Passionate about helping, educating the community
For Daniel Sempe, enriching the lives of others through education is his passion and something he always wanted to do.
POLOKWANE -Born and raised in Bloemfontein, Daniel attended both primary and high school there before attending the then University College of the North where he obtained his BA in education and a university education diploma shortly after that.
When Review asked him why he chose education, Daniel said it is something he wanted to do from a young age. “When I was younger, one of the reasons I wanted to become a teacher was because they get extra holidays and they knock off early,” he joked.
Daniel’s journey has taken him to many schools in Limpopo and other provinces around the country and in doing so, he has changed the lives of many youths.
He has been the principal of several schools as well, including Moemedi Secondary School, Goronyane Secondary School and Lereng Secondary School.
He was involved in training teachers and he was once the Supervisor of Literacy at the Welkom Mine.
“I always aspired to attend the Soweto College and in 1984, I was transferred there where I became a senior lecturer,” he said. Having stayed there for seven years, Daniel returned to Limpopo where he took up a Head of Department position at a local school.
In 2003 his venture with Mitchell House’s Outreach Programme began. When the school opened, the outreach programme commenced and the school hired Daniel to be in charge of the programme.
Mitchell House’s Outreach Programme is a community service programme which takes care of social responsibility and invests in the lives of those in the community who would benefit from it.
“Initially, the programme was for teachers only, where we would teach computer literacy, English and mathematics. It became community based in 2008 and concentrated only on computer literacy,” he said. Daniel has been in charge of teaching computer literacy since then and he took it upon himself to teach himself how to use a computer. “I asked myself, if I could go to university and get a degree, why couldn’t I teach myself how to use a computer?” he remarked. He studied books and read up about computers and that is how he learnt how to use one and now he teachers over 150 students every Saturday, equipping them with the knowledge to use a computer.
“I had to adopt a theoretical approach because of the amount of students I have,” he explained. The Outreach Programme is very dear to him and he is wholly dedicated to its cause and what it stands for.
“Being involved in the programme helps me understand a woman’s attachment to her children. I took charge of my own responsibility – this is my baby, I must see it grow,” he said. Being a part of the program gives Daniel a reason to continue with the work he is doing because he says it bears sweet fruit and he is creating a chance for employment for the students who take part in the course.
“All the investment makes it worthwhile, it says to me ‘Yes, I have made it’,” he said. He said the support he received from Mitchell House has been beneficial in the success of the programme and thanked everyone for their support.
Daniel explained his commitment as a child to become a teacher and his academic background enables and motivates him to do more and he said he draws inspiration from God. He explained that life is all about solving problems and the things that one cannot solve are the problems God takes control of and that is what he lives by. He believes strongly in education, saying that it betters your life and conditions you to think.
In five years’ time Daniel said he would like to have an Outreach Centre with enough computers to accommodate all the students and allow them to practice what they have learnt.
