Claudia Snyman, granddaughter of Dr. Katrina Esau (93 years old) a true Queen of South Africa, visited Robert Sobukwe Town (formerly Graaff-Reinet).
Esau has been supported by community members and specifically by her granddaughter Claudia Snyman in running the ‘Hokmeisie” school. Learners at the school range from age three to nineteen.
Snyman’s visit included an intergenerational conversation with young girls and also to share Claudia’s first experience in the “Hok” hut. She met up with young girls from different schools to hear their stories. Snyman collected all these stories to write a book and also make a film about the “Hokmeisie” hut.
The school was started in 2002, in a wooden hut outside her home in Rosedale, on the outskirts of Upington in the Northern Cape. In 2014, her grandmother Dr.Katrina Esau, was awarded the Order of the Baobab in the category Silver for “her excellent contribution to the preservation of a language that is facing a threat of extinction.” Her determination to make the project successful has inspired young generations to learn.
In 2023, Esau, who never attended school, was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Cape Town in recognition for her efforts to the preservation of the Nǀuu language and oral literature.
