Dear Editor
As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that “the highest form of appreciation is not to utter words but to live by them” – John F Kennedy.
With these words, we as a family greet the people of Kouga and want to express our sincere gratitude to everyone involved during Manie’s visit over the past weekend, to our area and his home town.
Manie was raised by our mother, his great-grandmother, ‘Ouma’ as he called her, a woman of God, a woman of grace, a woman of love, and a woman of wisdom – the epitome of hard work and an example of resilience and perseverance – all qualities that she invested in Manie.
She passed away in April last year at the ripe age of eighty-five. Her legacy lives on in his and our hearts; we became her voice and would love to say thank you to all involved, as she would have wanted and would have done.
First we give honour, praise, and glory to God for the life of Manie Libbok. We thank God for creating him in his mother’s womb and for blessing him with outstanding qualities and talent to achieve remarkable successes on the rugby field.
We thank the Kouga Municipality, the Honourable Mayor, the Speaker, and the rest of the Kouga officials involved in organising the event. Thank you for acknowledging Manie and his achievements, and for allowing him to share and enjoy them on home soil.
Thank you to Randal Prinsloo and team, law enforcement, and all the traffic officials, for their assistance in ensuring that Manie was safe over the past weekend.
The South African Police Service, Major Majamani, and all officials involved, thank you for the protection granted to him and the family, it is highly appreciated.
A huge thank you also to Carl Trahms from Smhart Security, and his team for the highly professional way they safeguarded Manie, Verna (his fiancé), and the rest of the family. We do not have words to express our gratitude.
To the Fountains Mall Management, thank you for allowing Manie to greet the people of the broader Jeffreys Bay area at the mall.
Thank you to the Kouga Sub Rugby Union for the part you played over the weekend, and during the World Cup.
Thank you also to Marshall Geswint for his role and involvement.
Thank you to the media role players.
Then there is Graslaagte Primary School. Thank you Mr Juba, the personnel and learners, for your love and continuous support to Manie. It is deeply encouraging to him and us as a family. We salute you!
To the community, each adult and child, we say thank you for your continuous support, love, and warm welcome to Manie. It is your love, support, and prayers that carried Manie throughout the World Cup and every day. Thank you so much.
Thank you to Manie’s mother and siblings for allowing the public to honour him in the way they did.
In conclusion, we want to outline and reflect on a plastic bottle to highlight its value and importance, for that is where Manie’s story began … a humble plastic bottle.
During his childhood days in the dusty Meyer Street, his uncle and our late brother, Willem Libbok, also a fly half in his day, used a plastic bottle to teach Manie the skill of accurately kicking before he could kick a rugby ball. The people of Meyer Street are all witnesses of how this story unfolded.
A huge and warm thank you once again.
The Libbok family of Meyer Street.
