WhatsApp support group creates enduring friendship
WHEN Dawn Gounden and Celia Tfotetsi, from two different provinces, joined a WhatsApp group dedicated to prayer and inspiration, little did they know they would become best friends.
Gounden is a private pathologist from Durban and Tfotetsi is a police officer from Johannesburg.
“One day, Celia sent a message to the group saying she was diagnosed with breast cancer and that she felt sad. I sent her a message privately, to encourage her to be strong and to let her know I was there for her,” said Gounden.
She said she often called Tfotetsi afterwards, to find out how she was doing.
“This went on for about five years until we met at a memorial service in Durban for one of the women who belonged to the WhatsApp group. At the same time, I got to meet Thandi Gomba, a friend of Celia’s, who is also from Johannesburg. We have now been friends for 10 years.“
Added Gounden: “It was like the three of us were friends for decades. Since our first meeting, we got together often. Celia and Thandi always come to Durban and stay at my home. We celebrate each other’s birthdays. We just love being around one another. We get along with one another’s families.”
Tfotetsi said people know them as the “three musketeers”.
“Thandi and I were so overwhelmed by the love and kindness Dawn has shown us. She is so lovely and caring. She checked up on me every time I had an appointment. I didn’t even know her but I could feel her love for me. I never thought that an Indian woman would love and care for me so much.”
She said her friendship with Gounden helped her through her journey with cancer. “It was not an easy road but having someone like Dawn, a sister, made the process easier. The relationship
Thandi and I have with her comes easy. We sometimes forget she is Indian. We always stay at her home. We sleep in her bed, eat with her utensils. If we are in Durban on Tuesday or Friday, we observe
her fast by only eating vegetables.”
Tfotetsi said it was important for people of all races to get to know one another better and experience each other’s culture.