Principal of North Coast Agricultural College, Sunjay Bodasing, recently summited Mount Kilimanjaro. Mr. Bodasing is a valued partner of our Estate, having completed the second circle of the Partners for Possibility programme with our Finance Manager, Marc McClure. When he summited, he proudly displayed our Simbithi flag.
Upon his return, Mr. Bodasing wrote this exquisite poem to Simbithi:
I greet you with humility and love, my Respected Partners in Education.
Having successfully summited Uhuru Peak, Mount Kilimanjaro
At an altitude of 5895 amsl,
On 27 September 2019
At 08:40
I return, with utmost respect and gratitude,
The insignia of Simbithi Eco-Estate
Mounted on ‘the’ flag.
‘The Flag’,
I am proud to say,
Greeted the mountain with pride and confidence,
Weathered the storms of
The arduous 7 day ascent
On its journey
From Macheme Camp
To Shire Cave
Past the abominable Lava Tower
Through Barranco Wall
To Karanga Camp
Arriving at
The infamous Barafu Base Camp.
Having endured the slopes
Of lush rainforests,
Through the lava-strewn rocky moorlands
To the upper dry reaches of alpine dessert
And surviving glaciers,
Braving temperatures
From a chilly 5
To a summit night
Of sleet and snowfall
At -18 degress
Defying the odds of fatigue,
Loose gravel and unstable scree
Below,
And the endless trail of hikers’ lights
Leading up, up, up
To the star-studded sky of the Milky Way
Soon to be greeted
By the awakening dawn,
The most fascinating sunrise
On Earth
Embracing its curvature
With a brilliant halo of divine light
To set our team of 9
At Stella Point
Only 700m away
From the Roof of Africa.
It (the flag) had to be like its human accompaniment,
With hearts pounding,
And the altitude
Sucking out the last kilojoules of energy,
Yearning to reach
The ultimate destination –
Zenith of Africa.
Uhuru welcomed it
With perfect calm
Displaying its valour
With immense respect
And a gesture of modesty
A gentle whisper of prayer
Under the weary breath
Of its bearer.
It deserves no less credit
For the value it embraces
And the contribution it makes
To our beloved communities.
Behold
A mountain conquered
Symbolically
By a Mountain.
Hail ‘Simbithi Eco-Estate.’
A greater honour could not have been bestowed on me. Thank you for this opportunity. God bless Simbithi Eco-Estate.
