Online ReporterFadzayi Maposah
Correspondent
Today is November 1. It is the last day of week 44 of 2025. Today is day 305 and there are 60 days left to the end of the year.
When I travel by road, I enjoy looking at the boards that show the distance left to get to my destination. The countdown is a reminder of the progress that has been made.
If you are reading this, you have lived 305 days of 2025, and the count down for the last 60 days of the year has begun.
Take people on a bus (I love the bus). Some get on the bus and make themselves comfortable just to sleep. They will prop up themselves and get a comfortable position so that they sleep. Some will sleep peacefully and very quietly, while others may start snoring. In my many travels, I have seen (and heard) people snore peacefully during the day. Any time is snoring time.
Then there are those that will munch throughout the journey. I will not judge because I have never really asked why they choose to eat throughout the journey. If they were my travel buddies, I would ask them at some point to stop because I do not want to have to take care of someone who becomes ill while travelling. Imagine the hustle that comes with that. Just the stares from fellow passenger are enough to give me goose bumps! What about the looks that say “How did you think, it would end?” or the ones that say; “In future stick to eating what you know!”
In Zimbabwe now there are many pre-booked buses, but the companies prefer to call them coaches. These buses are unlike the other so-called “chicken buses” (because one can board the bus with a chicken in a basket?) and stop at every terminus. They have designated pick up and drop off points.
There are those who sit down to a good read and use the time to get as much information as they can. The read can be actual print or a soft copy. Some will decide to watch a movie and entertain themselves as they travel. Some will use the opportunity to listen to music, while others may decide to combine what I have shared and even add another dimension. Same bus, different activities till they get to the destination.
When people are nearing the destination, they prepare to disembark. There are calls to loved ones. There are arrangements to get someone to pick them up from the station. There are instructions to pack items so that nothing is left on the bus. Items are packed and bags are closed, and then one figures how they will carry the luggage as they disembark.
With 60 days left before the end of the year, let us start our preparations for getting off 2025. If we were to equate every day with a kilometre we would have travelled 305km and there would be 60km left. The greater of the journey has been travelled, but we are not yet there. What have we done so far on the journey? Has it been good? Is it possible that in the last 60km we can remedy it? What type of a traveller have you been?
November is the 11th month of the year, and in the Shona culture, it is sacred, with all rituals and ceremonies banned. These can only resume in December.
Taking a look at nature, it is in November when the first rains of the season rejuvenate flora and fauna. The month is also called Mbudzi (goat) in Shona it is a time when goats give birth. GOAT can also mean the greatest of all time.
As we prepare to get off the bus, let us remember that November is Men’s Health Month. Each one of us definitely knows a man. These men could be our friends, employers, brothers, cousins, uncles, sons, fathers, grandfathers, nephews and spouses,.
Men are present in our lives. It is important that men take good care of their health. Generally, men have a poor seeking behaviour. Some of them tend to think that health facilities are feminine spaces! They will accompany females to the doctor, and then stay in the car or even on a bench. These are the ones who actually muster the courage to be at the health facility. Others will remain at home, and then ask for updates when the woman gets home.
Men must take responsibility for their health. Some of the conditions that affect them are non-communicable, so they cannot say that because their spouse does not have the condition. Being strong as a man does not mean that one should not have their health as a priority. The opposite is true.
This men’s month (and any other month) we require men who will take it upon themselves to make their health a priority and let this month be the beginning of healthy choices. You could have been sleeping the whole year, now on day 305, make a decision to be awake. You could have been snacking and drinking, make a conscious decision to cut down and work on healthy choices. Strike a balance and work on getting fit again.
This month, the focus will be on men’s health and how we can get men to improve as we count down to year end. Men’s health cannot be ignored. It will also be an opportunity to salute the men who are doing their very best to be healthy.
#MensHealth
