Posted on March 14, 2011
While most people have had to come in several times to familiarise themselves with the system - the archives, the library, the equipment, the method and the all available resources - for Sithole of Hluthankungu in iXobho, however, one visit was enough to give her joyful discoveries in her search for her own family's history. When asked why she had decided to embark on this venture, Albertina said, 'Bekubalulekile kimi ukuthi ngithole kabanzi ngabazali bami abangasekho. Lokho akuzosiza mina nje kuphela ukuthi ngizazi kabanzi kodwa kuzosiza nesizukulwane sami ukuthi sazi imvelaphi yaso. Ngifuna ukubenzela (abazali nabanye abangasekho) umbhabhadiso ngiphinde ngibashadise ngokwesonto ukuze sihlangane sonke nangale sibe umndeni. Ukuze ngikwazi ukwenza umbhabhadiso ngidinga yonke imininingwane yabo, i.e. ukuzalwa kwabo, ukushada kwabo'. ("It was very important for me to find out more about my late parents. That was not only going to help me to know more about myself but it was also going to help future generations to understand their family history. I want to arrange for a church christening for my late parents and all the deceased, and also arrange for their marriage according to our church so that we can all unite as a family on the other side. For me to be able to do that I need all their details, including their place and dates of birth and their marriage".)
When asked how she felt about the role of the centre in this personal journey, Sithole had nothing but praise on the efficiency and the polite manner in which she was assisted: 'Bangenzele into engingasoze ngayikhohlwa. Bavele bathatha imininingwane yami nekamama, bashona kwicomputer. Ngithe ngizwa wayesememeza uBonita ethi angigijime ngizobona. Ngikhuluma nje nasi isitifiketi somshado sabazali bami. Angijabulanga kanje ngibona nala abasayina khona beshada kungumhlaka 06 December 1926 kwazise ngiyazazi nezandla zabo. Kwavele kwazoqedelwa ukubona ukuthi kanti ukhulu uMiriam nobab' omkhulu uAaron yibo ababangofakazi emshadweni! Odadewethu sengibafonele nasekhaya ngabazisa ngaloludaba. Ngisazophindela ngiyofuna eminye imininingwane enzulu ngoLwesithathu, lokhu kuseyiqalo sento enkulu'. ('What they did for me is something that I will never forget. They just took my particulars and my late mother's and headed to the computer. The next thing Bonita screamed and called me to come and see. Here is the certificate of my parent's marriage. I burst with joy when I saw where they signed when they got married on the 6th of December 1926, I even know their handwriting. It was completed when I even realised that my grandmother Miriam and my father's older brother Aaron were the ones who were the witnesses. I have phoned all my sisters at home and told them about this story. I am still going to go back to dig for more information. This is only the beginning of something big'.)
Jay Verkler, the president and CEO of family search worldwide once said, 'Each new discovery into our family history provides immense satisfaction. What we learn can expand family relationships in the present and helps us better understand ourselves as we realise our ancestors struggled with similar greater challenges.'It is this satisfaction that Verkler speaks of that is currently bringing Sithole and her family even closer with an increased knowledge of who they really are.
How the Centre Works
The Durban Family Centre currently has four staff members who work on a rotating system all on a voluntary basis, but the public is also welcome to volunteer their services. The Centre welcomes anyone wishing to donate their time and expertise at the Centre. The forever-changing technological developments also require the Centre's staff to keep updating their skills and knowledge to the use of modern-day technological equipment. The youth, being the experts in this regard, can also contribute to the Centre and should also feel free to make use of the facilities. The Centre is a church-funded facility. It does not, therefore, have budgets for marketing and costly advertising or publicity campaigns. It is mostly through word of mouth that people get to know about the Centre.
Said Bricknell, 'If the youth could get more involved on a voluntary basis, they can help in indexing and archiving information through their ingenious computer skills. For example, there is a society that is going around taking pictures of all cemeteries and grave stones and they need these photos to be edited and indexed. It would be great to have computer skilled young people volunteering their time and skills into a project that will in turn help their future"Â.
The abovementioned is one of the many projects that the Centre is linked with. The Centre is also linked to a number of genealogical societies in and around Durban. They also host the Durban Family History society where they function as the facilitators of the monthly gatherings that the Society holds. The Centre encourages other societies that do similar work to create links with the Centre: 'Schools would also be a great resource to link up with as the kids nowadays are technologically very skilled, which would benefit us, and also because they should learn about their past (which would benefit them), we are who our past was,'emphasised Mr. Heninger from Canada.
Musa Hlatshwayo is an Archival Platform correspondent and a performing artist and choreographer based in Durban. He holds a BA (Hons) in Performance Studies from UKZN.