Olo is good at baking cakes

SECUNDA – Cycling, baking and decorating cakes and spending time with his family are things that make Mr Olo Puna happy.

He made a bold move 31 years ago when he moved from Poland to South Africa with his wife, Ms Ala Puna and their three sons.

Their sons were nearly three, seven and nine years old at the time.

Mr Puna made this difficult decision because the economy in Poland was bad which made everyday life very difficult in those days.

The Puna-family settled in Secunda and began with nothing but three suitcases.

He began working at Sasol as an artisan until he retired in 2018.

The couple still resides in Secunda and now has three grandchildren.

Mr Puna said it was difficult 31 years ago when they began over in South Africa.

“We did not understand the language and in the beginning, I could not even tell if people were speaking English or Afrikaans,” said Mr Puna.

His sons began school here and he still remembers how his wife sat with a dictionary to help their sons with their homework while Mr Puna was at work.

He enjoyed sports since he was in school and belonged to a marathon club in Poland before the family moved to South Africa.

Their first year in their new country was hectic and Mr Puna did not get around to do any sports, but in the next, he began running again and joined the Secunda Marathon Club.

“Apart from the running, I enjoyed socialising with other people and I made new friends,” said Mr Puna.

He completed more than 300 races during his running years, including 10 Comrades and several other long-distance marathons.

Mr Puna was forced to run shorter distances after he underwent a back operation in 2009.

Throughout all the years he worked at Sasol, he cycled to work and eventually when he stopped running, he began cycling more and taking part in cycling races.

He took part in his first long distance cycle ride when he joined his youngest son in the Joburg 94.7 cycle race.

“I said yes, but I used to cycle about 20 to 25km and realised I was not ready for that race,” said Mr Puna.

He completed the race, but decided to exercise more so that he would be ready for the same race the next year.

Mr Puna still enjoys cycling in his free time and having coffee with his fellow cyclists after a cycling session.

He is part of four cycle groups in Secunda.

His passion to decorate cakes came 10 years ago when he told his then future daughter-in-law, Candice, that he will make their wedding cake.

“She and my son wanted to have cupcakes for their wedding and I said no, it is tradition to have a proper cake. I will make the cake.

“Candice just looked at me and said: OK.

“I realised later that it was actually a big challenge for me.

“However, I knew I could work with my hands. I just did not have the knowledge on how to decorate cakes,” said Mr Puna.

He then went to Terino Bakery in Secunda to buy the necessary tools and ingredients to bake and decorate the cake and he asked for advice on how to decorate a wedding cake.

“The owner of the bakery, Winnie Steenkamp, opened her heart to me and she told me exactly how to decorate the cake.”

Mr Puna went home and did as he was told and took his samples of rose petals back to the bakery.Ms Steenkamp said he was going in the right direction, but he needed to make them thinner and work more with his fingers.

“I went back home and tried it again and took it back to her and she said I need to make it even thinner.”

Mr Puna tried again and Ms Steenkamp approved his rose petal and rosebud decorations the third time and helped him to finish the cake.

“I cried many happy tears afterwards and I am very thankful to her,” said Mr Puna.

Since then Mr Puna has made birthday cakes for his grandchildren – from treasure chess cakes to bunny cakes for Easter and even Christmas cakes. He also made the cake for his second son’s wedding.

Mr Puna said many of his friends do not believe that he made the cakes when he shows them photos.

His wife worked as a professional nurse at Mediclinic Highveld for many years and also enjoys baking cakes in her free time.