Meeting the Teachers

Lumka Mahlangeni

Lumka was born in a tiny village known as Lusikisiki, near the city of Umtata in the Eastern Cape of South Africa.  She lived there, happily with her mother and father and her extended family. She started her at the age of five in the village. She moved to a high school in Umtata when she was in the eighth grade in the year 2000.  However, she did not complete her final year of schooling because she fell pregnant.  This was a particularly difficult time for her, since the father of her child abandoned her and disappeared.She moved back to her village to be with her mother.  At this time her father was working in Durban.

The following year her mother passed away and she then moved to Durban to be with her father.  Her father bought a home in Montclair, but Lumka was very lonely, not knowing anyone in the area and having to care for her child without any financial support from her father. A neighbour told her about the Udobo School and she applied for a vacancy.  She had a two week period of waiting before a place opened at the school for her child.   “I thank God and Kathy for building up the school for our children to get an education” Lumka attended the first parents’ meeting that year when an appeal was made for parents to volunteer time in the kitchen to assist with the busy kitchen schedule.  Lumka volunteered her time and proved herself to be so reliable that she was offered the opportunity to run the aftercare service at the school.  Later she became aware that the school was looking to employ a full time kitchen assistant and offered her services. “I am happy about my jobs and I thank God for being with me all the way!”

Jessica Croukamp

Jessica was born and grew up in Malvern, a suburb of Durban, South Africa.  She is the oldest of two children.  As a teenager she became very involved in the world of the occult, but found freedom from her bondage to this practice in 2003 when she realized the saving grace of God through Jesus Christ.  After this she became convinced that part of her purpose was to become a pre-school teacher.  However, there was no money available to support her studies and she failed to acquire a bursary.  She was offered a half-day position at a courier company as a cashier in the evenings.

She was now able to enroll with Caversham Education Trust to do their Level 5 course in Early Childhood Development.  Her aunt provided her with the contact number for Udobo and she started as a volunteer in order to have a site for practical experience.  Fortunately, within a month of her being there, a position opened for a Teacher’s Assistant and she applied for the job and was accepted onto the permanent staff of the school. Her dream is now being realised in a threefold way – Her evening job enables her to pay for her studies, her studies are gathering credits that will allow her to study further at university, and she is already involved in the classroom environment, gaining invaluable experience for when she is qualified to teach.“When I have my degree in ECD, I would like to study paediatric Occupational Therapy.  After that I aim to open a school just like Udobo.  One to uplift the community.”

Nokuvela Nzama

Nokuvela was born and raised in Port Shepstone south of Durban.  She is the oldest of five siblings.  She spent her entire school career at boarding school in Port Shepstone, since her village, Izinqoleni, had no educational facilities.  She was not sure of the direction she wanted to take once she had completed her schooling, but was certain that she wanted to be involved in a career that would involve uplifting the community. She was very concerned about HIV and AIDS and the devastating effect of this disease upon the victims and their families. Therefore, she enrolled for a Home-based Caring course to qualify her to look after patients in their home environments.

She then enrolled at a Nursing College that closed down just one week after lectures started.  She then discovered that she was pregnant. Her baby was very sickly and she had to put all studies on hold in order to care for her child.  She then did a HIV and AIDS counseling course with Lifeline.  She then registered with UNISA to do a degree in Social work, but failed to accomplish this because her parents’ marriage came to an unexpected end.  Being the eldest in the house, the responsibility of looking after a depressed mother and her siblings fell on her shoulders.“I thank God for making me strong at that time, because if I wasn’t strong, I would not have been able to help Mom help herself.” Her mother encouraged her to try studying once again in 2007.  She enrolled at KZN Coastal College to do their course in ECD.  She had to find a site to do her practical training and approached her lecturer for advice since she wanted to work in an English speaking environment.  She was advised to approach the Udobo School.“I was very nervous to meet the principal at the time, Kathy Mercer. But what a nice lady I met.  She set me at ease and assured me of their support in my studies and my assignments.” By the time she had completed her course, an opening had presented itself at the school for a teacher and the position was offered to Nokuvela.  “The dream of my heart had come true.  The deepest hope of my heart had always been that I would work at Udobo School.  God has granted me that hope.”

