Excitement was evident on the faces of learners and staff members at Siviwe Special School in Gugulethu during the opening of an upholstery workshop on Thursday 25 January.
Excitement was evident on the faces of learners and staff members at Siviwe Special School in Gugulethu during the opening of an upholstery workshop on Thursday 25 January.
The facility was donated by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (Tika).
This is a government department in Turkey that falls within the Ministry of Culture and Tourism, which focuses on development cooperation.
School principal Yolanda Luphondo described the workshop as an asset, not only for the school, but the community as a whole. She said it meant a lot as the learners will be able to showcase their skills.
“We converted one of the classes that was a sub-skill of clothing workshop to an upholstery workshop. We believe the workshop is going to be helpful to the school generally, particularly our learners. Now, we are going to have nine practical skills we are teaching at the school.”
Luphondo said Tika had started renovating the classroom and provided the two machines and working equipment.
She said it is a collaboration that began with the National Teaching Awards held in Gauteng in 2022.
“We met at the national awards. I won an Excellence in Special Needs Leadership Award, after which Tika approached me and asked what the school needed.
“We requested a mobile library, which was handed over last year. After that we started talking about this workshop. And here we are. . .”
The Western Cape Education Department, Chief Education Specialist: Special Schools, Rhoda Manuel, thanked Tika for this great initiative.
“Tika has provided many learners with an opportunity for skills training,” she said. “Our focus is to prevent the learners from landing up on the streets, from going on to drugs and joining gangs.
We are saying thank you for your kindness and humanity.”
Manuel added there are more schools that need support.
Turkish ambassador Aisha Kandas said the consulate had a good relationship with Siviwe and had worked with the school before. She said the aim is to build sustainable projects in the country.
“We want to leave a legacy in South Africa by making sure we train a number of women, learners with special needs and disadvantaged people,” said Kandas. “That is the legacy we want to leave behind.”
She said the consulate was working mostly in disadvantaged communities. Of the 85 projects it was currently engaged in in sub-Saharan Africa, 60 are in South Africa.
National Minister of Social Development Lindiwe Zulu said that the department’s objective is to empower young people in particular. She said her department dealt mainly with people from disadvantaged communities.
“We want more children to acquire skills so they are able to take care of themselves. Our responsibility is to speak for those who are vulnerable.”
Zulu urged teachers to keep the learners accountable by making sure that they clean the school.