Carryou boasts with their trusty baker

Bongani Naholo (27) is a rising star at Carryou Ministry.

As the new Bakery coordinator, he starts work every morning at 4am at the bakery at the Toekomsrus Drop-in Centre.

“That is when we need to begin preparing fresh bread for Carryou’s other drop-in centres and feeding programmes, people in the community, many of whom want to grab a hot loaf on their way to work, as well as for shops in the area,” he says.

The young man grew up in Mohlakeng, Randfontein, where he completed his high school education.

“While still at school I worked as a volunteer at Carryou and, in 2006, I became involved with the government’s Extended Public Works Programme,” he says.

He has been with Carryou Ministry ever since.

“I was always interested in computers and, in 2010, Carryou paid for me to complete an information technology, A+ course,” he says.

“That gave me the skills needed to take care of all the organisation’s computer hardware. My function then was to maintain and upgrade Carryou’s computers and laptops and I had to ensure the machines were always up and running.

“The problem was, once I had everything operating smoothly, there wasn’t much more to do, so I was delighted when after some bakery staff members resigned earlier this year, I was asked to help out at the bakery.

“In 2006 I did a bakery course so it was natural for me to become a bakery assistant. I began work at the bakery in July,” says Bongani.

Since then he has been promoted to the position of Bakery coordinator and oversees the day-to-day running of the operation.

“I love the job and must admit, I enjoy baking much more than IT. It is exciting to see the business develop and to be part of its growth.

“In addition to bread, we now also bake vetkoek and they are proving to be very popular.

“We also plan to start doing confectionery soon,” he says.

When not working, Bongani enjoys soccer and cricket. He plays football for the church team.

“Most of my weekends are spent involved in church activities and with my fiancé,” he says.

“We intend getting married next year, if all goes according to plan.”