Patsy Pillay
with other relatives, in a large Mayville home during her childhood.
She has fond memories of riding on a wooden cart with her cousins.
“Once I fell from the cart on a hilltop and bruised my left ankle. My uncle gave me a hiding and said, ‘this is what you get for playing with the boys’,” she recalled.
Family trips into town to have a meal in Yusuf Dadoo (Grey) Street and watch movies at Cato Manor’s old cinema were a treat.
They would also watch films projected onto a big sheet of cloth used as the screen.
“Even the neighbours would come to watch with us. Those are good memories.”
When the Group Areas Act kicked in, in the 1960s, Pillay and her family were moved to Havenside, Chatsworth.
She enjoyed her teenage years with a core group of high school (Southlands) friends.
“We used to study, go to the movies and house parties together, but we were always responsible.”
Still, she did not fully understand the implications of the apartheid policies of the day until she studied at the University of Durban-Westville.
Her first job when she graduated was as a social worker with the health department and her first salary cheque amounted to R250.
She was head-hunted by the Chatsworth Early Learning Centre and when she joined got to do early childhood development work with mothers and fathers.
“We had a bus converted into a nursery. It contained books and toys and we used to stop in parts of Chatsworth to teach.
She said their home-based learning method for mothers and children was popular.
“We had a roster of homes to visit and conduct ECD programmes.
“All the mothers who were on our roster were empowered and began to teach Grade R at schools. That is how Grade R learning at schools was pioneered.
“Our programmes were also being run in places like Cape Town, Soweto and Port Elizabeth.
“Eventually, many of those housewives who started out learning ECD with us have, although it took them a while, completed degrees and are now fully fledged teachers.”
While Pillay got to spread the message of ECD, working from the centre, her political awareness and activism were also stirred in the process.
Roy Padayachie, the former minister of public service and administration, was the head of the centre, which was also used as a meeting place for ANC activists.
“Roy was a strategic thinker and I learnt a lot from him and other committed activists such as Pravin Gordhan, Maggie and Charm Govender, Devan Pillay and Gino Govender.”
“My time with them made me realise there was a whole new world out there – that’s how I was drawn into politics.”
In 1986, Pillay and Maggie Govender were arrested and detained at Westville Prison. She was detained for two months at the prison because of her underground activism with the ANC.
“At that time police didn’t need a reason to arrest you. In prison, the police tried to break us down to get information on the whereabouts of other activists.
“My son, Keshin, was over a year old at the time. The police would say, “I know you have a baby at home – don’t you want to see him?” “I was resilient.” Her child was indifferent to her when she got out of prison, but not for long.
Pillay said she builds loving bonds with her children.
She continued with her activism and her work with the ANC became more pronounced in the run-up to the first democratic elections in 1994.
However, due to a lack of funding, the Chatsworth Early Learning Centre had to close in 1993.
But in 1996 Pillay and a few others opened the New Beginnings Training and Development Organisation, to continue with their early childhood development work.
They didn’t even have a piece of paper or pen to begin with, but through perseverance and determination New Beginnings has evolved into the cornerstone of ECD in KZN.
Their non-profit organisation, which is based at the Willow Park Primary School in Umhlatuzana, has a crèche and day-care facilities and trains ECD practitioners.