Dear (Grandpa) Sekuru
It has been nine years since you left us. Life hasn’t gotten any easier; it has been really hard living without your personality around. A lot has happened since you left, both good and bad. I can never forget about you. I have just finished going through the pictures of your funeral and am reminded of how much of a great men you were because of the multitudes that gathered to bid you farewell.
My heart is heavy, my eyes are teary and my mood is low. There are days that I feel you should have stayed longer. But then again you ran your race and you finished well. You left us with the button stick to allow us to carry on from where you left. When I first heard you were diagnosed with cancer I didn’t know what to do or how to feel. I thought it was not a major illness for you. My mind always told me you were going to totally heal but oh well God had other plans. Since you found out not once did you give up! You had to fight through it. You had your good and bad days but more good than bad. I remember having you around after your operation. You were so positive minded. You were so full of strength and instead of us encouraging you; you took time to sit us down and encourage us. We had to balance school and looking after you and not on any day did we feel overwhelmed. You were a resemblance of strength in my life and I learnt so much from you. Your death really brought sorrow as you were the first person I had close to me that I had lost. I may not have managed to attend your funeral but I know you were laid to rest well.
I have done and achieved so much since August 2011, and I know you saw it all. You saw me graduate (there have been many of those in the family). I am sure that’s bringing you joy because almost every conversation I had with you was about education. I recently met a man that attended the school where you were a headmaster. He describes you as an exemplary man who fought hard to educate a backward rural community and deliver well ahead of expectation. I do hereby quote, “I respected and admired that man; despite working in a rural environment, characteristically harsh, hot and dusty, he was a symbol of simple, well turned out elegance,cool,unruffled and always presented the image of disciplined orderly authority.. He was inspiring yet very simple. Unlike the order and practice of the day where being a teacher`s child meant untold stature and privilege in the eyes of poor village children, our Headmaster`s children were the opposite of such; receiving no special treatmentThey were humble and his wife was a delightful story teller who taught us so many songs and converted the otherwise dreary school days into joy filled pleasantness.” I have no doubt I have inherited some of those attributes. I hope to be described in such a manner after I leave earth. You left a legacy Sekuru, not only in our lives but in the lives of those you came across. Your tombstone reads “Affable man of many virtues!” I hope you saw that because it aptly describes you!
Mbuya left five years after your departure. I hope you are together looking out for all us. Reality struck me hard after she left. Kumusha is quiet and lonely without both of you. The fields that were ever green are not cultivated, the granaries that were always full are empty, the trees have dried up and the livestock that filled the homestead vanished. I wish I had spent more time with you both, partaking of the wisdom you possessed. I am glad I learnt a bit, do you remember the day you sat me down and drafted the family tree. I learnt something though from your death and that’s to cherish all the loving people I have around me.
Time flies, so goes the well-worn clichés, but indeed, the nine years have flown by so fast. .It definitely has! It felt like yesterday when you polished our shoes so we could go to school smart. I remember the days you visited us at home whilst I was in grade 4 and by the time you left, we had new school uniforms and shoes. You pushed daddy to be the best he could be and I think he would be functioning better with you around. But continue to watch over us, over the whole Makozho Mupamhigwa clan. I just want to thank you for everything.
Continue to rest in eternal peace Sekuru. You are greatly missed and remembered
Your Muzukuru
Emma Rutendo Makozho
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