CEO of GRIP passes away

MBOMBELA – GRIP lost an integral part of its team earlier this month.

Licky Thusi, GRIP CEO, had been struggling with heart problems for the last six months and passed away from heart complications.

She leaves her parents, brothers and son, Promise (23), behind.

Licky was appointed CEO of GRIP in April 2019 and took her role at the organisation extremely seriously.

She had spent more than half her life, 20 of 39 years, working for GRIP.

“I asked her recently why she had joined the organisation and she said her dream was to be helping people and to be a social worker. Well, she achieved her dream. Licky might not have got a piece of paper saying she was a social worker, but she definitely was the best social worker I have ever come across in practice,” said GRIP founder, Barbara Kenyon.

Licky grew up in KaBokweni and was passionate about education.

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Kenyon mentioned that she should have been a businesswoman had she not been so community-oriented.

Promise is completing his honours in mechanical engineering which made his mother incredibly proud.

Kenyon went on to tell how steadfast Licky was, standing with GRIP through strikes, three court cases and many funding crises.

From the very beginning Licky expected no salary and after working for a couple of years started earning R5 a day.

She grew with GRIP and eventually became the CEO, leading the organisation through one of its worst years.

“Licky never wavered in her loyalty to GRIP or to her friends. This I know from first-hand experience,” Kenyon said.

“Those who knew Licky will know that she never minced words. She was a black-and-white person and this I loved about her. You always knew where you stood with her.”

Words that people have used to describe Licky in their messages of support included “hardworking”, “loyal”, “sister”, “mother” and “leader of note”.

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