‘Uncle’ Solly Mokoena started working at Potchefstroom High School for Boys at the tender age of 19 and called it a day after 46 “golden” years of service. His contribution went beyond his early years of boiler- stoking and his latter years as the messenger. He remains forever grateful for the memories he made at the school.
‘Uncle’ Solly, who now lives in Rustenburg, describes Potch Boys as his “second home”. “I made a lot of wonderful memories there,” he adds.
He started as a gardener, then became a chef and eventually became the messenger for the school. One of his tasks was transporting the boys to various sports tournaments. “I was extremely grateful for being the messenger because I got to see the world,” he jokes. “I got to bond with the boys and know them better,” he continues. Although he experienced numerous wonderful times transporting the boys, disaster struck about 10 years ago when he almost lost his life on the job. “I had just dropped the boys off in Klerksdorp for a tournament and quickly went to Stilfonten on an errand,” he ex- plains. “Before I knew it, I was hijacked and driven all the way to Vanderbijlpark. All I could think of were the boys I had dropped off in Klerksdorp
“At that moment, I had accepted that that might just be the end of me,” he adds.
But by God’s grace, he was eventually let go and hiked his way back to Potch. “When I got back to work, everyone was happy I was still alive,” he says.
Many of the boys regarded ‘Uncle’ Solly as a father. He reprimanded them, helped them when they needed it but most importantly, built relationships with them.
As Uncle’ Solly reminisces, he remembers just how much he loved rugby and how he helped coach the boys after hours, even though they had a coach.
“Whenever I coached the boys and noticed that one was having a tougher time grasping my techniques, I would take it up with the coach,” he laughs. He truly considered each of those children as his own, although he has four biological daughters, one of whom passed away. One of his nine grandchildren has also died.
‘Uncle’ Solly lived in a small room on the premises, which the boys named Number 1 because they always knew they could go to him.
“Sometimes, the boys would bother me for no reason. As much as I would fight and fuss with them, they meant the world to me,” he laughs.
Upon hearing that ‘Uncle’ Solly’s dedicated service had been acknowledged with just a small farewell function, the Old Boys contacted his family. They found out that he is a subsistence farmer on the outskirts of Rustenburg. They then started the “Get Solly a Bakkie by Christmas” initiative.
Former students and educators and others associated with the school donated to the cause and gifted him with a vehicle worth R150,000! “I didn’t see any of it coming; I wanted to fall to the ground and cry,” he says emotionally. The Old Boys thanked ‘Uncle’ Solly on behalf of everyone he had served. They also acknowledged his family for sacrificing their father’s presence so that the boys could have Solly at their side. He is now happily retired on a farm in Rustenburg with his wife of 47 years, children and grandchildren. He is currently in the process of turning his new truck into a business.