A new book, a new page as Ballito library assistant retires after 40 years
Preserving knowledge, Vinah Mathabula has served as an unsung hero behind the shelves of the Ballito Library since 1983.
Book minder Vinah Mathabula (65) had her last working day at the Ballito Library last Wednesday, 40 years after starting out as a cleaner there when it was still located in Library Lane.
She used to earn R16 cash per week as salary, with which she had to put her daughter through school.
Recalling her first day at work on January 1, 1983, and pregnant at the time, Vinah said while times were tough, they at least received increases twice a year.
Working as a cleaner for 25 years, she was also later tasked with carrying out maintenance work around the library before the mayor of the then Dolphin Coast municipality took notice of her.
“If not for Andy Horton, I would not have been upskilled to undertake repair work on books as well,” she said.
Vinah spent countless hours mending books back to perfection, by then earning roughly R450 per month.
She said there were days she wanted to cry when she saw the poor condition of the books that were returned. Through her painstaking efforts, however, she was proud to extend the shelf life of the books.
She spent several years working as a library attendant before ending up in her current position as a library assistant. She said she was always happy to go to work even when library visitors were difficult.
“If you had a difficult day, you just coped with it quietly.”
“I still repair books, which I enjoy and I absolutely love reading the Bible,” she said.
Despite her modest income, Vinah not only put her daughter Gugu through school but helped to see her complete her studies at the Durban University of Technology.
Gugu today works as an area manager for Nedbank, with her son also working for the bank. Vinah, owing to circumstances beyond the family’s control, also raised Gugu’s son Sthembiso and funded his schooling.
As she prepares to settle into retirement, Vinah said she hopes to spend the rest of her life in her garden tending her crops, treating each and every day as she did when working at the library: A new day, a new leaf.
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