Miss-Delectable
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IOL: Boats of hope for deaf youngsters
They are deaf and come from Cape Town's most impoverished area, but six Khayelitsha youngsters have built a unique boat that has taken the annual Boat Show at the Cape Town International Convention Centre by storm.
The customised craft is built of fibreglass-reinforced plastic, and operates so quietly that it is known as the Whisper.
Boat building is a rare skill in black communities, but young people in Khayelitsha have a new career option, thanks to the Whisper Boat Building Academy based at the Noluthando Special School.
The six boat builders, Phumelele Gobinduku, 19, Teenager Vokoto, 20, Olwethu Masebeni, 19, Mwezi Mqam-kana, 18, Songezo Nkwenkwezi and Kgabisang Nkhohlo, 21, are former Noluthando pupils. Nkhohlo and Nkwenkwezi returned from the Netherlands early last week after a two-week educational tour for Super Yacht building.
Their teacher and mentor, marine surveyor Peter Jacops, said: "It is amazing what we have achieved within one year with very little money. We received help, which we appreciate, but the idea was to do it without help."
The academy was started two years ago in Retreat, and has since produced five boats. It recently received a R3-million boost from the provincial department of social development and poverty alleviation.
Belgian-born Jacops said the initiative started when he decided to introduce something new to the South African market and found that boat building was not common in black areas, particularly among deaf people.
He contacted schools for the deaf but "strangely enough most of them were not interested". The Noluthando School responded, and he launched the one-year course at the school.
Jacops, who spent 10 years working on container ships, said most suppliers refused to bring material to Khayelitsha.
"The area has a certain reputation and people are still afraid to go there. But there are many possibilities there."
Teaching deaf people was not a problem as he had done a course in signing. After the first course ended, Jacops gave his students the option of staying on to acquire further skills that would improve their opportunities in the industry. "They decided to stay," he said.
He has been inundated with requests from companies and the navy, which are keen for his students' services. Kgabisang said he was enjoying being part of the academy.
Speaking through his teacher, he said he had learnt welding and technical drawing at Noluthando and that had motivated him to become a boat builder.
He is looking forward to a career in the field of making and selling boats and advised other young people to consider joining boat building.
They are deaf and come from Cape Town's most impoverished area, but six Khayelitsha youngsters have built a unique boat that has taken the annual Boat Show at the Cape Town International Convention Centre by storm.
The customised craft is built of fibreglass-reinforced plastic, and operates so quietly that it is known as the Whisper.
Boat building is a rare skill in black communities, but young people in Khayelitsha have a new career option, thanks to the Whisper Boat Building Academy based at the Noluthando Special School.
The six boat builders, Phumelele Gobinduku, 19, Teenager Vokoto, 20, Olwethu Masebeni, 19, Mwezi Mqam-kana, 18, Songezo Nkwenkwezi and Kgabisang Nkhohlo, 21, are former Noluthando pupils. Nkhohlo and Nkwenkwezi returned from the Netherlands early last week after a two-week educational tour for Super Yacht building.
Their teacher and mentor, marine surveyor Peter Jacops, said: "It is amazing what we have achieved within one year with very little money. We received help, which we appreciate, but the idea was to do it without help."
The academy was started two years ago in Retreat, and has since produced five boats. It recently received a R3-million boost from the provincial department of social development and poverty alleviation.
Belgian-born Jacops said the initiative started when he decided to introduce something new to the South African market and found that boat building was not common in black areas, particularly among deaf people.
He contacted schools for the deaf but "strangely enough most of them were not interested". The Noluthando School responded, and he launched the one-year course at the school.
Jacops, who spent 10 years working on container ships, said most suppliers refused to bring material to Khayelitsha.
"The area has a certain reputation and people are still afraid to go there. But there are many possibilities there."
Teaching deaf people was not a problem as he had done a course in signing. After the first course ended, Jacops gave his students the option of staying on to acquire further skills that would improve their opportunities in the industry. "They decided to stay," he said.
He has been inundated with requests from companies and the navy, which are keen for his students' services. Kgabisang said he was enjoying being part of the academy.
Speaking through his teacher, he said he had learnt welding and technical drawing at Noluthando and that had motivated him to become a boat builder.
He is looking forward to a career in the field of making and selling boats and advised other young people to consider joining boat building.