Siyavuya Mzantsi
FIFTY-FOUR years ago, radiographer Eileen Meilech boarded a boat to Europe to visit a family she had never met.
Meilech, now aged 69 and living in Table View, had started corresponding with now 68-year-old Kathleen Steel via “airmail” during their school years in the 1960s.
After months of exchanging letters with Steel, Meilech decided to visit her and her family in Gent, Belgium. After that, the two continued their pen friendship for 30 years.
“For a while, we lost track of one another until mid-2013 when – almost simultaneously – we started looking for each other through Facebook,” Meilech said.
She said they both had dreams when they were young, and that through determination and enthusiasm their dreams became a reality.
It was after they had reconnected that Steel travelled to South Africa.
Meilech said Steel, along with her sister Rozie, recently flew to Cape Town for the first time to celebrate their 54th anniversary as pen friends.
“It was an incredible reunion, and Kathleen and Rozie loved to dig into the history of the country, but they were also fond of our wine farms, the beautiful scenery, our fresh fish, and our fruit and vegetables. Mangos were a real hit,” said Meilech.
Steel and her sister spent two weeks in Cape Town, and promised to return as soon as they could.