Cindy Dladla

Cindy was born and raised in Umlazi, a suburb to the south of Durban.  She grew up in very difficult circumstances as a member of a very large family.  Her father died when she was very young.  Once she had completed her schooling she applied for nursing college as well as with the police services, but was turned down by both.  Although she wanted to study, her mother could not afford to help her towards financing studies.  She has a young daughter.  She did not want her daughter to go to school in Umlazi for security reasons. She heard about Udobo and approached the school for placement of her child.  The school was full, but two weeks later a space opened and it was offered to Cindy’s daughter.

They used to travel by train from Umlazi to Montclair and one day the ticket inspector would not allow them on the train.  Cindy approached the principal of the school for assistance and after many phone calls, the misunderstanding was sorted and her daughter could once again attend school.“Every day, on my way to school, I would talk to God and tell Him –God, all these buildings I see and pass by. Are You telling me that there is not a single one to employ me so as to feed my family and daughter and gain a better life?” The following year, a position opened at Udobo for a Teacher’s assistant.  The position was offered to Cindy.  She had dreamt of working at the school several times and now her dream was being realized.  In 2008, Cindy started studying towards her ECD qualification.  She had dreamt about being a student too, but couldn’t picture that, since she thought it was too late in life to study.“I thank God for the blessings He has given me.  I have hope of a future.  I encourage everyone not to give up.  It is never too late.  God will see you through.”

Roxanne Dawson

Roxanne was born and raised in Durban.  She is one of two siblings.  Her parents were divorced when she was 13 years old and her father moved away to Cape Town.  Her family experienced tremendous financial burdens and stress during this time.  When she was 17 years old, her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer which had also spread to the lymph nodes.  The care of her mother and her sister fell on Roxanne’s shoulders, while her mother underwent surgery and chemotherapy.  Roxanne had to face the process all over again, when in 2007, her mother was, once again, diagnosed with cancer in the other breast.

It was at the end of that year that Roxanne was introduced to the Montclair Methodist Church when she and her boyfriend attended a course being run at the church.  It was not long before she became a member of the church. At the time she was working with a day mother, looking after babies up to the age of three years.  She loves working with children.  A position for a Teacher’s Assistant opened at Udobo in 2008 and she was offered the job.  She accepted the position, although it was a huge step out of her comfort zone.  Although it took a while to settle into the new environment, she now feels that she is where she belongs.“I see my job at Udobo as a ministry.  It has been and is an awesome privilege to have the opportunity to work with ‘the least of these…’. I am so grateful that God has brought me to this place.  I am now studying towards my ECD qualification – what a great privilege and honour to able to study.  I pray that God will continue to grow the passion He has lit inside of me.”

Sindisiwe Mchunu

Sindisiwe was born in Kwa Mashu, a suburb on the western side of Durban, to an unmarried girl who was 14 years old.  Her father looked after them until Sindisiwe went to school, but then her parents separated.  Sindisiwe spent her entire school career at boarding school. Once she had completed her schooling she decided to study Human Resources Management at Mangosuthu Technikon in Umlazi.  She moved in with her maternal grandmother and has lived with her ever since.  Unfortunately, she had to stop studying even though she was just two credits short of completing her diploma.

She started working at a major retailing company as a teller and stayed on their staff for four years.  They dismissed her from her position due to unfortunate circumstances and she remained unemployed for 6 years.  During this period she gave birth to a little girl, but never married her baby’s father, although he did provide for them financially.  He passed away in 2008. After her daughter had been attending Udobo for a year, she volunteered to work at the school to keep herself busy and from sinking into a deep depression.  The following year she was offered a position as a Teacher’s Assistant.“That encouraged me to consider teaching as a career choice.  I am very pleased to report that my ambitions are on their way to being fulfilled, as I have just started my studies towards a qualification in ECD.

Daria Da Costa

Daria is the second last of eleven siblings.  She grew up in Wentworth, a suburb on the south side of Durban.  Her father passed away when she was twelve years old.  Her mother experienced very difficult time financially, trying to raise such a large family on her own. After completing her schooling she married and moved to Portugal.  She lived in financial comfort there and gave birth to three children, two of whom are a twin.  When her oldest son was 10 years old her husband disappeared after bringing the family back to South Africa. This was a very traumatic time for her and her very young family, who had to now adapt to living with nothing.

