Self discovery through a random act of kindness.

by Zenande Solomane (South Africa)

Making a local connection South Africa

I could not contain my excitement as we went through all the process of embarking from Durban harbour to the long awaited MSC Orchestra cruise ship to Portuguese Island. Everyone was beaming with pride and excitement; it was such a beautiful moment. On my way from the information desk to inquire about the internet connection ashore, a woman who seemed to be in her mid-thirties came running to me, behind her were two beautiful girls. As I paid close attention to them I realized that not everyone was as excited as I had initially thought, it troubled me before they even uttered a word. "Please help me." she said with tears welling down her flawless cheeks. In my 28 years of life, I have never seen such agony coming from a mother's eyes, it pained me. The woman had accidentally forgotten her passport back at home in Mpumalanga, careless I know, but mistakes are bound to happen, it's human nature I suppose. "I have failed my angels; they have been looking forward to this for months now..." She said, with a voice so shaky it would fall if it could. She tried to explain what had happened but my focus was on the teenage girl, throughout the entire encounter, she still looked very hopeful, her eyes were just screaming a "please say yes". The younger one (11) was in tears, she kept wiping her mother's eyes, it hurt. After so many efforts of trying to calm the mother down, she finally asked if I could look after her daughters as she could not go on the cruise ship with them. You see, when we plan for any travelling experience, we never plan to be given the responsibility to look after two lives that are so dear to their owners, it never crossed my mind. My heart instantly said "you can do it" even before I could think of the risks and consequences, I saw it as unconditional act of kindness. "Do not worry, your angels are in safe hands with me", I re-assured her looking straight into her teary eyes. I closely observed her pain change to hope, I wondered how one could trust a total stranger with her children. But I knew then that in me I have a Godly aura, I realized that I represent 'UBUNTU' in a world that no one can be trusted. It was in that moment that I got to re-discover myself through that one act of kindness. I will not lie and say it was not a tough decision to make, due to time that we had left for the ship to embark, the risks involved with travelling with minors and the responsibility it took. We went through all the necessary steps that had to be taken when one is handing over their children under the care of someone else, with the help of Harbour Police officers, Home affairs officials and Social workers. The entire process had to be done in thirty minutes. My girls were now smiling and laughing at us when we could not catch our breath, running around the Harbour. My cruise trip was more than what I had expected as I had two brilliant navigators by my side who could remember what each ship deck comprised of and which short routes to take to make it early to the dining halls, I was glad I had them. I had no experience of parenting but I knew when to say "yes or no" to my girls and we understood each other. From breakfast to late night theme parties in the ship, I had them by my side. We made so many memories together and till this day I still get invitations to visit them in Mpumalanga. Through this experience I have found that you don't have to be blood related to be family. For someone who has never imagined how it would be to be a mother, I came back knowing that emotionally I was ready, although it is a different story financially. My name is Zenande, and this is my beautiful first travelling story out of South Africa.