Cde Pat - an educationist par-excellence – BNF

Van Rensburg was born in South Africa, Durban on the 3rd December 1931 and died on the 23rd May 2017 in Botswana, Serowe. A man of social justice and an anti-apartheid activist, he fled from the apartheid regime and settled in Botswana, Serowe in 1962, where his unique educational journey began. He was the founder of schools like Swaneng Hill School, Shashe River School in Tonota and Madiba Senior School in Mahalapye.

He also pioneered the brigade movement in Botswana, starting with Tshwaragano Brigade in Serowe, then Shashe, Madiba and ultimately country wide. These initiatives created thousands of jobs and skilled personnel in Botswana then. He also started several other successful community projects in Serowe.