Getting to know our people

Where did you grow up?

I was born in 1951. I went to primary school in Rhodes, followed by Empangeni but in Standard Five (Grade Seven) we moved to Nigel, where I continued my school career until I matriculated.

How long have you lived in Nigel?

I have lived in Nigel since we moved here in 1963. So in total, I have lived here for 57 years.

What was your occupation?

I started teaching at Nigel High School in 1973 and stayed there until I was promoted to head of department at the Sir John Adamson High School in Johannesburg.

I was appointed deputy principal at Benoni High School in 1991 before becoming the principal of Benoni High School. I retired in 2017.

What have you been doing since you retired?

I have been involved with Oak Dale Training and the Infomage Rims Group. We are a SACE registered company and do training for educators towards their continuous professional development, or CPTD as it is known.
In total, I have been in education for 43 years and in training for the past three.

I have also been involved with Ecology which is a SACE-registered company that specialises in the various aspects of school safety.

What are your hobbies?

My hobbies are repairing vintage cars, doing woodwork, playing the guitar, which I, unfortunately, don’t get much time to do anymore, reading and, of course, saving Nigel.

If time permits it, we will go to the sea, which my wife loves.

Is there anything you would still like to do in your life if you had the chance?

If there is something I would still like to do is to tour overseas and to do some university degree courses online.

How was the I Love Nigel group established?

About two years ago I saw how our town was deteriorating, especially the sports facilities that were being neglected and vandalised.

The facilities were not being maintained, the grass was not being cut. But this was everywhere, not only at the sports clubs but also in town.

When I asked the reasons why various reasons were given like there was no fuel for the equipment, the lawnmowers were broken, there were no funds and so forth. I realised that if we wanted to save our town, we would have to get in and do it ourselves.

How did you get started?

Neels Toerien, my daughter Aileen and I then got together. Our first task was to repair the palisade fence around Jim Fouche Park as vagrants had broken them to gain access.

I also got quotes to repair the jukskei, tennis and korfbal club, along with the swimming pool, the Jewish chapel at the old cemetery and so forth.

We then started to contact some of our relatives and old Nigel residents of the Jewish community to see if we can source funds to repair the chapel.

By that time I had already met many of the officials to see where we can get help – if at all. But then the lockdown was upon us and our efforts were interrupted.

Once the restrictions were eased we called a meeting to elect a committee to assist with the clean-up and I was elected chairperson.

How did the committee approach the clean-up after lockdown?

We selected some projects to get started and began with the park in the centre of town and the town hall. The residents who assist are all volunteers and give up their time and sometimes money to assist.

We have had some fund-raisers like the neon fun run and our golf day, and we’ve had donations from businesses in town to assist with expenses.

We have to make use of labour to keep up our work, but residents’ businesses and John Vorster High School have got involved with the clean-up campaign. We even had a bush-cutter donated from someone in America.

Would you encourage others to join the group?

We would like to encourage all residents to get involved in #ILoveNigel. Together we can and will make an enormous difference.

It is to the benefit of everyone who lives here. If we don’t we will start to look like so many other towns that are beyond saving, but we still have time and therefore we must act now.

What is your message to the people of Nigel?

My message to the people of Nigel is simple, get involved. You may not have the time, but you can still support our projects, our fund-raising events or make a small donation.

Together we can make a difference, together we can restore our town to its former glory.