Ockert Potgieter (Ukrainian: Окерт Потгітер; 11 December 1965 – 11 October 2021) was a South African missionary in

Ukraine Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is the List of European countries by area, second-largest country in Europe after Russia, which Russia–Ukraine border, borders it to the east and northeast. Ukraine also borders Belarus to the nor ...

and a film director.

Education

Potgieter completed his school years at Potchefstroom Gimnasium. He studied further in Law at the Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education and after finishing his undergraduate studies he did a PhD in Law. He was awarded the honor of being the best Law student in South Africa. He received the Lawyer’s student award in 1989 from the Loyalty Fund. He finished a diploma in Social Law at “Rijkuniversisteit” Ghent, Belgium in conjunction with

Stellenbosch University Stellenbosch University (SU) (, ) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant university in Sub-Sahara ...

Missionary work

After Potgieter guided a student group through Ukraine, he and his wife decided to establish a church in

Reni, Ukraine Reni (, ; ) is a small city in Izmail Raion, Odesa Oblast, southern Ukraine. It hosts the administration of Reni urban hromada, one of the hromadas of Ukraine. Reni is located in the Bessarabian historic district of Budjak and on the left bank ...

. Reni is a town in the

Odesa Oblast Odesa Oblast (), also referred to as Odeshchyna (Одещина), is an administrative divisions of Ukraine, oblast (province) of southwestern Ukraine, located along the northern coast of the Black Sea. Its administrative centre is the city of Ode ...

Province. It is a southwest Ukrainian town close to the Romanian border next to the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

River. He and his wife Michelle established a church called the “Light of the World” (Світло світу) in 1990. They have been running community uplifting programmes since then. They focussed on the part of Reni that is poor and has unmaintained infrastructure. In the area they worked, most houses did not have electricity, or a toilet in the house. Most houses' toilets were outside. Proper water access was limited, and electricity was only available 6 hours a day. Potgieter started a campaign called “I Love Reni”. It is a project that maintains and repairs infrastructure, cleans the city, provided water, upgrades roads and does paint work. Voluntary social workers from the UK are helping once a year. For these projects he partnered up with Jubilee Church

Maidstone Maidstone is the largest Town status in the United Kingdom, town in Kent, England, of which it is the county town. Maidstone is historically important and lies east-south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town, l ...

, UK and the Mayor of Reni, Igor Plegov. A kindergarten school was established as well as a programme to enrich children's lives by exposing them to different countries and culture. The Potgieters have been attacked in the past by armed men but survived it and continued to do missionary work there.

Film director

Potgieter was the director and writer of the movie “Enough” () a Russian film released in 2013. It is a film made by New Day Films. The slogan is: In every life, there comes a time to let go”. The film is a story of hate, war and betrayal, with love the only way to overcome it. It was set in Russia in 1917. Two children escaped the war and had to survive on their own. Years later, one of the survivors retraced his steps to find peace. It was filmed in Ukraine.

Death

Potgieter died from

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pneumonia during the

COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa The COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa was part of the pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). On 5 March 2020, Minister of Health Zweli Mkhize had confirme ...

, at age 55.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Potgieter, Ockert 1965 births 2021 deaths South African Christian missionaries North-West University alumni South African film producers Ghent University alumni People from Potchefstroom Christian missionaries in Ukraine South African expatriates Deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa Expatriates in Ukraine