She’s a mother, teacher, activist – oh, and a hero!
Heroes like this make the world a better place in ways most people don't even notice.
Busisiwe Nkoyana knows a little something about being a hero in her community. At the age of 34, sleep is very nearly the last thing on her mind. There’s just too much that still needs doing.
Half the day is spent building up the centre that will one day be her legacy. The rest of the day is spent on her two teenage children, a small construction company and an events coordination business. Her main focus, though, is the aforementioned centre.
Busisiwe started a pre-school with her family in Kagiso, way back in 2010, and it was an immediate success.
“We had a waiting list of 150 people from Krugersdorp. Unfortunately, we didn’t get the building we had requested from the municipality. That got in the way of us accommodating that many children,” she said.
About a year ago, she decided it was time for a change, for a “… total turnaround from just being a crèche.” Busisiwe wanted to turn the centre into a centre for change.
“Our learners are trained in a way that makes them open to being taught absolutely anything. They’re able to use the leadership skills we teach them within their schools after graduating from the centre.” The result, she said, is that all of their alumni go on to be among the top learners in various primary schools. Recently, one was asked to be a translator at the school, and another was recognised by the Department of Education for academic achievements.
These little ones can read up to a hundred words, do spelling tests, know their tenses and even know what plural and singular sentences are, to name but a few of the skills they have acquired
She now aims to turn the centre into a private school right in the township and wants the curriculum to be top-class.
While doing all of this, and reaching for new heights to improve the intelligence and problem-solving abilities of children from a very young age, Busisiwe also does regular activism work, focusing especially on violence against women. She has also written a book, The Bitter Taste of Adultery, which follows two women – one who was cheated on and one who was cheated with.
Because of the many things that she has done through her life, and what she’s been accomplishing lately, Busisiwe has been nominated for, and has gone through to the finals of, the South African Heroes Award.
