Hamba Kahle Comrade Daan Louw
George Rhoode, Tafelsig
Comrade Daniel Collin Louw, fondly remembered as Daan, was born in Bloemfontein in 1946.
In the late 60s he fled the security police from the Eastern Cape, took shelter in the Western Cape where he worked at SANS Fibres until he retired.
Daan initially lived in the Belhar, Elsies River area and in the mid-80s he settled in Tafelsig until the time of his demise. Today those closely associated with Comrade Daan can proudly go around and show others the fruit of his labour and sacrifices he made for his beloved community of Tafelsig.
In the early 1990s he pioneered an organisation, the Tafelsig Development Association (TDA), with the soul aim of uniting all NGOs and NPOs under one umbrella so that development and opportunities can happen speedily and be beneficial to all without prejudice.
Comrade Daan worked with whomever wished to uplift the people of Mitchell’s Plain not only Tafelsig. He didn’t care what your race, political affiliation or religion was. He was instrumental in the following projects which fruits they bore still stand today to name a few:
– In the early 1990s the Tafelsig clinic had a destructive fire and had to be completely rebuilt and Daan ensured that this happened with the involvement of the community and also creating job opportunities for skilled and unskilled artisans.
– Immediately after this interaction with the City of Cape Town, he as chairperson of the Tafelsig Development Association, secured a contract with the City’s libraries in Mitchell’s Plain to clean and tend to all their gardening needs.
– The New Apostolic faith community approached TDA to assist with the construction of one of its biggest churches in the Southern Hemisphere in Tafelsig and here Daan again ensured that the Tafelsig community was not left out of this process and part of the labour force was again from the Tafelsig community.
– In 1997 the Muslim community on the west side of Tafelsig approached TDA to assist in obtaining land from the City for a mosque and Islamic centre; this was no easy task as the various organisations firstly had to be on board and in agreement and within a year that very group purchased their site with Daan Louw and George Rhoode being members of an executive committee of the Islamic body. Within less than five years Masjidul Ashiq in Dolomites Street, Tafelsig, opened its doors to the Muslim community. Daan Louw layed the first brick when the construction started.
– The Mustadiffin Foundation has a feeding scheme and welfare office which runs from Dassenberg Street for probably the past 15 years and here Daan Louw was part of this process in getting Mustadiffin involved in Tafelsig.
– Daan Louw was a member of the Tafelsig Verenigde Gereformeerde Kerk (VGK) Church and as much as he was active in his community projects, so he was active in his congregation as well.
Daan Louw was a force to be reckoned with, a larger than life figure – when he entered a room his presence was felt and he almost always got what he set out to achieve. Daan Louw was a father figure to many and to some he was truly a father. Wherever he went he left his mark and the community of Tafelsig is left with a void so big – 38 years of sacrifice for his beloved community, big shoes to fill.
May those whose lives he touched continue his legacy, may his dearly departed soul rest in peace. Hamba Kahle Comrade Daan Louw.
• A memorial service will be held by the ANC for Daan Louw on Saturday November 12 at 3pm, at the hall on the corner of Anders and Montblanc streets, Tafelsig. Call George Rhoode on 073 495 2225 or Franky van Reenen on 083 395 8759 for more details.
