Woensdag, 12 April 2017 NEWS TYGERBURGER Eersterivier & Blue­Downs 15

Holiday spent revamping

Their presence worth more than presents: The team of helpers, consisting of representatives from ESI Attorneys from Tyger Valley and IkamvaUbomi, staff members and members of the community, who gathered at Vorentoe Primary school to assist with the painting of the school.Seated second from left are ESI director Zayaan Samuels, school principal Elmara September (centre, in yellow shirt), ESI public relationsofficer Mary­Ann McHardy. and ESI director Jacques Esterhuizen.

JAY­DEE CYSTER@jaydeecyster

Staff members at Vorentoe PrimarySchool in Ravensmead will be spend-ing a large part of their holidays at the

school in an effort to revamp its facilities.The project, the brainchild of ESI Attor-

neys based in Tyger Valley, forms part ofthe firm’s corporate social investment (CSI)initiative.

“We have adopted the school for the nextthree years,” says the firm’s public rela-tions officer, Mary-Ann McHardy. “Our im-mediate goals include upgrading the li-brary, which includes sourcing book dona-tions, as well as upgrading the staff room,kitchen facilities and administrativeblock,” says McHardy. “We want to makethings a bit better for both teachers andlearners at the school.”

Other parties approached by ESI for thiseffort include non-profit organisation(NPO) Ikamva Ubomi, as well as JF Paints.

On Friday, ESI Attorneys closed theirdoors for thedayandbrought alongall theiremployees to assist with the painting of theinside of the school. School principal, Elma-ra September, members of the community,school staff members and employees fromthe assisting groups were all ready to getpainting.

Eugene Walker, CEO and founder of Ik-amva Ubomi, who could also be seen witha paintbrush in hand, says that the NPO isfocused on getting the community involved

in the project.“Our focus is on building cohesive com-

munities,” says Walker.“Wedon’t onlywant to rely onour govern-

ment to make things happen. Our presencehere is worth more than presents,” Walkeradds.

Representatives from JP Paints, who do-nated the paint, were also present, with re-gional salesmanager,UrmariedeLange, ex-pressing her excitement at being involvedin this project.

September says, “I’ve been at the schoolfor the past 18 years and this is the first timethat sponsors have come forward to supportus. It’s good to know that they are able tosee the need in the community.”

September says that initially ESI was on-ly going to upgrade the library, but after as-sessing the various needs of the school theydecided to enter into a three-year partner-ship in order to make more of a differencein the lives of the teachers and learners atthe school.

“We have identified that we need to focuson the teachers and their morale as well.That is why we will be developing a teach-er’s hub to ensure that they feel motivated,”says September.

“We’ve been at the school the entire holi-day and it is tiring, but it’s a satisfying tired-ness. This is our school’s new beginning.”

Vorentoe Primary School principal, ElmaraSeptember, assisting with the painting of theschool’s foyer. PHOTOS: JAY­DEE CYSTER

YoungPeople@Work is inviting unem-ployed youth to their upcoming free youthempowerment workshops to be held at theBellville Library on Wednesday 19 andThursday 20 April.

Each workshop starts at 09:00 and ends at13:00.

The facilitators are Frank Julie and Shirl-ey de Jongh.

Participants will learn more about profes-sional job-seeking skills, how to search fora job professionally, and how to develop apowerful CV.

Participants will also learn more aboutwhat companies are looking for, interview-ing skills, how the job market operates, howto network with the right people, how to usesocial media in the job search process, andhow to develop a job search plan.

There is also an opportunity to learn moreabout basic bookkeeping skills, record keep-ing, handling of cheques and online bank-ing, receipts, reading bank statements, rec-onciliations, reporting and petty cash.

The facilitators will also focus on basic of-fice administration, the role of a reception-ist, telephone etiquette, filing, diary man-agement, bookings and minute taking.

Current employment and further studyopportunities will also be shared.

Participants will also be assisted with set-ting up their CV and a free email account.

Certificates will be issued on completionof the workshop.

Tea and coffee will be served, but partici-pants are requested to provide their ownlunch.

To book your spot contact Shirley viaWhatsApp or sms on 073 820 1534.VWhat is your opinion on this article? Let us knowat briewe@tygerburger.co.za.

Workshops tohelp the youthfind jobs

ASTRID FEBRUARIE@astridfebruarie

The Development Action Group (DAG) pre-sented a research project conducted on theParow Station Arcade and provided variousrecommendations on how to improve thespace. The research was done on behalf ofthe Greater Tygerberg Partnership in an ef-fort to better outline how the 14 hectares ofland can be improved.

