Remembering David Mabuyane and Esther Mafu

KwaNobuhle Principal & Deputy Die of COVID-19

I am very saddened to read about the Covid-related deaths of the school Principal, David Mabuyane, and his Deputy, Esther Mafu. They experienced difficulty breathing – and died three days apart.

Together, they oversaw and taught in a large school in KwaNobuhle, Uitenhage. Noninzi Luzipho, with an enrolment of about 960 children, was a rather depressing environment of dilapidated temporary buildings; however, these two dedicated and cheerful educators – and their staff – made the most of it and were clearly trying to do their best for the children.

There was always teaching going on, despite the difficult circumstances of hot, overcrowded classrooms.

As Edufundi facilitators, we were always made to feel welcome.  For example, because there was no space for a staffroom, we had nowhere to meet with our mentees.  However, the principal and deputy insisted on vacating their small offices so that we had somewhere suitable to conduct our discussions.

For years the school lived in hope of relocating to new premises that were being built about a kilometre away. I hope David and Esther experienced the joy of teaching in the new environment before they died. Both of these selfless educators had worked hard to get it to happen.

May their souls rest in well-deserved peace.

Bill Holderness
(After retiring from NMU in December 2012, I worked as an Edupeg/Edufundi Facilitator in the Uitenhage/ KwaNobuhle area until December 2017. )

Read the full News24 article here