History comes to life in Standerton
The community wanted good, secular education for their children to compliment their religious studies.
Mr Mahomed Cassim Valod, an accountant in Johannesburg, relocated to Standerton in 1929 and was instrumental in building a school and hostel for the Indian community.
According to a letter in the Standerton Advertiser’s possession, the community wanted good, secular education for their children to compliment their religious studies.
The hostel was to accommodate the boys that travelled from surrounding towns and even as far as Zeerust, Lydenburg, Polokwane (Pietersburg), Johannesburg and Durban.
The community rallied behind Mr Valod’s idea, plans were drawn up and construction began.
According to the letter, he personally funded a major portion of the construction and was personally involved in the undertaking.
The hostel and school were completed in 1938 and the doors of learning and teaching beckoned just a few months before the beginning of World War 2.
Read the complete article in the next edition of the Standerton Advertiser.
