The Johannesburg Retired Teachers Association (JORETA) Diepkloof branch celebrated the 80th birthdays of three of its octogenarians at Modisha Yo Botse Lutheran Church on September 2.

The celebration, attended mostly by retired teachers, saw Eva Masa Letoaba, Dorothy Ntebaleng Maringa and Mampule Hellen Mosidi being honoured for their contributions to the teaching profession.

JORETA was founded in 1989 and now has eight active branches across Soweto.

Speaking on behalf of the octogenarians, Mosidi said they were blessed to reach this stage of their lives and witness the celebration.

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“It is indeed an honour and privilege to stand here today on behalf of the three octogenarians as we are being celebrated today. We are expressing our heartfelt gratitude. We give all the glory to God because it is not by might or our own understanding that we are standing here today. Thank you, JORETA team, for this occasion. May God bless all retired teachers with long life and wisdom,” Mosidi said.

All three celebrants started their careers in the early 1960s and were forced to resign in 1976 during the Soweto Uprising. They were later called back to resume their teaching responsibilities and joined various schools in Soweto.

Letoaba said her love for teaching was encouraged by her late mother, who was also a teacher.

“As I grew, I saw that this was the path I would like to take. I then went to college, completed my teaching course and started to practise as a teacher in 1969. I then upgraded my teaching qualification, which enabled me to teach home economics.

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“For me, teaching has taught me that we are all-rounders because our love for the learners pushes us to be there for them and go beyond just being teachers. I remember paying school fees for one of my learners who was underprivileged then. She is now a teacher, and that warms my heart that I was able to make a difference in her life and the lives of other learners,” Letoaba said.

For JORETA’s eldest octogenarian, Maringa, teaching was not always a career path she wanted to pursue, but over the years she fell in love with the profession.

“When I was called back to teach after the Soweto Uprising, I was called to Bopasentla Secondary School, and it was very challenging because we did not have a choice in the subjects we chose to teach.

“I taught Setswana and science. In 2002, the number of Tswana learners decreased, and I was sent to Parktown Girls, where I taught English and science. In 2003, I was transferred to Namedi Secondary School, where I retired,” Maringa said.

She added that her initial career choice was to become a social worker and that she got to live that dream by being supportive of her learners.

“I ended up falling in love with the profession and I saw myself thriving in the career because my learners had accepted me. They found it easy to approach and engage with me.”