Publications
ABOVE: Peter Hendricks (46) was well into his forties when he walked through the school gates for the first time as a teacher. And when he tells learners at his school on the Cape Flats they can rise above their circumstances and excel, he talks from experience.
In just a few years he rose from humble cleaner at a nearby school to a member of the teaching staff at Mountview High School in Hanover Park, Cape Town – with a postgraduate degree to his name as well.
Another success story is that of Fernando Ogadi (37), of the Republic of Congo, who worked as a car guard in a supermarket parking lot but missed his past life as a maths teacher so much he spent his idle hours scribbling intricate mathematical formulae on an old blackboard.
In a lucky twist of fate Fernando, a maths and physics graduate, is standing in front of the blackboard again – at one of Gauteng’s top schools. Like Peter he’s living proof that with enough daring and determination dreams can come true.
YOU’s Lara Atson and Kaizer Ngwenya spoke to Peter and Fernando about realising their dreams. Read more in YOU 22 March 2012.
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