Ryan Fester, the lead researcher, says therecommendations were made after mappingpedestrian movement routes and interview-ing the City of Cape Town, Law Enforce-ment, property developers and the VRCID.Interviews were also conducted with formalbusinesses and informal traders, as well ascivic organisations.

“We furthermore did 120 surveys to findout from the public what their concerns areand to find outwhat they recommend shouldbe done to improve the space,” he says.

Fester says the survey revealed that peo-ple who travel in and out of the station ar-cade are concerned about crime, while someof the informal traders revealed that theypay ‘gangster tax’. Other concerns includedrug dealing, prostitution, taxi violence,health and hygiene, and illegal gambling.

Fester says their recommendations in-clude greening Parow Station Arcade, for-malising the trading space to ensure that pe-destrians’ movements and visibility are notrestricted, upgrading the buildings to com-plement the space, and improving vibrancyin the area with a mix of housing options.

“We also need to establish a multi-stake-holder forum to ensure that we avoid top-down planning, as everyone who makes useof the space must feel part of it,” Fester says.

Ward councillorFranchescaWalkerurgeseveryone to work together as partners tobring about change. “We will present the re-sults of the research to the community andthen we hope to start the project in the newfinancial year,” she says.

Makeoverplanned forParow station

ASTRID FEBRUARIE@astridfebruare

The I-CAN Centre in Elsies River aims tobuild healthy communities through gam-ing and awareness of digital opportunitiesfor young people.

And in an effort to allow young peopleto play games online and compete withother gamers around the world, the centrehosted a Gaming Day that saw about 121gamers compete in the event.

I-CAN Centre manager LlewellynScholtz says many young people are facedwith challenges in their local communi-ties, but turn to gaming to be safe in theirhomes.

“Parents also feel safe if they know theirchildren are safe. Gaming has created aplatformwhere young people come togeth-er and compete against one another. Thisdigital activity has enormous potential todrive gamers to become IT developers,which the country is currently lacking,”he says.

Scholtz says South Africa is faced witha lack of high-end digital skills, but ifyoung people are assisted and pushed tobecome high-end IT developers, then gam-ing must be their launch pad toward suc-cess.

“Through our event we urge gamers topursueacareer ingamingdevelopment, asit helps to develop cognitive skills throughstrategic gaming,” he says.

He adds that the gaming event was start-ed in an effort to move the youth awayfrom peer pressure, gangsterism and sub-

stance abuse, asthese are all factorsdamaging today’syouth.

“Young peoplefind gaming reallyexciting, as it is anew way to interactwith youth of othercommunities,”Scholtz says.

He adds that thegaming day suc-ceeded in its pur-pose of bringing to-gether youth fromdifferent communi-ties, including Bon-teheuwel, Manen-berg, Bishop Lavis,Elsies River, Rav-ensmead and Delft.

Hilario Esau, theStreet Fighter I-CAN champion, says heentered for fun but in the back of his mindhe was in it to win it.

“I was really excited and overwhelmedbecause I won the Street Fighter competi-tion for the third time. Being a champ feelsgood,” he says.

Yannick Vermeulen, the Naruto Fight-ing I-CAN champion, says he had neverwon a competition in his life before, andreceiving a trophy for winning his favour-ite game was awesome.

“I haveanXboxathome that I play everyday, but this competition helped me im-prove my skills and I beat guys that are

older than me,” he says.Tohier Abrahams from Mitchells Plain,

who is the FIFA Soccer and Rugby I-CANchampion, says his friend told him aboutthe event and how people battle each otherto win prizes. He entered the competitionbecause there is nothing else like it in hiscommunity.

“The most fun part of this competitionwas the crowd cheering for me beingcalled up and announced as the winner ofthe tournament. It helps knowing thatthere is always room for improvement andthat no matter how hard the challenge,never give up,” he says.

Gamers battle it out during Gaming Day

From left are Llewellyn Scholtz (I­CAN Centre manager), AbdourafBarnes (gaming club member)and Yannick Vermeulen winner of theNaruto Ninja Storm Fighting competition.

4 TYGERBURGER Ravensmead & Belhar Woensdag, 18 November 2015NUUS

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Connectivity is becoming coolin Elsies River with the open-ing of the I-Can centre in Halt

Road.In a world that is dominated by

cell phones and smart devices, ourlives are ruled by airtime and databundles for internet access.

The digital footprint is on the in-crease, so how do we effectivelyutilise the internet to improve thequality of life in Elsies River?

The answer to these questions isthe Interactive Community AccessNetwork or I-Can centre, which isa digital public access facilitybased at the Elsies River multi-pur-pose centre in Halt Road.

