Dr Gladys Ke-Di-Bone Mokwena: Reading for Life

As an educationist, lay leader in the Church, and widowed mother, Dr Gladys Ke-Di-Bone Mokwena has accumulated much experience, which she shared in a recent book. She spoke to Daluxolo Moloantoa about her life, faith and vision.

As a ten-year-old girl, she didn’t think that she had committed any sins yet in her life. So in her first confession, she hurriedly made up untrue stories to confess — about taking sugar from her mother’s pot, not going to the shop when sent, not doing household chores.

It has been a long way from those days for Dr Gladys Ke-Di-Bone Mokwena — mother, renowned educator, author and community builder. She earned a doctorate in education from the University of South Africa (UNISA) at the age of 62, and has been named Unisa Woman of the Year. She regards these as defining milestones in her life.

Dr Mokwena was born, and grew up in Garankuwa, north of Pretoria. She was born into a family of six children, headed by a single mother.

“My birth year is characterised by two significant events in South Africa. Firstly, the adoption of the Freedom Charter in June 1955, and the Women’s March of August 1956 to the Union Buildings in Pretoria. The conditions that led to these two incidents appear to have had a substantial impact on my resilience in life,” she says.

It is this resilience, partly acquired through the Latin maxim “Per Aspera Ad Astra” (Through adversity to the stars) which has “encapsulates my life story of bringing out the good out of obstacles,” she told The Southern Cross. So Dr Mokwena aptly titled her 2021 book Resilience In Adversity.

She knows adversity. This includes being widowed at a young age, being left to raise two children, and a traumatic ordeal at the hands of assailants in her home.

Early roots of faith

Apart from her “false confession”, she associates the early roots of her Catholic faith with church services at a school. “Before my home parish, Holy Cross church in Garankuwa, was built, we attended Mass services at the Kgaugelo Primary School in Garankuwa. Our catechesis formation classes were held in the home of the catechist, who would sometimes give us sweets.”

After love of family and faith, her mother instilled in all her children the value of a good education. This is what led Dr Mokwena to study for her matriculation at an adult basic education school. And teaching is where her heart was from an early age.

Over a 42-year career as an educator, from 1977 to 2021, she taught at both primary and high school levels, at an adult basic education school, and as a lecturer in the College of Education at UNISA.

The transition from teaching children to adult basic education in the early 1990s was eased by the assistance she received from the Sisters of Mercy. “I needed some creativity to manage the change. Sr Immaculata Devine, then the principal at the Mercy Adult Basic Education Centre in Winterveldt, was there to take my hand and carry me through the process,” Dr Mokwena recalled.

Sr Mac, as she was popularly known, exposed me to diverse adult education opportunities such as training workshops, conferences, and seminars. We worked together closely, and realised her collaborative engagements with the Winterveldt Action Committee which enabled her to achieve her passion for social justice through adult education and training,” she said.

Witness of Christ

Some years earlier, the motto, “To become true witnesses of Christ”, inspired and empowered by the Holy Spirit, persuaded her to join the Catholic Women’s Association (CWA). Since she became a member in 1983, she has served the sodality in various roles, from parish and archdiocesan level to the interdiocesan presidency from 2006-08.

“It is gratifying to have served this amazing sodality as those years span some of the most formative years of my life. During my time as president, the sodality chose to use the guiding principle ‘That we may be One’ to direct its activities in the areas of both faith and action. My heartfelt gratitude goes to the founders of the sodality through whom we embraced and brought the spirit of faith and action to life amongst the faithful,” she said.

Childhood dream fulfilled

The year 2020 marked a new beginning for the veteran educator as she embarked on a path which she had dreamed of since childhood. “The national lockdown due to the coronavirus pandemic presented me with a golden opportunity to sit down and write the book that I had always dreamt of writing. For writing my life story, I drew inspiration from my habit of keeping a journal and, more specifically, the homilies I carried in my heart which had been delivered by our various Reverend Fathers throughout the course of my life,” she said.

Dr Mokwena wanted to tell her lifestory to give expression to what women, especially widows, faced mentally, emotionally and physically as they grappled with their loss of a partner.

“My life turned around when I had a personal encounter with God during one of the darkest and most hopeless periods. I began to look at life from a different perspective. As a result, I was able to find a silver lining in every cloud. Unfolding before me was the perspective of viewing myself as a singular entity who is wonderfully and fearfully made. Since I had that incredible encounter with God, I’ve made specific spots in my house into sacred spaces where I may meditate or pray whenever I choose, whether it’s the beginning of the day or the end,” she said.

Spiritual Gardening

Gardening is often used as a metaphor for a healthy spiritual life. Like one’s faith, plants need to be tended to with commitment and care. Dr Mokwena finds gardening a most rewarding activity in her retirement. “My garden is my tomorrow. I am grateful for my mother who engaged me in the garden-world from a very young age. One of the lessons I treasure most from the garden is learning that everything in life starts with a seed — and these include the things we receive by faith.”

Dr Mokwena may be retired, but she remains committed to education, working with the Rotary Club and a bank to obtain new and old books for a non-fee school in Garankuwa.

She has also started a writing project on a small scale, with 67 young writers from seven provinces of South Africa as well as Botswana, Malawi, Rwanda and Zimbabwe. In December a collection of 67 short stories and poems was launched in a book, Botho-Ubuntu. It was an effort to “help young authors and poets to explore the concept of Ubuntu, and present ways of giving it expression through literature”, she said.

Dr Mokwena’s activities also include her community. “It is my fervent wish to pursue speaking, reading and writing initiatives with children and youth at Holy Cross parish and the broader community. As a community and continuing education specialist, I plan to engage individuals in a Gardening for Wellness project, working in collaboration with others,” she said.

Everything Dr Mokwena does has her faith at the centre, and she emphasises the importance of making the sign of the cross in our daily lives. “Every time we make the sign of the cross, we are acknowledging the divine work of creation, salvation and sanctification; we are also renewing our confession of faith; expressing our belief in the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, and our belief in the Trinity.”

Published in the February 2024 issue of The Southern Cross magazine