| Frank Gigaba smiles easily, and takes his work seriously. For 27 years, he worked for the country’s national power provider but took early retirement after he was shot at in a hijacking. Returning to his home town of Colesberg, Frank found he wasn’t the retiring type. He likes keeping busy and he likes kids. So Frank now drives 60 Hantam learners from Colesberg to school and back every day – a return trip of 50 miles. While they’re in class, he does odd jobs and handyman-type maintenance around the school campus. Then they all go back to Colesberg at the end of the school day. “You get naughty children. But the rule is that trouble-makers are put off the bus, and everyone knows the rule. I have only had to put one child off the bus once. After that, no more trouble on my bus!”
In 2006 Frank won the Bus Driver of the Year Competition organized by the Department of Transport for the De Aar Region
School learners who live on farms get to school in one of the Trust’s eight pick-up trucks. The Trust faces a serious transport challenge due to the soaring fuel prices. Staff members who also live on any of the 28 farms in the Hantam community drive themselves – and a full load of chattering youngsters – to work and back every day.
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