Get involved, urges Vaalwater’s Dr Peter Farrant

For years, the paediatrician has put his knowledge to work for the benefit of the residents of the town and surrounding farms. With his wife Janet, he stays on the farm that once belonged to his grandfather.

Farrant was born in Vaalwater and attended Laerskool Vaalwater. His high school years were spent at Pretoria Boys High School and he completed his degree at the University of the Witwatersrand. A stint at a mission hospital in Jane Furse, Sekhukhune district, made him realise the dire need for rural medicine. As the only son, he later returned to Vaalwater to continue with the family farm.

In 1986 when the need arose for a high school in the area, Farrant founded the Meetsetshehla Secondary School on his farm. The school now educates more than 700 learners.

As part of a research project, Farrant realised soon after his return that many children in the area were malnourished and had stunted growth. They also received inadequate education. This lead to the establishment of the Rural Community Development Foundation, which later became the Mokolo Phalala Foundation. A nurse was employed to visit farms and each farm nominated a worker to receive healthcare training. This significantly reduced the mortality rate of children younger than five years. At that stage, there was no primary healthcare clinic in Vaalwater, only a district surgeon that covered a very wide area.

After 1994 more clinics were established in rural communities and the healthcare model needed to change. During this time the devastating impact of HIV/Aids was also being felt. Farrant joined his organisation with the Waterberg Welfare Society, which provided antiretroviral drugs to more than a thousand patients before government clinics started its roll-out of the life-saving drug.

Farrant’s son Nicholas manages the farm’s Bonsmara stud and his daughter Lindsay Suter is a palliative care specialist in Cape Town.

Die Pos asked Farrant a few questions.

Which charity organisations are close to your heart and why?
Any charity that works to improve residents’ health and level of education. Those are my passions.

If you have R1 million rand to spend in your community, what will you spend it on?
I’d spend it on training and establishing a skills development centre for job creation. We need to get youngsters ready for the job market. We have huge unemployment in the area.

What do you think the future holds for smaller rural towns such as Vaalwater?
In smaller towns the community will need to become involved to ensure the standard of living of its people improve. We shouldn’t wait for government or other authorities. We all need to be involved.

Who inspired you to become a community builder?
During my high school years my awareness of social justice developed. It was sharpened at university. It was only after I came back to Vaalwater that I became a proper Christian and realised that I should help.

Is there a quote that inspires you?
“The line that divides good from evil runs not between nations or continents or between classes of people, but it runs through every single human heart.” This is from the Russian writer Alexandr Solzhenitsyn.

What is your dream for Vaalwater?
For the community to bask in God’s love. A community that is socially aware and well educated.

Do you have advice for others wishing to get involved in uplifting their communities?
Just do it, as Nike says.