SEDIBENG – From struggling to get a permanent post as an educator despite fully qualifying, her love for working with kids has led her to be a scholar transport driver.
Mama Thembi Selebano is one of the most dedicated taxi operators registered under the Greater Vaal Scholar Transport.
The 47-year-old mother of two said she took a leap of faith in transporting children to school on a daily because she believes working with kids is her calling.
Putting the lives of about twenty kids on her shoulders on a daily, her motherly instinct leads her to respect the rules of the road and make a journey to school a safer and joyous one.
With October being transport month, Ster took a look into the day-to-day life of Mama Selebano and sought advice on behalf of many operators on how to continue the call to save lives.
Speaking to the paper inside her Toyota Quantum, the professional driver who boasts a code 10 valid license shared how her job came about.
“I worked for two years as an educator under the School Governing body. When I couldn’t get a permanent post, I started taking my children to school using a private vehicle. I was approached by some parents to also take their kids, that’s how I became a scholar driver,” she said.
The bubbly Mama Selebano said she felt comfortable in her new job as it served the same mission.
“Transporting children is still the same calling as working with children as an educator, so I decided to continue pushing my vocation,” she said.
Asked if gender divisions never impacted her work, Selebano said “Men and women are equal before my eyes and given the same strength, hence we got different industries and there are both females and males there.”
Touching base on daily challenges faced by drivers, Selebano said “We face a lot of those, especially meeting parents who do not respect our job.”
“Some parents treat us like we are their servants because we taking their kids to school. Some take their time to pay their children’s fare. Some challenges are on our side as some use old cars that get stuck now and you find they don’t have back-up,” she said.
Redirecting her view of challenges, Selebano added that government is another headache they [operators] deal with.
“We may do all we can to make sure we save lives, however driving in Gauteng is a mission. From pothole-ridden roads to reckless drivers, these are some of the challenges we face,” she said.
As a person who wakes up at 3 a.m. each morning, Selebano said starting the day earlier makes the life of a driver easier.
“Time is very important, hence the need to respect it. If we respect it by waking up in the wee hours, we expect parents to also respect our time. To parents as well, I make a plea that you respect driver’s jobs,” she said.
Thembi made a clarion call to the government to help them to make their lives as operators better.
“The government should meet us halfway and subsidies us to buy new vehicles. Equally, fix the roads so we maintain good conditions of transports in order to save lives on the road,” she concluded.
