Africa-Press – South-Africa. Ndoni Mcunu has been lauded by her peers as a trailblazer and someone who paved the way for young, black women to follow a career in the field of science.
Mcunu died during a suspected gas leak while holidaying with friends in the Cradle of Humankind.
During the memorial, held at the Gracepoint Church in Midrand on Friday, her friend, Lynette Ntuli, said: “God, I’m trying to understand the lesson behind all of this and, though this is your will, I’m struggling to subscribe to it.
“You made her bright, like the sun – and colourful, like the flowers. You made her so kind, compassionate and placed her on levels she dreamed of,” said Ntuli.
According to the obituary, read by her cousin, Thulile Khanyile, Mcunu worked as a part of the secretariat development team at the South Africa North for Adaptation Research Alliance.
“In her fight for climate justice, she conducted work with and for Greenpeace Africa, including [being a] co-author of the Greenpeace International and Greenpeace Africa Report on extreme weather events and climate change in Africa,” said Khanyile.
The programme manager for Black Women In Science (BWIS), Ethel Phiri, said: “Ndoni was not just ours, but the world.
“She was planted here to leave the world changed, not just her world of science, but a world that brought others in her journey of change.
“She held the door open and paved the way for young black women to sit at the very same table of success with her,” said Phiri.
Another BWIS member, Avela Majavu, expressed her sorrow. “She added to our discussions and the things we questioned. She challenged the ways of thinking in the most thought-provoking manner,” said Majavu.
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