She had to take on two jobs in order to meet her monthly financial needs. Through a friend who attended the Montclair Methodist Church, she was made aware of the existence of Udobo.  When a new post was being considered as a possibility, she applied for the position.  However, the post did not materialize until much later and the position was offered to someone else.  A year later, a position for a Teacher’s Assistant became available and her friend walked into Kathy’s office with a new copy of her CV, just as Kathy was looking in the file for her original one.  She was given the post.  It was not long before she was given a teacher’s position.“I am so grateful to God for what He has done for my family from the time I joined the staff of Udobo.  I have obtained my NQF level 5 which makes me a fully qualified grade R educator.  I thank Kathy for giving me the opportunity and for the faith and trust she placed in me.  I am grateful for your mentorship and for having been able to get to know you.”

Vasie Daniels

Vasie was born and raised in Chatsworth, Durban.  When she completed her schooling she worked as an admin clerk in the clothing industry.  She is married to Thomas and has two daughters and a grandson of 20 months. After a freak accident seven years she had to undergo surgery to her spine which left her paralysed from the waist down.  She was in hospital for 30 days and was sent home with a walker and a prognosis of 6-7 months passing before she could even hope to walk again.She fell into a deep depression, which resulted in a lot of crying, therapy sessions and anti-depressants.

She became very angry with God and did not enter into discussion with Him at all. She started a physiotherapy programme as well as anything else that looked like it could help her.  She even attended healing services at various churches hoping for a miraculous healing of her injury. After much disappointment, she resolved to go back to church and to start praying again.  Her healing started from that day and she has never stopped praying from that day forward.  In August of 2005, after she had been praying for a place where she could serve God through the community, her husband purchased vegetables which were then wrapped in newspaper.  The sheet of newspaper happened to have printed on it an article about Udobo and their need for sponsorship.  A day or two later she phoned the school and spoke to Kathy.“I was shocked to hear this White person listening to my story with so much patience and understanding.” An interview was organized for the following day.  I would not believe that anybody would employ a person who depended on a walking frame for mobility of any sort.  Kathy proved me wrong when she happily accepted me as a volunteer office administrator.  I worked as a volunteer for 16 months and then was employed on the full time staff of the school. She used her walking frame for a few days and then one day Kathy offered her arm for support to walk to the toilet.  Upon their return to the office, Kathy released her hand.  “I felt like I was going to collapse, but I made it back to the office.  I have never used my walking frame again!!  Coming to Udobo was the best thing I could ever have done.  Jesus used Kathy to give me confidence, hope, love and understanding that I never thought possible.  What a blessing!! I am only doing so well because of my fellow-colleagues and their prayers for me.” Vasie studied and achieved an NQF Level 3 bookkeeping course in 2008.  She has been offered jobs elsewhere many times, but she has turned them down.  She believes she was sent to Udobo by God for a reason, part of which is to do the monthly grocery shopping, besides the enormous amount of admin work in the school office.“I will never leave Udobo.  I am honoured to be working for such a wonderful school.  Thank you for this opportunity.  I will never forget what you have done for me.  I will always have you in my prayers.”

Colleen Roden

Our granny, Colleen was born in Zimbabwe when it was still Rhodesia in a little town called Umtali. Her father was very sickly and so the family returned to South Africa when was still very young. Her parents ran a Trading store in a farming community and so she spent her entire school career at boarding school. As a child she suffered an attack of rheumatic fever and recognizes how blessed she was in those days to have survived. She is married, has two children and two grandsons. When she was retired at the age of 66 years, she became frustrated at being without a job to do. As a member of the Montclair Methodist Church, she heard the appeal for volunteers to assist with the preparation of the children’s daily meals.

She volunteered without hesitation.  She found herself being uplifted by the children singing joyful songs that can be heard throughout the property and was impressed by the obvious happiness of these children.  Kathy approached her to pray about joining the team on a more permanent basis as a Teacher’s Assistant.  “I took her advice and prayed and I am delighted to say that I have been with the school for 3 years now.  God has shown me the wonderful work being done at the school.   These little children are so appreciative and add sunshine to one’s life.  Udobo has definitely had an impact on my life and given me a deeper understanding of the needs of others.  I thank God every day for leading me to the school and giving me the strength to continue working with His children.  I give Him all thanks and praise!”

