"Most days I run to work just for fun. It only takes 55min on the N2, but if I am energetic and take the old road past Saasveld it takes two-and-a-half hours.
"Taxis are a no-no as you are never quite sure when you will get to work. It is pot luck." If it rains he hikes.
What makes Kindili's story even more amazing is that he was sent by his parents from his home village of Kwa Nxele in rural Transkei, between Mqanduli and Coffee Bay on the Wild Coast, to George because his feet were giving him problems.
"I had a disease that made my feet swell and sweat." In 2004, while in Grade 11, Kindili's parents decided that he should leave school and go and live with his brother, who was a security guard in George. "I could hardly move and was a burden on the family as we were far away from hospitals and clinics." Kindili had been to traditional healers and doctors in the area, but with little success. "Once in George I found that when I ate less meat my feet swelled less so I decided to cut out meat altogether."
The swelling stopped and he began walking and later could even run, but by then he was too old to return to school.
Kindili enrolled at the African Skills Training College in Thembalethu where he did a basic panel beating course, but soon realised that it was not for him. "I changed and did catering instead. When I left college I started work at a shawarma and falafel outlet in George." Here the owner, an Israeli, taught him the finer details of Mediterranean fast foods.
In 2007, when the shop closed down, he took up employment in Wilderness. For the last two years he has been running for the Outeniqua Harriers.
"I am thankful for my second chance in life and cherish the fact that I can run."
Mziyanda Kindili running through Kaaimans on his way to work. Photos: Myron Rabinowitz
ARTICLE: MYRON RABINOWITZ, GEORGE HERALD JOURNALIST
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