Remembering Reverend Danny Chetty

Founder of Practical Ministries, Reverend Danny Chetty (63) died after a long battle with brain cancer, last week.

He was born on May 28, 1959 to humble beginnings on a small subsistence farm in Sea Park. His schooling career started at Port Shepstone Primary and later continued at Port Shepstone Indian High School.

From an early age as a student his passion for music began to shine, and he formed small bands with other students. Due to family circumstances at the time he was forced to leave school and find employment to assist the family, thereby making it possible for his siblings to continue with their schooling.

A sacrifice which would characterize the way he lived his entire life. As a young adult he earned the respect of the community for his willingness to volunteer his assistance to anyone who needed a hand. His spirit of volunteerism saw him cross racial boundaries at a time when apartheid segregation was at its peak.

Danny crossed the racial barrier by making friends in neighbouring black communities of Madlala, Umzumbe and elsewhere, organising books and reading material for those less fortunate than himself.

Similarly, he built friendships with fellow white friends and many of those friendships stood the test of time.

In his early 20s and while studying to become a pastor, he began to question the role of the church in a deeply divided and unjust society. He questioned and often challenged the laws of both the church and society wanting to see the church play a bigger role in a practical way improving the lives of all people.

He formed the very first Domestic Workers Church in Sea Park which provided a place of worship for domestic workers. After a while pricked by their conscience some white employers began to join this small church and so began the breaking down of racial barriers.

As a young pastor he challenged the might of the state when he declared that he was prepared to stand in front of bulldozers that were to demolish homes of poor people in Marburg.

History has recorded that event as a ‘Vow of Flesh’ against steel and it made international news then. Danny went on to campaign for the racially divided town of Port Shepstone to be opened to all races for trading. The town council relented, relaxing, some of those racially based laws.

He challenged the health authorities were a Coloured woman was forced to give birth on the cold floor due to the lack of beds while another wing at the same hospital lay empty but reserved for whites only.

He tackled beaches for whites only and chose to take a swim at Umtwalume Beach even though he never knew how to swim at the time. Here he managed to successfully make a point and in time the beaches were opened to all.

His arrest
Danny preached from what he called the Radical Bible speaking out against all that was wrong. This led to him being arrested by the feared police and he spent six months in prison.

Danny was a respected church minister to whom both feuding parties, the ANC and IFP could turn to in their time of need to bury their dead.

Both sides approached him to help find ways to stop killings. He started Practical Ministries to give access to justice for those who could not afford lawyers. Here he was most passionate about ending violence.

He served on the Goldstone Commission of inquiry into violence against children, to raise children’s voices through Practical Ministries and later Children First.

He was a fighter for human rights and justice, where he briefed international religious leaders on the violence on the South Coast. He met with leaders in exile. He spoke out against the injustice and atrocities against the Palestinian people. Here he questioned the church, what would Jesus do?

Danny was a dedicated man of the cloth, who reached out to people of all faiths. He is a recipient of many local and international awards for his humanitarian and peace work.

Most notable among these were being honoured by President Nelson Mandela with a donation of R50 000 being one third portion of his Nobel Peace prize; the Ghandi /Luthuli award for peace making; the Martin Luther King Junior Peace award and the Indigenous First National Award in Chile for his humanitarian work among the Mapuche Nations in the Americas.

Despite his busy schedule he was a devoted father to his two children Kimera and son Biko. Danny’s funeral was held at Gate Ministries in Albersville last Saturday, and was attended by many far and wide. It was also livestreamed on Facebook and YouTube.

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