Submitted by: Zweli Khoza
Meet Oom Piet Van Staden. I joined the fire department as a volunteer in 2001, when I was still very young and naughty. Not once did this man ever give up on me. Yes, he would reprimand me now and then, but that was to show the love he had for me. He became a father-figure to me.
He took me to school and made sure I became properly qualified for the job. He spent most of his time making sure that the other junior firefighters and I became better people. He made sure that we focused on building our careers.
Today, I’m a ranking officer and a better person in our society, and that’s all thanks to him and the love he had for us, regardless of race.
