One of its last remaining speakers is on a mission to ensure it lives on.

eNCA caught up with Katrina Esau who has been teaching children the language for more than a decade.

Esau (87) was declared a "Living Human Treasure" by the Arts and Culture minister earlier this month.

For the last decade, Esau and her granddaughter, Claudia du Plessis, has been teaching children in their community N!uu, the language of the San.

But due to the lockdown and recent acts of vandalism at the school, classes have been put on hold.

"My school has been broken into, robbed and damaged," Esau said.

Esau also lost her two sisters earlier this year, both of whom were N!uu speakers.

She's more determined than ever before to get back to teaching the language. 

eNCA