Feminine Africa Voices: Fudwa Thomas | Teacher
Firstly, my journey started before becoming a teacher. The journey of a teacher starts with what changed their lives, what made them decide to become a teacher. And being a so-called, “Colored Person”, growing up in the Cape Flats with only a mother, luckily I had a dad, but my father passed away, so I shared an experience with many other people, not having a dad, only having your mother as your safe haven. I’m very blessed to have had a mother at least because many people don’t have a mother or a father who can be an example to them. I’m very grateful that in my household, education, and learning, there was a lust for learning in my household, and then you become a teacher and you start to parent other people’s children. And you start to have a closer look at society. It’s good and mostly, it’s ills. You start to see the world in a different way because every person that you encounter, you see them as, like, a universe on its own. Every being. And that being is going to go out into the world and either contribute positively or negatively. And I understand that my responsibility and my interaction with that person is extremely important, because in turn what I give out, that person receives and gives out to the rest of the world. And these people become adults and parents and grandparents and I’m just grateful that I had a little bit of a chance to influence that person’s life. So what do I see? I can discuss the negatives like many other teachers and go on a tangent about it for a long time, but I refuse to do that. I choose to be hopeful. I choose to see a better South Africa…