There can be no simpler expression of resilience than the tag line: “We are”. I chose the sentiment due to the vision I had and the challenges I went through to be where we are now.
The Future Comprehensive School started its operation at Veeplaats farm in Masemola village in Limpopo province in the rural Sekhukhune district. In part, this tag line is an acknowledgement of my own unshakable dedication to quality schooling. Over the years, despite recognition by parents and the provincial education department, my disillusionment with the public education system deepened until I said all the honours did not lessen the negative attitude on the ground level. The only option I had was to leave the profession I loved.
Like any man with a true calling, I was never idle for a long time. The queen of the Masemola village – Mahlako – added her voice to the parents who begged me to think of the children in their under-resourced environment. I thought of Jonah in the bible, who was swallowed by a big whale while running away from God. I also thought something negative would happen to me if I refused to heed the call from the community to help their children in providing the kind of education they asked for.