After losing both parents, a WB Tshume Primary School pupil was literally saved by his teacher, who took him in as her own – a gesture which saw her win the Woolworths Teachers Day competition.
Zoleka Zinto, a Grade 5 teacher, was nominated for the Woolworths Educational Programme and MySchool’s 2018 Teachers Day competition by one of her pupils, Sihle Mgca, 14, who is in Grade 7.
She was announced last week as the Eastern Cape Primary School category winner.
The Bay made it two for two at the awards, with Theodor Herzl High School business studies and EMS teacher Nicole Venter scooping the Eastern Cape High School category.
But Zinto’s care and compassion surpassed the heartwarming and often heartbreaking stories of the recordbreaking 33,835 entrants from around the country, 6,619 from the Eastern Cape.
In his 200-word motivation letter, Sihle said Zinto’s provision of food and school necessities as well as constant encouragement and motivation was the reason he had, against the odds, managed to stay in school and continue to strive to achieve.
“In 2015 my life fell apart with the passing of my mother. My father remarried and abandoned us,” Sihle said.
“The social workers came and took my two younger sisters away. So it was just me and my 18-year-old brother left at our home.”
“My brother wasn’t attending school and eventually he left and it was just me at home.
“I told [Zinto] about it and she saved my life by being a mother to me.
“At the time I was depressed but she made me realise my situation was only temporary and I should continue to work hard and excel.”
Zinto said Sihle’s tragic story had compelled her to step in to ensure he continued to excel academically, which he has done in addition to serving as the school’s head boy this year.
“He is an excellent pupil and I could not allow his potential to waste away.
“He has and is still going to achieve so much,” Zinto said.
“When I was announced winner it was overwhelming and I ended up crying.
“But not only because of the award but because what I was doing meant so much to Sihle for him to put it down in writing, and putting in so much thought that it actually won is an amazing feeling.”
Woolworth’s general manager of loyalty and MySchool, Pieter Twine, said they were grateful Sihle had shared his story and appreciated the contribution Zinto was making in her community.
“It’s so important for us to acknowledge South Africa’s ‘ordinary heroes’ like Zinto and Venter,” he said.
“In 2018, the eighth year of the competition, the entries increased dramatically, by 175%.
“That’s testimony to the fact that South Africa has many heroic and inspirational teachers who are shaping lives for the better every day. In our decades of supporting the upliftment of education, Woolworths has first-hand experience of these amazing teachers who bring hope each day.”
In her motivation letter, Megan Potgieter, a Grade 12 pupil, said: “[Venter] has been the mother and friend to all students in the school.
“She is my safety blanket at school and the teacher I turn to when I face a problem academically or emotionally.”