Sue’s Legacy
Susan Brown 07.04.1955- 14.09.2019
Susan Brown, the Educator
Susan Brown (Sue) was an educator through and through. She started the Combretum Education Trust in 2001 and the Combretum Trust School in 2004 with the mission of providing quality education to Namibian children from low-income backgrounds who historically had not had access to this great equalizer in life. Throughout her six years of illness, her work, her school, and the children she interacted with kept her fighting on. Some of Sue’s happiest moments were in the classroom, and towards the end of her life when her illness kept her away from the school she regularly voiced how much she missed ‘her kids’ and the day to day interactions she had with them.
Sue was adamant that a child’s education must go far beyond just that of the academic curriculum. She wanted to foster curiosity, general knowledge, moral compass, generosity of spirit, humour, self-discipline and a sense of purpose in her students. And she did. Children who have passed through her school stand-out within Namibian society as leaders, thinkers and nurtured souls. Sue had a way of identifying the unique needs of her children and tailoring her interaction with them to bring out their best. Some of the students needed a gentle teasing and loved the attention, some needed a guiding hand and someone to speak to, some needed someone to have faith in them, some needed tough love and a no-nonsense attitude. All of them remember her for the way she made them feel - safe, respected, relevant, and capable.
Sue didn’t believe in entrance exams or rankings, and she regularly accepted children into the school who didn’t have strong academic backgrounds, but in whom she saw some potential. Through nurture, stimulating learning environments and Combretum’s unique culture of care, many of these children thrived, passing with good results and going on to become doctors, pilots, engineers and business owners.
Sadly, Sue passed away from cancer on Wednesday the 14th August 2019 after six years of bravely fighting the disease. On the Friday before her passing, Sue managed to make one last visit to her school for the opening of the Science Outreach Lab which was a project she had long been trying to make a reality. She was also able to address her students one last time, expressing to them the immense pride and joy they had brought to her life.
Educate for Africa
Towards the end of Sue’s life, she was determined to set up a charity to ensure that her work doesn’t stop. She had always dreamed of using her school, the Combretum Trust School as a hub for learning outreach for underprivileged schools and students. Just after her terminal diagnosis, and with the generous support of her dedicated cousins, she was able to get a registered charity up and running, aptly named Educate for Africa. The charity is registered in Sue’s beloved Scotland (charity number SC049133) and has charitable status with HMRC making donors eligible for GiftAid. The Charity is run by 6 directors with extensive experience in working in the education sector in Namibia and with links to the UK.
Donations
If anyone would like to donate to the charity in Sue’s memory, we feel that would be a very fitting homage to her and her vision and work. Sue was a hugely selfless person, completely without any materialistic instinct. We continue in her spirit and will ensure that all money donated is used in the most impactful way.
Our intention is to use initial funds to get Sue’s outreach project up and running. In the longer term as we ramp-up the charity’s activities we hope to work with education initiatives throughout Namibia and even across the sub-continent, but for now we are focusing on supporting Combretum Trust School and its partner Physically Active Youth during this transition period. Any donation large or small will have a meaningful impact.