It is with great sadness and heavy hearts that we bid farewell to one of the great citizens of Bitou, Andre Bouwer.

Andre’s tragic death in an accident on 23 May 2019 came as a great shock to many people in the Bitou area.

Thousands of children and youths passed through his hands while he was the Principal of Wittedrift High School. His respect and love for young people inspired teachers, parents and the children themselves. Under his leadership, the school excelled and became one of the best schools in the Western Cape.

Andre used to know all his learners by name and used to stand at the gate to greet them as they went out. He took many learners on excursions and to events and could often be found baking pancakes with the students to get some funding for the school.

Andre joined the Board of Directors of the Bitou 10 Education Foundation in 2006 and played an active role. We were fortunate to get to know him better as he shared his experience and wisdom with us during this time. True to form, he soon felt too constricted in the Boardroom and rather started helping the Foundation by doing extra teaching, taking groups of children to events and mentoring youths.

We are grateful for the time we could spend with Andre Bouwer to observe his dedication to the development of young people and society at large.

Our hearts go out to Andre’s family and friends for the loss of a great man with a big heart.

The Board of Directors and Staff of the Bitou 10 Education and Development Foundation.