Mirriam Gugushe

Mirriam was born in a village called Mpharani in the district of Matatiele in the Transkei, south of KZN, South Africa.  She is one of four children.  Her father was the only breadwinner, but he passed away when she was very young, leaving her mother to fend for four little without any income whatsoever. The children were separated and farmed out to relatives and were not allowed to see each other again until they were adults.  Her mother then tried to live life as best she could.  This was a very sad and lonely time in Mirriam’s life. Mirriam left her relatives and moved in with a kind benefactress in Marianhill when she got to high school.

She completed her schooling under the care of this lady.  However, when the time came for tertiary educational, her benefactress had died and she was left without support once again.  She moved to Umlazi and joined a church, where she made a decision to accept Jesus into her life.  She found that doors opened for her to find employment to enable her to feed herself.  She was not happy and desperately wanted to work with children.  Early in 2005, while in prayer she sensed God instructing her to go to Montclair.  Never having been in Montclair before, she felt uncertain, but she decided to follow the prompting of her heart.  She walked the streets of Montclair until she saw the Udobo School sign and felt, once again, prompted to approach the principal.  The assistant at the time, had just resigned in order to pursue a high school teaching qualification, so Mirriam’s arrival was miraculous to say the least. When she arrived, the school existed with only one classroom and 3 playrooms.  She has therefore, been privileged to watch the school grow every year, to what it is now.“I was also blessed to have the opportunity of traveling over to the UK to do a promotional trip for the school.  This was something I never dreamt would ever happen to me.  But the greatest blessing of all is that because of Udobo, I am now a qualified Grade R teacher and I am living my dream.”

Anne Snyders

Anne grew up in Cape Town as one of three siblings. She did her entire schooling in Cape Town. She became very involved in church life and church activities from a very early age and by the time she was 16 years old, she was already a Sunday School teacher. She ended up teaching Sunday school children for 32 years, the last few years as the Sunday School Superintendent.  Her involvement in church activities is now as a singer in the church worship group. After school she worked for company as a translator. It was during this period that she met and married her husband, Pierre.They have been married for 34 years and have four adult sons, a lovely daughter-in-law and one granddaughter.

She became a qualified Grade R teacher 20 years ago and has worked between two preschools in the Durban area.  At the second school she was introduced to the world of autism, and found that the more she worked with these little ones the more her passion for them grew.  She became involved with the Autism South Africa association and still works on a part-time basis with individual autistic children.“In 2008 God began nudging me towards Udobo.  Even though I spent a tremendous amount time in prayer, the decision to move was a very difficult one.  I was in a place where I was loved and valued and COMFORTABLE!  However, I have found Udobo to be an amazing place of blessing for children, parents, guardians and staff.  It is wonderful to be part of a work that is a ministry and to experience miracles almost every day. I thank God daily for a life of such joy, even when times are difficult.  He has never let me down.”

Amos Teuro

Amos was born and raised in a rural village in Zimbabwe, known as Mutoko.  His father worked in Harare and so he spent his school life there.  After school he studied for and attained his diploma in Education. He taught in two rural and two urban schools before resigning from the profession in Zimbabwe.  He resigned due to the deteriorating circumstances in Zimbabwe and he left his wife and baby daughter behind to seek asylum and employment in South Africa.  He joined his cousin in Durban and they attend the Montclair Methodist Church.  Upon his first visit to the church, he was introduced to Kathy Mercer who was the principal of Udobo at the time.

He was becoming most despondent about the employment situation and never thought to get a teaching post in South Africa.  It was not long after his introduction to Kathy that a teaching position opened at the school, and by miracle he was found and offered the post.  Since joining the staff of Udobo, he has been able to upgrade his qualification to include specialization in pre-school teaching.“I believe that God brought me to Udobo, because the circumstances of my getting a job at all, is a miracle.  It is from here that I have been able to sustain my family in Zimbabwe and to provide for them in a way that I was unable to do at home.  I believe my daughter will be in attendance at Udobo in 2010.” Amos’s greatest blessing has been the arrival of his wife and daughter in Durban, from Zimbabwe in February of 2009.

