Images: Charlie Sperring and Peter Russell
by Jan-Hendrik Botha
This week marked the third birthday of Marisha’s second eldest child. Naturally, it was quite an emotional day for this Survivor castaway, who was away from home and unable to celebrate with her husband and two beautiful girls.
For Marisha, it was particularly difficult as she did not want to reveal her emotions to the rest of the tribe. “I woke up and decided to take to the beach on my own where I won’t have to tell anyone about this.” A tearful Marisha explained that she was second-guessing herself, contemplating whether or not she had made a mistake leaving home to take part in Survivor.
“Sitting there on the beach all by myself, I realised I’ll never be able to relive Mila’s third birthday – I missed it.
“Did I do the right thing?” she says. “Was it not the right thing to rather stay at home?
“In my heart, I thought that one day she might look back at this and say: jis, my mamma was awesome, look at what she's accomplished!”
An emotional Marisha revealed that she was always judged as a young girl, feeling as if she had never achieved anything in life. “I was always told that I am the shortest, or the fattest, or the slowest, and I wouldn’t want that for any child, boy or girl,” she said.
“Every child needs to feel precious and accomplished, and being on this show made me realise that it doesn’t matter who you are or what you look like, you are capable of so much more – that is what I want to tell my daughter!”
She continued and said: “I want to tell her that she is my angel, but she must realise and perceive herself as a warrior because that is what we are – warrior women, Wonder Woman!”
Up until now, according to Marisha, the Survivor journey has helped her grow. Her husband’s advice before leaving for the beach struck a chord. “Before I left, Hollie said to me that he and the girls will be there when I get back, that he’ll look after them and that I must go out there and do what I need to do. Once I’m back, I’ll be there for the next 20, 25 or 30 years – as long as the girls want birthday parties...” There and then, she decided to get up from the beach, follow her husband’s advice and continue with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Watch Survivor SA: Immunity Island on M-Net (DStv channel 101), every Thursday at 19:30. Join the conversation on Twitter, Instagram or the Survivor Facebook Page by using the hashtag #SurvivorSA.