June 24 Lowveld

Text: MELLISSA BUSHBY. Photographer: BELINDA Erasmus
Well known in local circles, the name Pieter Steyn is synonymous with
babies and maternity wards.
Pieter’s upbringing was idyllic. Born in
Kroonstad in 1963 to adoring parents,
Pieter’s memories are of living the
dream. “Then life changed and formal
education started,” he smiles. “We moved
to Pretoria [Pieter has two older siblings]
and school became my whole world.
I was academically very lazy, which
infuriated my parents to no end. Lots of
friends and fun and just being young
and confused about my future and
my place in the universe,” he laughs.
“When my youngest brother was born,
I became a father for the first time. We
had an incredibly special bond. These
were beautiful years without any real
worries. We were middle-class people,
and occasionally my dad had to sell our
house to keep us afloat, but mostly we
were OK.”
With a lot of prodding, Pieter managed
to finish matric with a somewhat poor
academic performance. Choosing
medicine as a career was not something
Pieter would ever have contemplated if
it weren’t for the inspirational effect of
not really knowing what he wanted to
do. His application to study medicine
was rejected due to his academic
record, so he decided to do his two
years of compulsory military duties
instead. “What followed was lots of dust,
sweating and swearing, combined
with a lot of running, shooting, loud
explosions, fear of dying and longing
for home.”
Pieter’s memories of this part of his life
include some very disturbing events
and some very challenging times. “All the
fear and how to cope under pressure
has a way of changing you, and I was no
exception,” he adds.
“My Bushman platoon were my first
black friends, and they saved my life
more than once. We were brothers-inarms
and depended on one another
for our survival. They taught me how to
track, how to hide and how to build a
10 Get It Lowveld June 2024
The start of a
new chapter
Pieter Steyn