Date: 22/05/2004
Source: North West Provincial Government
Title: E Molewa: Funeral service for North West medical student that died in Cuba
ADDRESS BY NORTH WEST PREMIER, MS EDNA MOLEWA, ON THE OCCASION OF THE FUNERAL OF DANIEL NKUNA, 22 May 2004
Programme Director
Members of the bereaved family
Ladies and Gentlemen
I stand here before you to convey our sincere and heartfelt condolences, as the provincial government, to members of the bereaved family, their friends and loved ones.
We received the news of the untimely passing away of Daniel Nkuna, with a deep sense of shock and disbelief. Even today, we are still trying to come to terms with the loss of this young and promising life.
There is no doubt in our minds that Daniel was destined for greater things. Furthermore, as part of a group of students we as government had sent to Cuba to pursue studies in the field of medicine, Daniel was going to be asset in our country and province.
He was poised to make an invaluable contribution to our ongoing effort to bring quality health care to our people, particularly those in the rural areas.
The loss of this young life is indeed painful to all of us. Death has robbed us of a dynamic young person who was ready and willing to contribute to the reconstruction and development of his country.
With the death of David, our advance towards the noble objective of providing better health care for all has been dealt a serve blow. Our country and in particular the North West Province, are poorer following the passing away of David.
I speak on behalf of the people of the North West Province when I say to the Nkuna family that your loss is our loss too. Your loss is a loss to the South African nation in its entirety.
During this, their moment of darkness, we hope that the bereaved family will find solace in the words of poet John Donne in a poem titled "Death be not proud", and I quote:
Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so
For, those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death.
Indeed, the spirit of David has not died. In our hearts and in our minds we will forever carry fond memories of the times we spent with David, the dreams we shared with him and the hardships we have overcome.
We will remember him for his commitment to serving his community particularly the poor and marginalized. We will remember him as a brilliant young man who was a fountain of inspiration to his peers and to his community broadly.
His willingness to uplift his community will forever be engraved in our hearts. The spirit he demonstrated as a young man determined to make a contribution towards addressing the plight of the rural poor will live long in our hearts and minds.
We wish to take this opportunity to plead with our young people to demonstrate the same commitment that David demonstrated towards serving his country and his people.
Our young people have a responsibility to put their collective shoulder to the wheel in the national effort to address the pressing challenges of our time, key among which is poverty, underdevelopment, disease and ignorance.
Like Daniel, our young people have a responsibility to seize the many opportunities made possible by our liberation.
Government has created a number of opportunities for our young people reach for their dreams. One of such opportunities is the programme that Daniel was part of - a programme that sought to provide our young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, with an opportunity to acquire essential skills in the field of medicine.
This programme was a result of a government-to-government agreement between South Africa and Cuba.
Since its inception in 1998, the programme has benefited no less than 112 students from disadvantaged communities. We are expecting the first group of graduates from this programme to be deployed in our health system within the next two years.
It is to this group of young and priceless assets of country that David belonged. All those who were with him in Cuba will no doubt miss him. We will miss him too.
To the bereaved family, we wish to say, akwehlanga lungehlanga.
May his soul rest in peace.
I thank you!
Issued by: Office of the Premier, North West Provincial Government
22 May 2004
Source: North West Provincial Government
Title: E Molewa: Funeral service for North West medical student that died in Cuba
ADDRESS BY NORTH WEST PREMIER, MS EDNA MOLEWA, ON THE OCCASION OF THE FUNERAL OF DANIEL NKUNA, 22 May 2004
Programme Director
Members of the bereaved family
Ladies and Gentlemen
I stand here before you to convey our sincere and heartfelt condolences, as the provincial government, to members of the bereaved family, their friends and loved ones.
We received the news of the untimely passing away of Daniel Nkuna, with a deep sense of shock and disbelief. Even today, we are still trying to come to terms with the loss of this young and promising life.
There is no doubt in our minds that Daniel was destined for greater things. Furthermore, as part of a group of students we as government had sent to Cuba to pursue studies in the field of medicine, Daniel was going to be asset in our country and province.
He was poised to make an invaluable contribution to our ongoing effort to bring quality health care to our people, particularly those in the rural areas.
The loss of this young life is indeed painful to all of us. Death has robbed us of a dynamic young person who was ready and willing to contribute to the reconstruction and development of his country.
With the death of David, our advance towards the noble objective of providing better health care for all has been dealt a serve blow. Our country and in particular the North West Province, are poorer following the passing away of David.
I speak on behalf of the people of the North West Province when I say to the Nkuna family that your loss is our loss too. Your loss is a loss to the South African nation in its entirety.
During this, their moment of darkness, we hope that the bereaved family will find solace in the words of poet John Donne in a poem titled "Death be not proud", and I quote:
Death be not proud, though some have called thee
Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so
For, those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow
Die not, poor Death.
Indeed, the spirit of David has not died. In our hearts and in our minds we will forever carry fond memories of the times we spent with David, the dreams we shared with him and the hardships we have overcome.
We will remember him for his commitment to serving his community particularly the poor and marginalized. We will remember him as a brilliant young man who was a fountain of inspiration to his peers and to his community broadly.
His willingness to uplift his community will forever be engraved in our hearts. The spirit he demonstrated as a young man determined to make a contribution towards addressing the plight of the rural poor will live long in our hearts and minds.
We wish to take this opportunity to plead with our young people to demonstrate the same commitment that David demonstrated towards serving his country and his people.
Our young people have a responsibility to put their collective shoulder to the wheel in the national effort to address the pressing challenges of our time, key among which is poverty, underdevelopment, disease and ignorance.
Like Daniel, our young people have a responsibility to seize the many opportunities made possible by our liberation.
Government has created a number of opportunities for our young people reach for their dreams. One of such opportunities is the programme that Daniel was part of - a programme that sought to provide our young people, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds, with an opportunity to acquire essential skills in the field of medicine.
This programme was a result of a government-to-government agreement between South Africa and Cuba.
Since its inception in 1998, the programme has benefited no less than 112 students from disadvantaged communities. We are expecting the first group of graduates from this programme to be deployed in our health system within the next two years.
It is to this group of young and priceless assets of country that David belonged. All those who were with him in Cuba will no doubt miss him. We will miss him too.
To the bereaved family, we wish to say, akwehlanga lungehlanga.
May his soul rest in peace.
I thank you!
Issued by: Office of the Premier, North West Provincial Government
22 May 2004
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