend the whole day in the sun.
Alternatively, freeze some water overnight and that water should still be ice-cold when you drop it off wherever you’re headed this festive season. Imagine if you do it, your friends do it. Just imagining the difference this will make to the lives of these entrepreneurs? Let alone the love that we would be sharing with them..
By supporting these women’s hustle we’re helping them feed, clothe and perhaps educate their children. Yes, maybe falling in love with these amazing women was a “blunder”, but it could be the best mistake I’ve ever made.
A conversation you and I can have once you’ve met these phenomenal women – anywhere in South Africa. Maybe then, you’ll understand where I’m coming from.
Miffie is a travel specialist and founder of Mohato Communications.
