The letters and emails on this page reflect the thoughts and experiences of patients that have visited Okonguarri and wanted to express their gratitude in written form.
All information on this page has been voluntarily surrendered to Okonguarri and, where relevant, permission has been obtained from the author(s) for publishing thereof on this page on the website of Okonguarri. The information is reproduced here in its original form, without any alteration, except for spelling & grammar amendments where necessary. In order to protect the privacy of our patients, every effort has been made to remove any personally identifiable information.
Through the darkness I saw the light
I just knew I had to fight
Often I was in desperate need for inspiration
My childrens' faces my only motivation
Dear God… I pray, please keep me strong…
on this lonely road that seems so long
It took a long time to hear the birds sing
Only a distant memory the joy they used to bring
Every day better than the one before
Finally I'm on the road to healing once more
Slowly I rose like a phoenix from the ashes of my past
Confidently I shine my light knowing it will last
Arriving with waery eyes, full of pain
Doubting if there is anything to gain
Here for broken spirits to heal
Everyone with different problems to deal
Day by day seeing masks disappear…
Exchanged with hope that lives will be back in gear
Being part of a family
Bound by shared struggles for eternity
A kind of love stronger than fate
Forgotten all the troubles and hate
We share laughter and tears
Make memories that will last for years
When the road you are trudging on seems uphill
When income is low and debts are high
When all hope is lost and thoughts become suicidal
Don't Despair
As there is a flicker of hope in the hour of darkness
Okonguarri is the place of hope for the hopeless
Where you become one with the wilderness
Where you find yourself
But it has once again become time
To leave your protective shield
To go out in the jungle
And to deal with my demons
But Don't Despair
As the loving and caring arms of Okonguarri
Will always be there for the hopeless, the helpless
And those who need solace
Deep in the bush
Where all is peaceful and calm
A place where your soul
Can come to no further harm
A place where we can learn
To once again find our feet
And where we will learn
To never look into the eyes of defeat
A place where our souls
Have no stress or worries
This magical place I call
Okonguarri
Looking in the mirror, what do I see?
A stranger that used to be me
Scared that this is one of my dreams
Life is not always what it seems
Hesitantly I feel a glitter of hope
Desperately I'll take any piece of rope
Slowly I see her strength growing stronger
Gladly this darkness will not last much longer…
Finally I will be free
My silent prayer while I'm on my knees
When I first came to Okonguarri, I was broken.
I hated myself for not understanding the way I felt and for not knowing things I thought I ought to have known.
When I was on the bus on my way to Okonguarri, all I could think about was cancelling the whole trip but something inside of me wouldn't let me, and I thank God that I stayed on.
Surrounded by strangers in a stringe place, it smelled like a cocktail for disaster. For the first two days I felt like sheep surrounded by wolves that were just waiting to go on the attack.
I slowly started opening up to the situation that I had placed myself in. I began to engage myself in verbal contact with my fellow patients and as I did that, I felt a bit of the heavy feeling on my heart fade.
As time passed I grew to love the place and people that had at first terrified me.
Okonguarri as a whole has created a space within my being, it provoked a desire to live again. It has created a thirst within myself to for self-acceptance and self-forgiveness.
Okonguarri has given back to me a gift that life had robbed me of and it's my love for English and it has also shown me a way to express myself and my emotions; something that I have in the past found very difficult to do.
I know that this is just the beginning. I know that I have a war that awaits me, a war for my happiness. But Okonguarri has given me the weapons I need to fight this war.
One of my newly found friends once said "Okonguarri can take you to the water fountain but it is up to you whether you drink or deprive yourself of it.
I will leave Okonguarri as a woman with a mission and a great story to tell. I look forward to my next visit and I am confident that the woman that leaves these gates will not be the same woman that returns.
I will return a stronger woman.
Thank you Okonguarri for being patient with me, for teaching me things about myself that I have lost along the way.
Your beauty and tranquility has given me some of the most precious moments in me entire life.
Tank you my sweet haven.
Feb. 2013
This place is new to me
It's different
It's strange
It's Okonguarri
Everyone here has some sort of problem
As addiction
A burden
Something that bothers them
Everyone here is one big family
There's love
There's kindness
It's a second home, you see
Everyone here has some sort of trait
The loud one
The quiet one
The one who's always late
There's a reason we are here
We need help
We need care
We need to shed a tear
And when we leave, we'll be better
Ready to go
Ready to conquer
Ready to start a new chapter
Jul. 2014
With the break of dawn, I'm no pawn.
I strech, and scratch, and give a thankful yawn
But I feel I'm a wet fish, and my legs kill me,
with willpower, anything is possible/
As the sun sets, while I'm in the wilderness,
my legs fail me to compete.
Yes, they are also reaching their willpower.
...................................................
I left my lungs and g-string behind
The sand, the stones, the wind, the breeze, are all so powerful,
they bend your knees.
The thought of snakes caught me on the way, causing my steps far apart,
but my heart's at bay.
I thank my God for health to play, for He's the one to make me play.
I walked through the path on my own, scared; I wished I was not born
I just heard my lungs screaming and almost fell out.
...................................................
It shows what a team can do if you work together.
My lungs were burning, my legs paining,
I kept pushing not to let my team down.
Ha...ha...ha
So what?
Couldn't actively, enjoyed passively...
Great seeing you guys, competing, laughing...
...................................................
Dream hill - Blaar - Bushman Art - paths so different
Wishing all to find their path into the future, and to happiness.
Though my butt and legs still aches,
the challenge was meaningful and the memories great.
I did not take part,
But I was in it, with each person, with my whole heart.
...so the day ends...
Aug. 2011
Why do I love so easily?
And get hurt so easily?
Why is it?
Why do I get stressed so easily?
When I can't get what I want?
Why can't I get over a lost love?
No matter how hard I try to forget
Why having bad friends?
And pushing away the right ones?
Why is it?
Why do I look for love in the wrong places?
And always avoid the right places?
Why keep on pushing myself for what I should have done?
Over and over again
Where do I start>
Where do I go?
Dec. 2013
Never imagined I would take this route. Oh, I hated it very much.
Never imagined I could fall in love, so deeply, with a place so unknown to me. And its mankind.
Never imagined that for the first time ever, on the soil of this great place, I coudld find lasting happiness!
It's like falling in love for the first time ever, and not want to let go!
Never imagined that I could have a second chance at life, I'm going to take that chance and never let go!
Never imagined that I could say goodbye, it's so sad; but so sweet; cause I will be back soon for sure!
Dec. 2013
Mag my hart se wand
sterk staan teen seerkry.
Mag my glimlag van liefde straal,
want ek is nou sterker
as die oer-oue ysterklip -
met omgee gegrafeer.
My grensdrade opnuut gespan,
ek is nou in beheer
van my lewensfees.
Rustig onder Mopani blare is my trane begrawe.
Feb. 2017