Director of the facility LlewellynScholtz is excited about this newdevelopment in the area, explain-ing that it forms part of the roll-outof the Western Cape government’sbroadband plan to connect commu-nities across the province over thecoming years.

“As part of this plan, the resi-dents of Elsies River and neigh-bouring communities now have ac-cess to the I-Can centre, the pilotproject of the broader I-Can initia-tive,” he says.

“All education and training of-fered at the centre will improve

skills, employment development,grow innovation, as well as stimu-late creativity, drive motivation,support tertiary students to com-plete studies and alleviate povertyissues in the community.

“The boost in entrepreneurshipand support to SMMEs will occurthrough access to information andempower business owners throughentrepreneurship support pro-grammes at the centre.

“It is here where digital servicesand training occurs to upskill anddevelop citizens in Elsies River tohave an improved chance of beingemployed, becoming entrepre-neurs and simply becoming more

digitally literate through the use ofbroadband and technology.”

The I-Can centre has five zones:Play Zone, Learn Zone, CreateZone, Commercial Zone and StudyZone, and is able to capture the at-tention of toddlers, students, teen-agers, adolescents, adults and sen-ior citizens.

A gaming facility is available toowhich covers a variety of gamingplatforms, including educationalgaming.

“The study zone provides a con-ducive environment for studentsto benefit from Caps aligned con-tent, study methods and researchmethodologies. It also offers con-ference, hiring and recording stu-dio facilities.

“From a cost saving perspective,the I-Can centre can provide atraining programme specific toyour business needs and add valueto your business through raisingawareness about your company.”

Another important focus of thecentre is to increase employabilityand upskill the unemployedthrough basic, intermediate andadvanced computer training, digi-tal marketing, in-house staff train-ing, developing of mobile apps andmulti-media design. V For  more  information  about  activitiesat  the  centre  call  021  202  0596  or  emailreception@g­citi.org.

I­Can centre opens up the world

Isolde  Dreyer,  seated,  gets  some  tips  to  improve  her  connectivity  from  Learn  Zone  administrator  Marancia  Fortuin  and Studies  Zone  administrator  Nathan  Scholtz  at  the  I­Can  centre  in  Elsies  River. PHOTO:  GARY  VAN  DYK

Issues at clinics addressed A public meeting on health services at the St Vincent and Chestnut clinics will be held on Tuesday 24 November starting at 18:30.

It will be taking place at the St Vincent Clinic in St Vincent Drive, Belhar, and will address current issues at these facilities, including staffing, availability and disbursement of medici-nes, and waiting periods.

Refreshments will be served.V For  more  information  contact  Sheynain Benjamin  on  084  573  5413.

The Dumela Community Foundationwill be hosting a special gospel con-cert in aid of World Aids Day on Sun-day 29 November.

Starting at 16:00 it will be takingplace at Rapha Ministries in BelvenieRoad, Elsies River. The concert willfeature artists such as Julie May, Al-lan Dodgers and Sandra Butleramong others.

Tickets cost R30 for adults and R15for children. V Call  Isaac  on  071 581 3003  or  Robin on 084 818 7064.

Gospel concert held

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Police attacked again in ManenbergManenberg police officers were at-tacked again while on patrol in the ar-ea last week.

Police officers tried to carry out anarrest in Sabie Walk on Friday at 17:00when they were attacked.

“It seems as if the community is notserious about peace and stability inthe Manenberg area,” says LieutenantIan Bennett, Manenberg police’sspokesperson.

He says police were patrolling whenthey saw a group of men. As they ap-proached, they saw one of the men hada firearm. The men then started torun, with officers isolating the onewith the firearm, confiscating it in theprocess, along with ammunition.

Bennett says while the arrest wasbeing carried out, community mem-bers started stoning the officers andthe police vans.

This allowed the suspect to flee thescene as the officers proceeded to re-treat.

They managed to hold onto the fire-arm although they could not completethe arrest.

“This is a serious offence. The com-munity can be charged with aiding theescape of a prisoner, defeating theends of justice and interfering in theexecution of police duties,” adds Ben-nett.

This is the second incident in a weekin which police members have been at-tacked by community members whiledoing their jobs. People’s Post reportedlast week how residents of RenosterRoad attacked officers after they ar-rested a fleeing suspect (“Locals at-tack police after chase”, 9 February).

“It has become sad that the commu-nity now openly support gangs andtheir evil activity. The communityrather wants murders, rape and vio-lence perpetrated against children.”

Colonel Sanele Zama, Manenbergpolice station’s commander, haswarned the community that these in-cidents could be disastrous if anothercommunity member needs police helpin the future, as the police may feelthat it could be a trap and will not re-spond to the call for help.

