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People’s Post
HOUT BAY
Uniting a community NETTALIE VILJOEN NETTALIE.VILJOEN@MEDIA24.COM
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lfreda Boonzaaier (58), a long-time resident of Hout Bay, brought people from across the community together for the last time on Saturday 30 January. Although the attendance of Boonzaaier’s open-air memorial service held at the multipurpose hall in Hangberg was limited to 100 people due to Covid-19 restrictions, it did not stop residents from standing on their balconies or gathering in the streets to watch the proceedings from afar. “She belonged to everyone in the community,” says Boonzaaier’s daughter, Anthea Saunders. Originally from Bishop Lavis, Boonzaaier moved to Hangberg about 24 years ago. It is here where she would raise her two daughters, Anthea and Josephine Bailey. During this time, many in the community would get to know her as a health care worker. Boonzaaier passed away on Thursday 14 January. The cause of death, according to her daughter, was Covid-19. Anthea says her mother worked at many different hospitals, medical centres and private practitioners throughout the span of her career, including the Hout Bay Day Hospital. Her last posting was at the Cape Town Reproductive Clinic. She says her mom was well-known for two things – her habit of giving people a thumbsup sign to say everything is okay and her kindness. “That was her passion, to help people. I could always turn to her, even strangers could turn to her. She focused on doing good all the time.” With Boonzaaier’s birthday falling in February, Anthea says the next few weeks will be bittersweet. “She had a special thing she did yearly for her birthday. The Jazz on the Rocks Festival in Paternoster. She would go every year. She was able to go last year. She was planning to go again, but she just cancelled her trip in December.” Besides her contribution as a health worker, Boonzaaier also worked tirelessly for the upliftment of the Hangberg community. Man Mazele, branch chair of the ANC in Hout Bay, says Boonzaaier served on the lo-
Alfreda Boonzaaier’s open-air memorial service held at the multi-purpose hall in Hangberg was limited to 100 people due to Covid-19 restrictions. INSERT: Alfreda Boonzaaier
cal ANC committee. He says she spent hours of her time, serving the party. “She was quite involved when it came to the ANC, especially in all the elections. She was part of the mobilisation and when it was election day, she was our party agent. I would like to thank her family for lending her to us as the ANC,” he says. Mazele describes her as a very honest person who stood steadfastly against any form of corruption. “She was a foot soldier; someone who wanted to work for the people; someone who gave back to the community. She was the kind of woman who would sacrifice most of her time for the community, to try and change the lives of the people.” According to Mazele, one of the things that Boonzaaier would always advocate for was to see Hout Bay as one community for all –
rich and poor. “Her vision was to see people coming together in Hout Bay, making it work for everyone so that all could benefit from the economic activities within Hout Bay,” he says. Samkelo Krweqe, chair of the South African National Civic Organisation (Sanco) covering Imizamo Yethu and Hout Bay, also remembers Boonzaaier for her willingness to always help. Krweqe, who is known as Gary in the community, says she played a pivotal role in the establishment of the local Sanco branch. “From the ANC’s side, we sat with the executive with the ANC. Alfreda was instrumental in guiding us as to who we needed to speak to or who we needed to contact to assist us. She would connect you with the right person to get things done.” He says although she was a true leader she
was never anyone who wanted to hold a position. “Whenever anything happened in Hangberg, she would let us know and we would go out there and lend support,” Krweqe says. He describes her as really fun person to work with. “She would come and just crack a joke, say something that would make everyone laugh, then get on with the business at hand. She always used to say, ‘Guys this is not about us, it is about the communities out there, the people who cannot speak to government’.” Krweqe says people don’t realise what they have until it is gone. “We have lost a giant in terms of the struggle. She was out there, working for the people, but she is no more. Her soul must rest in peace, But someone must pick up where she left off, to keep the communication going.”