“I Found My Juffrou Jackie”: Man Reconnects With Grade 3 Teacher Who Changed His Life

• A local man, Makatso Lerole, reconnected with his Grade 3 teacher, Juffrou Jackie, who greatly influenced his life
• An unlikely source helped Makatso find his beloved teacher after he shared his heartfelt story on TikTok
• Highlighting teacher-student bonds, Makatso's journey resonates with the experiences of kindness and joy in education

A man named Makatso Lerole asked the public for assistance in finding his Grade 3 teacher, Juffrou Jackie Botha, a woman who he felt brought joy into his life as a child. His wish was granted when an unexpected person from his past reunited him with the juffrou.

The former Laerskool Ottosdal learner, who boasts over 85 000 followers on his TikTok account, asked social media users for help on 19 February 2026, first thanking people for their interaction in his previous video, where he spoke about Juffrou Jackie's kindness. He also shared how one of his classmates was practically forced to invite her entire class to her birthday party at Bona Bona Game Lodge. The North West teacher noticed that the girl allegedly only invited her White classmates and stopped her from handing out invitations in the classroom.

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The young man said:

"Juffrou Jackie is one of the people in life who made me believe that not all White people are racists."

The next day, Makatso returned to the social media platform, telling the public that his ex-girlfriend from 10 years ago, who allegedly broke his heart, somehow got the contact details for Juffrou Jackie.

Moments later, he posted screenshots of his ex's conversation with the teacher, as well as his texts, captioning the post:

"I found my Juffrou Jackie."

He thanked the woman for the role she had played in his life and hoped to meet up with her one day.

Take a look at the WhatsApp conversations and a picture of Juffrou Jackie in the TikTok post below:

3 Other stories about loving teachers

• In another article, Briefly News reported that a teacher's kindness cultivated her bond with her learners.
• A thoughtful teacher went viral on the internet when she served her pupils lunch at a soup kitchen.
• South Africans saw how much a group of learners adored their teacher when the kids organised a grand surprise for their teacher's last day of school.

Source: Briefly News