“The very people stoning the policewill need the police help – never saynever. We hope that the communitycould stand up and do the right thingand stop crime or criminal behav-iour,” says Zama.V Anyone with information regarding this  inci­dent can call the Manenberg police station on021 699 9400  or  CrimeStop  on  0860 010 111.

GRADUATING  TO  A BETTER  FUTURE: The  I­can  Centre  and College  of  Cape Town’s  Crawford campus  held  a graduation  ceremony on  Friday  at  the  I­can Centre  in  Elsies  River. Graduates  received certificates  for courses  ranging  from Essential  Business Skills  to  IT  Essentials.

ATHLONE

Rape Crisis celebrates 40 yearsEARL  HAUPT

  @EarlHaupt

The Rape Crisis organisation is celebrat-ing its 40th anniversary this year. It is

also the oldest organisation dealing withthe rape of adults in South Africa.

Rape Crisis has offices in Athlone, Khay-elitsha and Observatory and bases at threeregional hospitals and five regional magis-trates’ courts in the Western Cape.

Over 8000 sexual offences occur in theWestern Cape each year, with conserva-tive estimates saying that the number rep-resents just the one in nine cases that getsreported, meaning that the true extent ofthe problem is much larger, according toKathleen Dey, Rape Crisis’ director.

Rape Crisis is still regarded primarily asa woman’s organisation.

“99% of the rape survivors that we offerservices to are women and they experiencethe bulk of the problem. The impact thatwe make on communities is that we reallyare the go-to organisation for anybodywho has any kind of question or who heis suffering the impact of rape.”

Dey says the change in government overthe last 20 years has made a very substan-tive change to the way that rape is re-sponded to by the criminal justice system.They have also seen an improvement inpolicing, in forensic examinations andhuge improvements in the court.

However, in the last decade she saysthere has been a downturn in those im-provements.

“I think that the government has not al-located enough resources and there isn’tbudget for the kind of maintenance andimprovement and ongoing change that is

needed in the criminal justice system, spe-cifically with regard to specialised offen-ces court.”

What has been encouraging is that thegovernment has promised to roll out 200of these specialised courts across SouthAfrica.

“We will be monitoring how they do thatin the Western Cape specifically, but alsoacross the rest of the country, to make surethat they actually deliver on that promise.If they do as they promise then we wouldsee that roll-out happening over probablythe next 10 years,” adds Dey.

“We would want to see an average of 10new courts being rolled out each year fromnow until 2025. Also, that each court mustactually meet the requirement of the blue-print for a sexual offences court. Govern-ment cannot just say that this is a sexualoffences court; it has to be operating andfunctional as a sexual offences court tomeet the requirement.”

Rape Crisis has stood the test of timeand, despite numerous funding crises, theorganisation has managed to transformthe model it uses to operate to carry outits duties more effectively.

The programme itself has also changedto have more of a focus on advocacy.

Dey urges the various communities tocontinue their involvement with Rape Cri-sis in helping them make a difference byway of donations, by getting involved inthe organisation’s campaigns or volun-teering their time and expertise to makeRape Crisis more accessible to the commu-nities it serves.

“You can never reach out to people onthe subject without acknowledging thatsome of them might be survivors who

might need help and therefore our coun-selling services are available 24/7, 365days a year.”

She cites the Anene Booysen rape andmurder case in 2013 as a turning point forthe campaign against rape, as it drew im-mense outrage from the public in terms ofseeking justice.

“It used to be that you [needed to be] achildren’s charity or the SPCA in order toreach people’s hearts enough for them tobe able to reach into their pockets. Butnowadays, you can talk about sexual vio-lence and it will not be a subject that peo-ple will keep quiet about.

“They want to see a change, they wantto see a difference, they want to see therape rate go down and I think that is a hugevictory.”

She goes on to say that people are actual-ly prepared to talk openly about the sub-ject.

That ordinary citizens actually do wantto get involved is also encouraging, as wellas that these ordinary citizens are the oneswho helped the organisation stay afloatduring its own time of crisis.

“It is ordinary citizens, people who willreach out and give that R50 every month.Some people are incredible and just giveR10 000 of their company money,” quipsDey.

Rape Crisis will be conducting a seriesof events throughout the year, especiallyduring Women’s Month in August and inNovember as well during the 16 Days of Ac-tivism campaign. V For  more  information  about  Rape  Crisis  call 021 447 1467.  Call  the  24­hour  crisis  line  on 021 447 9762  to  get  information  and  support  or  tobook  a  counselling  appointment.

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