Elizabeth Spiller

Liz was born and raised in Montclair, Durban. She is one of two siblings. Once she had completed her primary schooling she was placed in a specialized school for children with severe learning delays. Her father passed away when she was 13 years old. Her mother became very sickly in later years and since Liz’s older sister had married, the burden of caring for her mother fell on her shoulders. Liz earned what she could through doing promotional work such as Tupperware sales and other similar ventures. She also bakes and does a small amount of needlework. However, her dream was always to work with children, but she knew that her learning disabilities would always be a stumbling block to her realizing this dream.

She married Robert, who moved in with her and her mother, in 2001.  After Udobo opened its doors in 2004, she approached Kathy to be allowed to come and spend time with the children as a volunteer.  Kathy brought her in to supervise outdoor play.  Her dedication and willingness to be involved in anything she was asked to do, earned her the offer of becoming the school’s full-time chef.“Thanks to God I have a full-time position on the staff of the school, which enables me to do what I love doing and still have contact with the children.  I feel I have grown in confidence and I have become bolder with God’s help.  I really enjoy what I am doing at Udobo.  We work in a happy, friendly place and everyone cares for everyone else.  I have so many more friends than I ever had while growing up.  It is all so wonderful and different.  I am really grateful for what this school has done for me.”

Jennifer Mtshali

Jennifer was born and raised in Durban where she lived with her mother.  She did not complete her schooling due to financial stress in the home and after the 11th grade sought work as a packer in a retail store.  She worked in this position for 5 years.  She left that position to become a housekeeper, but her employer emigrated to Australia after four years. Jennifer was in a desperate place since she is unmarried and had four children of her own for whom to care.  She believes her appointment at Udobo as a teacher’s assistant to be a God-appointed miracle.

She did not know of Udobo, but her aunt had just enrolled an orphaned grandchild at the school and took the chance of asking whether there were any job opportunities at the school for her niece.  It just so happened that a new class had just been opened and the school’s staff were praying for an assistant.  She was offered the position and has never looked back.“I am very happy to be at Udobo School and I thank God for bringing me here and for working this miracle in my life".

Themba Mbiza

Themba is of Xhosa origin, and was born in Matatiele.  He is the youngest of eight children.  The entire family was brought up in a farming environment since his father was a farm labourer.  Themba is the only one of his siblings to go further than the 4th grade at school.  He reached tertiary level and is studying a BA degree at the moment. However, his journey has not been an easy one. There was always a shortage of food and he remembers most of his school life being endured upon an empty stomach.  The hunger caused much confusion in his life and he was aware that he was not achieving to his full potential.

One of his brothers was a soldier in the Transkei Defence Force and offered to pay for a University education if he could secure a placement.  His first year at university was brilliant.  He was not hungry and he was being stimulated and challenged in ways as never before.  He passed very well and was determined to do even better the following year.   But, the following year the TDF merged with the South African Defence Force and his brother’s salary took a nose-dive.  His support of Themba became minimal and the struggle to survive took its toll and reflected in his results.  He did not fail, but he fell very short of his target.  It became clear that his brother’s support had come to an end.  However, he was able to register the following year without any registration fee.  He was back to studying on an empty stomach. He failed his 3rd year and became physically, emotionally and mentally distraught.  Epileptic seizures, which had been in remission for many years, started once again. He trained and worked as a security guard in order to pay the outstanding tuition fees to the university.  He then registered in order to complete the outstanding credits for his 3 year degree.  However, part-time studying proved to be very difficult, what with a young wife and family to support as well.  So he quit his job after securing financial assistance towards his studies. His daughter was a student at Udobo when the position for part-time maintenance man was created.  He applied for the position and was successful.“I could not have sent my child to a pre-school at all had Udobo not been founded.  My child would have missed out on a critical foundation of exploration, discovery and growth.” He was most impressed by the Christian culture of the school.  He has experienced the staff to be focused and committed to their responsibilities. “The leadership of this school is extremely organized and enthusiastic.  Seeing and being in the company of such people has brought a new perspective to my life and hope for a future.  All I know for sure is that my child has had a much better start in life than I could ever have hoped to provide for her.  That is Udobo for me!!”