Hannah's Father
speaker
7 appearances
1 recordings
1 series
first heard Apr 2025
last heard Apr 2025
Hannah's Father’s voice in public audio — every appearance, attributed to the second.
Trend
recordings per month · last 12 monthsNo recordings in the last 12 months.Older appearances are listed below; set an alert to hear about the next one.
Appearances
Her 16th birthday fell shortly after a backpacking trip to India with her mother. And when you ask her what she would like to have for a birthday party or birthday present, She informed us that she could not in good conscience spend money on herself while people around her were living in poverty.
She made and we accepted her proposal to rather make up gift bags for the children in the nearby informal settlement. This was also how she celebrated her subsequent birthdays at home. When she enrolled in the University of Stellenbosch, Hannah informed us, I must admit somewhat to our dismay, that she had absolutely no interest in pursuing a career in law.
According to her, she wanted to do something that would actually help people. It wasn't quite clear exactly how she intended to achieve that aim, but she presented a well-thought-out and eloquently argued plan for a future. She would major in languages, literature, and philosophy, which she loved, and then pursue postgraduate studies in France.
The theme of helping was a constant in her life, and I understand it may have led indirectly to the reason why we are here today. If that is indeed the case, then I am even more proud of her. Me and her mother were immensely proud of raising a child for the new South Africa. My wife, in addition to being my best friend, was the strongest and most competent person I have ever met.
She became a shadow of herself, inconsolable, frantic, almost manic in everything she did. Ultimately still in control, but inside she had very little to give. No one really knows what happened on that early morning when she decided to go swimming in an ice cold and stormy Atlantic Ocean. For myself, I do not believe that she committed suicide or she ended herself.
But what I do believe is that she did not have the physical or mental strength left to counter any difficulties that she may have experienced. My son Andries does not understand the concept of death. Every night when I put him to bed, he stops in front of a framed photograph of Hannah and asks, when are the days over? When is she coming home?
This has now been going on every night for a year and a half.
Showing 1–7 of 7