Veteran Zululand teachers retire
David and Rika Vermaak, can write a book on keeping calm under pressure.
HAPPILY married couples know there is no shortcuts to eating seven bags of salt, especially with both juggling demanding careers while raising a young family.
Veteran teachers and childhood sweethearts, David and Rika Vermaak, can write a book on keeping calm under pressure, with three children, two grandchildren and 76 years of teaching experience between the two.
Now ready for retirement, their pupils and loved ones reflect on the legacy of two Zululand community pillars.
Their love story started in the good old 60s, with both attending Empangeni Primary School and then Empangeni High School.
David worked on the telephone exchange during holidays.
At varsity, he played ‘roepman’ at the SA Railways, waking up train drivers and stokers on the graveyard shift.
In 1977, they both started teaching and married a year later.
Between the two, they have since taught at Empangeni High School, Hoërskool Richardsbaai, John Ross College and Richards Bay Technical College.
David established the first Richtek computer center, wrote their first administration programme and also taught accounting and business studies.
Rika through the years taught economics, business studies and typing, but accounting was her passion.
In 1997, both accepted severance packages, but they were soon back by popular demand – for the next 18 years.
In 1998, David established the computer system at John Ross College, where he has since taught computer application technology.
Rika still teaches accounting at Hoërskool Richardsbaai.
The couple was founder members of the Voortrekker movement in Richards Bay where they served for 30 years.
David was an elder in the Arboretum Dutch Reformed Church, where Rika taught Sunday school.
During breaks, the couple travels the world and has visited the USA, the Caribbean, British Isles, Guernsey, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai and Australia.
But Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park is their favourite destination with David doing video graphing and Rika playing wildlife photographer.
Their daughters, Marelize and Aneldari and grandchildren, Anika and Jason, have settled in Cairns, Far North Queensland, Australia.
Their married son, Christian, lives in Pretoria.
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