Sarojini Devi Govender
Lovingly known as “Aunty Saro”
14 January 1935 — 18 May 2022 · aged 87
Durban teacher and Natal Indian Congress activist who hid freedom fighters in her kitchen
Durban, South Africa Born in Cato Manor, Durban Resting at Ashes scattered in the Indian Ocean off DurbanAbout Sarojini
Aunty Saro always dated her political life from the morning the bulldozers came. It was 1958, she was a young teacher in Cato Manor, and she watched her neighbours, Indian and African, carry their furniture onto trucks while officials read out numbers. She decided on the spot that she would never again watch quietly.
Born in Cato Manor in 1935, Sarojini was the daughter of a market gardener and a seamstress. She attended local schools, trained at Springfield College of Education in Durban, and began teaching mathematics and English in 1956. In the same year, aged twenty-one, she joined the Natal contingent of the women's march to the Union Buildings in Pretoria, carrying sandwiches for the older women and a petition for herself.
Over the next four decades she taught at schools in Cato Manor and Chatsworth, where her family were resettled in 1964, and was an active member of the Natal Indian Congress. She was detained for three weeks during the 1960 State of Emergency, and in the 1980s her kitchen in Chatsworth became a place where young activists from the United Democratic Front could eat, plan and, on three occasions, sleep unseen. She never kept a diary, saying that a good activist remembered everything and wrote nothing down.
She married Rajoo Govender in 1958, a union organiser who died in 1998. After retiring in 1995 she volunteered at the Phoenix Settlement, giving tours to schoolchildren about the town's history. She loved chilli bites, Bollywood musicals, her marigold-bright garden, and Sunday prayers at the Chatsworth temple.
Aunty Saro died peacefully at home in May 2022. She leaves her daughter Priya, her son Mahesh, her sister Kamla and six grandchildren.
“A good activist remembers everything and writes nothing down.”
- Faith
- Hindu
- Place of birth
- Cato Manor, Durban
- Resting place
- Ashes scattered in the Indian Ocean off Durban
- Passed away
- 18 May 2022, Durban
Cremation & Prayer Meeting
Saturday, 21 May 2022 at 08:00 UTC
Add to calendarLife journey
Teaching Diploma
Springfield College of Education1953 – 1955 · Durban
Specialised in mathematics and English.
Teacher
Cato Manor and Chatsworth Secondary Schools1956 – 1995 · Durban
Taught for thirty-nine years across two generations.
Married Rajoo Govender
1958 – 1998 · Durban
A marriage of forty years.
Member and organiser
Natal Indian Congress and United Democratic Front1955 – 1994 · Durban
Sheltered activists and organised meetings in her home.
Volunteer guide
Phoenix Settlement1996 – 2020 · Inanda, Durban
Gave tours to thousands of schoolchildren.
Outstanding Educator Award
KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education1994 · Durban
For service to education and community.
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Family & connections
Sarojini is survived by
- Priya Govender· Daughter
- Mahesh Govender· Son
- Kamla Pillay· Sister
- 6 grandchildren· Grandchildren
Tributes & memories
5 people have shared a memory of Sarojini.
Knew Sarojini? Share a memory with the family and everyone who loved them.
Sign in to write a tribute- RG
Nephew, Perth
Aunty Saro sent me a handwritten letter every month for thirty years. Each one began, 'Remember who you are.' I finally understood what she meant when my own daughter asked about her grandparents. I gave her the letters. We will keep them forever.
- IM
Fellow volunteer, Phoenix Settlement
She told the school groups, 'History is not a thing that happened. It is a thing that is still happening.' They never forgot it. Neither did I. We will keep the guest book open at the settlement in her memory.
- KP
Sister
We grew up sharing a bed and a secret language. When she was detained in 1960 she sent me a message in a lunch box: 'Water the garden.' I did, for three weeks. She came home to roses and a smile.
- TZ
Former pupil, now a magistrate
She taught me fractions in 1978 in a classroom with no roof over one corner. When it rained we sat in the dry half. She said the sky was a good example of a denominator. I became a magistrate partly because of her patience.
- SM
Fellow activist, Cato Manor
Saro and I shared a table at the 1956 march and then thirty years of meetings. She ironed her sari before every demonstration, saying that dignity begins at home. She taught me that a revolution can run on rice and a good teapot.
