A book celebrating the times and working life of Beyers Naude, who spent many years ministering to the people of Alexandra, was launched on his 100th birthday anniversary.
Titled Cultivating the seeds of hope: Conversations on the life of Beyers Naude, the book was written by Dr Murray Coetzee of the Beyers Naude Centre for Public Theology at the University of Stellenbosch in Cape Town with the assistance of his wife, Veronica, and Dr Len Hansen and Dr Retief Muller.
It is based on undocumented testimonies of people who were touched by the workings of Oom Bey, as Naude was passionately known. Coetzee and fellow writers criss-crossed the country talking and interviewing various people who came into contact with Naude.
Explaining why many of the sections of the book were based on undocumented conversations with people who worked and lived closely to the late Naude, Coetzee said this was purely based on the fear of the backlash from the security police if they had laid their hands on the documents.
“This is why we had to go out there and talk to people to obtain the undocumented memory of the late Naude being held by various people and organisations he worked very closely with,” Coetzee said at the launch of the book at the Uniting Reformed Church of Southern Africa in Alexandra.
