"Life really begins at 70" seems to be the motto of retired schoolteacher Casper Makhuba, who received a printed copy of his latest publication Nhlalala (Honeybird) - an anthology of Xitsonga poems with introductory principles of poetry studies for students and teachers in Grades 8 and 9, this week. The anthology is published by Hibbard and officially prescribed by the Department of Education.

Casper Noel Makhuba is now in his early seventies. Since he retired as headmaster of H S Phillips Memorial High School at Shirley, near Elim, he has been dedicating his full attention to his first love - languages. He is a prolific writer and translator of school textbooks.

Last year, a similar anthology of poems which he compiled and prepared for Grades 11 and 12 was published by Macmillan under the title of Nkwangulatilo (Rainbow).

Earlier, he translated six children’s books into Xitsonga for Giraffe Books, a Macmillan filial, which publishes children’s books in all 11 official languages in South Africa as well as Lesotho Sesotho and Portuguese.

Casper agrees with the philosophy that children who learn to read in their mother tongue are more likely to read for pleasure throughout their lives.

"When children enter the world of reading through a familiar language, their linguistic capacity develops more quickly. Giraffe books provided this opportunity, allowing our future leaders to learn to express themselves in languages they feel most confident in. The titles feature striking, colourful illustrations and fun, relevant stories, inspired by and celebrating life in Africa."

Casper also translated an official publication on children’s rights plus several other titles for Lection Publishers into Xitsonga.

He says that, as a child, his own love for reading and language was stimulated by a dedicated Afrikaans teacher, Ms Ada Tait, at the then Lemana School.

His own four children have all graduated.

Casper resides at Waterval, where, before his retirement, he was well known for his community involvement.