After six and a half years at the private school in Vaalwater, the time has come to hand the reigns to Vernon Rorich, currently a headmaster at a Curro school in Johannesburg.
“My wife Wendy and I own a small piece of land outside of town and plan to put up a tunnel and an aquaponics system to grow micro greens and herbs. We’ll supply the local market, as we have been told micro greens are difficult to find here,” he said.
“It has always been a dream of mine to own a piece of land and build a home with my own hands. I have not built this house, but we are off the grid and thanks to solar panels, do not depend on Eskom for our electricity supply,” he said.
Godfrey found his way to the Bushveld when he responded to an advert for the position as headmaster at Waterberg Academy. “I was working for a sugar company, running their private school in Swaziland. I have developed a taste for life in the bush and when this opportunity came along, I grabbed it with both hands. We enjoy it so much here. We have decided it is the ideal place to retire,” he said. He originally hails from Durban.
“One thing I have learnt during my time here is that there is no silver bullet. There is no one, single thing one can do to bring about change. Put your head down and start working. After doing a hundred little things, you will find the job is done,” he said.
“This is a fantastic school and the learners have great role models in the community that inspire them to reach higher and dream bigger.
“One of our former learners is studying at Yale and another has applied to study at an Ivy League university.
“This community has a generosity of spirit that is evidenced by the recent veld fires. People will drive many kilometres to help put out a fire that is not a threat to them. I was impressed by that,” he said.
