A life of service

There are many people who contributed to our liberation in South Africa and, unfortunately, so many of these people are being unnoticed or unacknowledged.

Maybe the reason is that, once we achieved our liberation, some people stepped aside to let others lead. Others decided to get involved in local communities and shy away from the national or even international spotlight.

I thought about some of these people when I attended the funeral service for Reverend Martin Jack Reginald Wessels in Genadendal’s historic Moravian Church last Saturday.

“Who was Martin Wessels?” is probably the question asked by most people who did not know this remarkable man.

The short answer is: someone who touched the lives of many, in the church and in the local and international community. The long answer is the reason for this column.

Martin Wessels died suddenly last month, at the age of 79 and after a lifetime of service to the world community and the community of Genadendal specifically.

Genadendal (meaning Valley of Grace) is a former mission station established by the Moravian Church 270 years ago. It is about one-and-a-half hour’s drive outside Cape Town on the N2 highway.

The Wessels family have a long-standing relationship with Genadendal and it is here where Martin Wessels retired in 1994. And since his retirement, he became active in several organisations in the area and in the Overberg region.

But Martin’s life before retirement is probably more interesting.

The different strands of his life came together at his funeral service attended by more than 1 000 people.

Among the dignitaries at the funeral were Western Cape transport minister Marius Fransman, who paid tribute to Wessels on behalf of Premier Ebrahim Rasool, and provincial community safety minister Leonard Ramatlakane.

The entire national leadership of the Moravian Church was present, including its current president, Sister Angelina Swart, as well as a host of prominent businessmen.

Wessels was the first president of the united Moravian Church in South Africa. He held the position from 1992 until he retired in 1994. Before that, the Moravian Church in South Africa was split along racial lines, with coloured people in one church and Africans in another.

Wessels was chairperson of the (coloured) Moravian Church for three consecutive terms, from 1980 until 1992.

Among the organisations he led in retirement were the Overberg Tourism Board, the Overberg Community Trust, the Genadendal Community Policing Forum and the Genadendal Senior Citizens’ Organisation. He was also a member of the South African Tourism Board.

Bishop EM Temmers, who conducted the funeral service, said Wessels had lived his life in service of the community.

“Martin served until a few hours before his dead. He still attended a festival committee meeting. He died in his sleep and there was no pain or discomfort. There was also no indication that this was going to happen because he was not ill.”

Wessels died in the early hours of Wednesday August 22.

Politician-turned-businessman the Reverend Chris Nissen, who is married to Wessels’s daughter Charlene, spoke on behalf of the family. He said that one of the messages they had received was from the Unity Movement.

“Martin played a key role in preserving his family’s, the church’s and the community’s history. He was totally committed to the heritage of buildings and people.”

Nissen said Wessels had contributed significantly to the liberation of South Africa’s people. “Not many know that Martin provided sanctuary for Ashley Kriel and Anton Fransch when they were on the run from police.” Both Kriel and Fransch were ANC operatives who were killed by the police in the 1980s.

Nissen said that Wessels came from a family of political activists. “At some point, both his father [Daniel] and his brothers [Victor and Ivan] were banned and they had to get special permission to talk to each other. His other brother [Dennis] was on the Island and died in exile.”

Reverend Frans Engel said he had worked with Wessels for 50 years. “We were like brothers and I was privileged to share many moments of joy but also many moments of anxiety with Martin.”

Another family friend, Dr Isaac Balie, spoke about how he and Wessels compiled a 20-page document on the history of Genadendal for former president Nelson Mandela. Mandela used this document as the basis for his decision to rename his official residence Genadendal. Mandela also visited the town of Genadendal in 1995 and was hosted by Wessels.

Provincial minister Fransman expressed his deepest sympathy on behalf of the government of the Western Cape. Wessels, he said, was prepared to give so much of himself in the service of others. “It shows that it is not kings or generals who change the world, but ordinary people like Martin Wessels.”

Wessels’s grandson Justin Davy said his grandfather had recently visited Germany as a guest of his (Justin’s) mother. It gave him an opportunity to say goodbye to many of his friends in Germany.

Stan Brown of the Overberg Community Trust said that while others his age would have enjoyed retirement, Wessels remained active in the community.

Wessels’s daughter, Birgitte Davy, said she realised at an early age that they would always have to share their dad with everyone else. “We thought he did not have enough love for all of us, but it turned out he had enough love to share with everyone.”

Wessels is survived by his wife, Hilda; three daughters; six grandchildren; his sister; and a brother. His five other brothers have passed away.

Wessels’s story is not unlike that of many others who played key roles in our liberation and whose roles, unfortunately, are not acknowledged properly today.

It is important to acknowledge people such as this, so that the world, and our youth in particular, can know that the struggle was fought not only by people such as Nelson Mandela but also by “ordinary” people such as Martin Wessels.