David Niebuhr was born in Kroonstad
in the Orange Free State, South Africa, on the 1st of April
1972.
He was the second of only two sons
born to Hilmar & Wilna Niebuhr.
As a toddler, his parents moved to
the then called Transvaal, now known as Gauteng.
He grew up in a town called Nigel,
and attended both primary and secondary school at the Afrikaans schools in
Nigel, being Tini Vorster Primary School, and John Vorster Secondary
School.
After School, he studied in both Theology and psychology. When
he suffered a major health setback, he continued to study part time, and started
working in the I.T. Industry. He later owned his own businesses in the
Heidelberg and Nigel area.
It was during 1999 that David Niebuhr recorded his Gospel CD,
named "Bly By My" - meaning "Abide with me." The CD had both Afrikaans
and English recordings on it.
In 1998 he was approached by the Nigel Emergency Services
Chaplains, and asked if he would assist them in the Emergency Services
Chaplaincy of the Nigel area. He officially joined the Chaplaincy in the
beginning of 1999
At the end of the year 2000, David was elected as the
Co-ordinating Chaplain for Nigel.
During 2001 the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Municipality was
established, after the 9 municipal towns of the then "Greater East
Rand" were joined together. At the end of 2001, David Niebuhr was elected
as the Regional Chief Chaplain of Ekurhuleni, and he held this position till
middle 2006.
In the beginning of 2001 David also played a major part in the
formation of a chaplaincy reaction unit, that assisted at major traumatic scenes
in our country. This reaction unit was the vision of Leon Jordaan, (Jorrie), and
they assisted at a few major scenes, such as :
* The floods in Lydenburg where a few people were
missing, and drowned in 2002,
* Also with the collapse of the roof of the Kolonade
shopping centre in Tshwane,
* And with some of the
minor and major plane accidents we had, such as the one in 2002 where Hansie
Cronje lost his life. David Niebuhr, Leon Jordaan and Gerta Coetzee attended to
this call, and assisted the family and friends of those who lost their lifes in
this tragic accident. They also accompanied the remains of Hansie Cronje, as
well as both the pilots to their various destinations for their individual
burials.
- The reaction unit was later replaced with a support unit, as
chaplaincies were formed all over the country, and we now only need to assist
and support in major scenes.
In June, 2002, David Niebuhr was elected as Vice President of
the Emergency Services Chaplaincy of Southern Africa.
After only serving in the office of Vice President, David
Niebuhr was elected as the President of the Emergency Services Chaplaincy of
Southern Africa in June, 2003.
David held office as president for the full 2 year term, and
at the end of his term in 2005, he was re-elected as the next vice president,
and held office for two years up to August 2007.
In August 2007 David Niebuhr again became the President
of the Emergency Services Chaplaincy of Southern Africa, and will hold this
office for a two year term.
David Niebuhr had Chaired the Disciplinary Committee of the
ESC(SA) for a total of 4 years.
David Niebuhr was also commissioned by the executive of the
EC(SA), to be the author of many of the current by-laws of the ESC(SA).
David Niebuhr was responsible for the creation of the ESC(SA)
webpage, and for its maintenance.
David Niebuhr is also one of the Emergency Services Chaplaincy
Training officers, presenting both the standard chaplaincy training, as well as
some of our specialized courses with the Chief Training Officer, Frank
Meulenbeld.
David Niebuhr was also elected as the Nigel Community Policing
Forum Chairperson for Nigel in 2005, then re-elected as Chairperson in
March 2008, and is currently still serving in that position
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Unpublished Work 
