PEOPLE can transform their lives against all odds.
And this can be seen with Victor Tshekedi and Mathapelo Seichokelo from Kuruman, Northern Cape, who are both living with disabilities.
Up until six months ago, they found it hard to get jobs and had given up hope of ever being able to support themselves.
But all of that changed, thanks to an innovative learnership by EduPower and the Assmang Skills Academy, which has changed their lives and that of 38 other people living with disabilities.
Victor, who has been paraplegic since the age of five when he fell from a donkey cart, said there are no jobs for locals.
“We are the most forgotten society in South Africa,” he said.
Mathapelo, who is a bilateral amputee who lost both her legs when she was injured in a car accident, said even though her family has been supportive, it was hard on all of them when she couldn’t find work.
“Sitting at home with no income is very difficult and it makes you depressed.
“I have ancillary nursing and management assistant qualifications but when I applied for jobs, I would go for interviews without any success.
“I didn’t think I would ever work again,” she said.
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Victor and Mathapelo were part of an intake of 40 students who were selected for the learnership programme.
The solution has been developed by EduPower for the mining company, in support of its efforts to bring meaningful job creation in the area.
In August last year, EduPower, working together with Assmang, opened a training facility equipped with classrooms and a contact centre in Kuruman.
What sets this model apart is that at the end of the programme, all the students are guaranteed full-time employment as contact centre agents.
“This learnership will change my life because it will enable me to get long-term employment I am learning so much and I will use this to help grow the organisation I am currently involved with,” said Victor.
Mathapelo said: she applied for the learnership as she saw it as an opportunity to learn new skills, particularly about contact centre operations.
“The new skills I am learning are giving me the ability to go into different fields.” Because of this, I have succeeded in moving forward,” she said.
