Richardine Kloppers, teacher of the nation

KHOMASDAL this weekend said goodbye to a pioneering member of its community, 83-year-old former teacher Richardine Kloppers.
A mother of 15 who founded the St Andrew’s school named after her late husband, political activist Andrew Kloppers, she died in the Roman Catholic Hospital in Windhoek on Saturday following a short battle with cancer.

Kloppers is best known for gathering a group of 45 pupils under a tree in Windhoek’s infamous Old Location on February 9 1956, angering the authorities by schooling children other than of her assigned ‘Coloured’ race.The school now stands on what has been renamed Richardine Kloppers Street in Khomasdal, and it has about 600 pupils.The early success of the St Andrew’s school contributed to the formation of other prominent schools in the Khomasdal area, namely Gammams Primary, Ella Du Plessis Secondary School and Elim Primary School.BELOVEDThe community’s respect for Kloppers was evident in the renaming of Borgward Street to Richardine Kloppers Street after the St Andrew’s school proposed the name change during its 50th anniversary in 2006.When Windhoek Deputy Mayor Elaine Trepper opposed the street renaming during a council meeting, saying that soon every ‘Jan, Piet or Sanna’ would want a street named after them, angry Khomasdal residents made their voices heard.’She is no formal political leader, she is rather an organic community leader, known for her contributions to the community,’ stated one letter published in The Namibian at the time. ‘Go around Khomasdal and meet our community leaders … they are not Jan, Piet and Sanna,’ another read.THE CALLINGRichardine Kloppers was born at Keetmanshoop on January 5 1926.She had planned to become a nun, until a stint at a Roman Catholic seminary prompted her to train as a teacher in Cape Town. She returned to Namibia to teach at Gibeon, where she met her future husband, Andrew Kloppers.Andrew Kloppers had been travelling the country as an organiser for the Coloured Teachers’ Union when the two met, says the couple’s eldest son, Andy.They married in 1948 and lived in Windhoek, Rehoboth and Kalkrand before a 30-year-old Richardine Kloppers decided to move back to Windhoek and form the school that what was then called St Boniface, which was later to become St Andrew’s. ‘She spent four years working there without a salary,’ Andy Kloppers recalls. ‘My father joined her around the second year.’ THE LEGACYProminent Namibians who were schooled by the Kloppers couple include former Cabinet Minister Nico Bessinger, sports legend Frank Fredericks, Rehoboth doctor Frans Stellmacher and former Ombudswoman Bience Gawanas.’I cannot begin to describe how important a figure she is to me. She was a pioneer and a teacher whose character is sparsely sown,’ says Member of Parliament and a long-time friend of the Kloppers, Reggie Diergaardt.’Her legacy is in the fact that she never wrote anyone off. She always believed that every person has talents and handicaps, and that you shouldn’t be hasty with those who are slow to come around. She saw the value in everyone, no matter what their race or colour. She respected everyone,’ said Andy Kloppers yesterday.Following in their mother’s footsteps, three of her children are currently headmasters at various schools in Windhoek.Kloppers leaves behind 15 children, 34 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren.She will be laid to rest at the Khomasdal Cemetery. Memorial services are scheduled for Wednesday at the St Andrew’s Church in Khomasdal, and on Friday at St Mary’s Cathedral in the city centre.