The late Eddie Funde’s autobiography, Man on a Mission, was launched on Thursday, 27 June, at the Future Nations School in Fleurhof.
The autobiography, which was launched by Sifiso Publishers, a subsidiary of the Sifiso Learning Group, shares informative and interesting parts of his life. It also talks about his role and contribution to a free and democratic South Africa.
The Future Nations choir started the event by rendering a few songs, and then Sizwe Nxasana, the founder and owner of Future Nations, welcomed all the guests and dignitaries that were present.
“Let me take this opportunity to welcome and thank everyone for being here with us this evening. I see many friends that I have not seen in ages. We also have representatives from the Department of Military Veterans (DMV) among us and it is an absolute pleasure to work with them,” said Nxasana.
He went on to say that this book was published by the DMV in support of the work that Funde did in the African National Congress (ANC).
Daren McDonald was among the guests at the launch, and Nxasana said it was an honour to have him there because he had worked with Funde when he was part of the ANC mission in Australia.
The launch consisted of a panel whose members spoke about how they knew Funde. Former South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) News and current affairs MD, Dr Snuki Zikalala, was one of the individuals that formed the panel, which was led by Bafana Nhlapho.
Funde’s son was asked to give a sense of what type of father Eddie was and he said, “I do not know where to start because of the amazing man he was. My father was a very hardworking person who was always out there providing for us. We would be very excited to see him come back home with goodies. He was not home much, but I still remember every single memory of him at home. Moving on to the later stages of his life when he was injured and in a wheelchair, I remember how resilient he was during that period. Never ever in the whole eight years did he give up, he was always positive, saying ‘I will get better’ and ‘I will push my own wheelchair’.”
He added that what he had learnt from his father is that no matter what happens, the main thing is how you deal with the situation you are faced with.
Eddie Funde died in 2018. His journey began in the 1940s and ended at the beginning of the third decade of the democracy – a period of over fifty years. He was the first Chief Representative for the ANC to Australia and New Zealand. He also held senior posts in the public sector.
“Anyone who wants to honour Eddie Funde’s life can do so by supporting APHEDA’s humanitarian work around the world. Go to www.apheda.org.au to find out how. For more information on the newly published autobiography, Man on a Mission, visit sifisopublishers.africa,” said McDonald.
