Anglican Archbishop Thabo Makgoba travelled down Memory Lane recently at his alma mater, Pholosho Junior Secondary School where he, along with his former classmate and teacher, relived their school days in the turbulent 70s.
The arch, who occasionally visits the school to observe developments, supported by his Magkoba Foundation, was there to see the recently donated whiteboards, which principal Dingaan Kubheka, teachers and pupils lauded as a major development against the replaced dusty black chalkboards they condemned as a health hazard.
Magkoba let the staff talk about him and his former acquaintances to inform the staff and pupils about older pupils’ commitment to education despite struggle-related hardships.
Kubheka said despite the position he holds nationally and internationally, Makgoba was still grounded and committed to his roots and to uplift the poor in a township seen by affluent neighbouring suburbs as a ‘cancer’ and an eyesore.
“You traversed a hard journey from a shack to being a bishop, making you an example of resilience and a strategic activist on a mission to inculcate in current pupils, a desire to achieve in education by removing the letter ‘t’ from the word can’t.
“This was done to encourage pupils to live up to their potential regardless of their ongoing adversities.”
His teary, former teacher, Clara Bopape, who they called chisa mpama (clapper) said it was a rare opportunity and a blessing to have taught and still be alive to relive the memory and witness his rise.
“Despite the daily riots in the struggle for emancipation by all sectors of society, Makgoba and many others committed to education, were cultured and obedient to teachers and the elderly, compared to today’s pupils.
“They now plough back through various donations and words of encouragement, which current pupils should inculcate by committing to education in order to attain better positions and lives,” Bopape said.
Makgoba retorted to the commendations saying as the youth, they also fell victim to deception including when he and friend Lesley Makgoro joined looters by helping themselves to torn bags of white maize meal, resulting in their white faces.
Details: Pholosho Junior Primary School 011 443 5399.
