SECRET GIFT INSPIRES
“This is an act of absolute kindness and beautiful true blue mateship”
ZUNGA and Wana Siakalima were sitting on the couch when they heard a knock on the door.
Answering it, they discovered two women in Navy uniforms standing there, offering a Christmas present and card.
“We’d seen them walking sometimes, but we’d never met them before,” Zunga, 14, said.
“They gave us a basketball and a net, because our net broke, and a card as well.”
The two women, who remain nameless to the family, had noticed the boys practising their basketball in the driveway every night for hours, come rain or shine.
“I really admire the way that you two are practising every single day,” the card read. “I hope you guys make it to the big time if that’s the dream. Merry Christmas and all the best with the future.”
For the family originally from Africa, the neighbourly gesture was quite foreign, mum Mahongo Fumbelo said.
“In the Third World, people from the military and the police are feared for their brutality,” Ms Fumbelo said.
“To see these girls do something like this is really special.”
Ms Fumbelo said her family was from Zambia, and although it was “pretty peaceful” there, there were “a lot of neighbouring countries that are not”. “Members of the military and the police – some of them were quite brutal,” she said. “Here it is different. Here they live in the same community as us, they say hello, they want to share Christmas with us.”
The family, who moved to Darwin 10 years ago and now live in Muirhead, said they had no idea they were moving into a neighbourhood filled with ADF personnel.
“We always believe that you should be friendly to your neighbours, but respect their privacy if that’s what they want,” Ms Fumbelo said.
“We were just expecting to be in a quiet neighbourhood – we had no idea how friendly people would be.
“This is an act of absolute kindness and beautiful true blue mateship. ... We have so much respect for our Aussie heroes who are part of our community.”
The family has since thanked their Secret Santas with a return card and gift, but were saddened to hear the women were moving to Sydney. “We chatted for about an hour the other day, but we didn’t ever even get their names,” Ms Fumbelo said.
“This is an act of absolute kindness and beautiful true blue mateship” MAHONGO FUMBELO