A Dunoon man who runs tutoring lessons for children in the neighbourhood says the new library is a great asset for the community.
Thando Ndevu, 32, came to the library’s defence in response to some social media comments saying Dunoon residents would burn or destroy the new building.
Mr Ndevu, who moved to Dunoon from the Eastern Cape almost 20 years ago, said he had always been good at maths and physics and had fallen in love with the subjects from Grade 8 at Inkwenkwezi High School.
“I always wanted to do well, and
in matric, I did just that. I became
the top achiever in maths and after that, I did my diploma in chemical engineering at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology.
“In my final year, in 2007, I did my in-service training at the Chevron Refinery, and the following year, I got an offer to work there permanently as a process operator, and I worked there for six years.”
But then his life took a turn for the worst. He failed his studies and then, in 2014, lost his job. He sank into a depression and started drinking.
Determined to get out of the rut he found himself in, he started doing odd jobs.
Then, a few years ago, a man approached him wanting extra maths lessons for his son.
“People here knew about my maths skills, and soon I was getting requests from all over the neighbourhood to tutor their children.
“I now do that as a living and I’m also employed by YearBeyond, which offers tutoring services at a number of schools around Cape Town.”
Grade 8 pupil Unathi Ginya and Grade 9 pupil Nzuzo Limba say Mr Ndevu has been a great help to them.
Unathi, 14, who started
her tutoring in January, said: “With his help, I can follow my dreams of becoming a psychologist.”
Nzuzo, 16, said he already felt more confident about maths. He loves animals and hopes to be a vet one day.
Mr Ndevu said there was no call for people to be negative about the R40 million library.
“I know that our community and country as a whole are facing many issues and one of those issues is education.
“We can’t let this kind of negative thinking influence what is a great thing for the community,” he said.
