Bambisandla-Sami still helping youth

Four years ago, Veronica Namane and her colleagues were retrenched as miners at Ashanti Gold Mine in Carletonville. This left them without any means of supporting their families. But Namane would not allow that to stand in her way of finding an alternative source of income for them. She roped in Mahlatse Tshonyane and Sindi Wanda and, together, they founded the Bambisandla-Sami Centre of Excellence at Western Deep Levels. “I was one of the employees retrenched after the mine scaled down, due to the declining economy in the sector. I was a manager; my portfolio included skills development for people with disabilities. After my retrenchment, I saw an opportunity to establish an insti- tution that would benefit the broader society. I wrote a proposal to Ashanti Gold Mine management and they were impressed with the concept. They approved it; they also allowed us to use a dysfunctional mining facility,” says Namane. According to Mr Sibusiso Cauke, the communication officer of the Gauteng Department of Social Development, the facility used to be a residence for AngloGold Ashanti employees with disabilities and is wheelchair accessible. It became vacant after they were relocated to the Free State. Although the facility was supposed to be demolished, Bambisandla-Sami Centre of Excellence put it to good use to train former miners and the community in clothing manufacturing, hospitality training, like professional cooks and animals and plant production. The centre is an accredited training facility and is funded by the Gauteng Department of Social Development, SETA and Ashanti Gold Mine. “We are still going strong because of them and we would like this centre to become an FET College. Furthermore, we want to expand into other business ventures to ensure the youth and broader community gain access to economic opportunities in our centre,” says Namane. To contact the centre, call Veronica Namane on 082 821 2177.