Hawston Secondary grade 10 – 12 learners listened in quiet wonder to Dr Lee-Ann Gillion who delivered an inspiring address on her journey from that of a struggling high school student to achieving her dream of becoming a doctor.

Gillion, herself a past pupil of Hawston Secondary School said, “In standard nine, or grade 11 as it’s now known, I decided that I wanted to be a doctor.  However, like many of you sitting here today my parents could not afford to send me to university.  I realised that the only way I would rise above my reduced circumstances was through hard work and achieving top marks.

“I was unsuccessful in securing even one of the 86 bursaries I applied for.  It was my father’s appeal to local business people that eventually afforded the necessary funding that allowed me to take up my place at Stellenbosch University where I was accepted to study medicine. So my message to you is to never give up.  Make the right choices, stay focussed and always have the end goal in mind when things get tough,” added the good doctor.

Altogether 80 trees were planted at the new affordable housing development in Mount Pleasant as part of Ward 4’s ‪#‎MandelaDay celebrations on 18 July.

Overstrand Municipality’s horticulturist, Lauren Rainbird,said the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) donated the trees and added that the event could not have been much of a success without the help of Councillor Lianda Beyers-Cronjé and ward committee member Trevor Titus .

Bulelwa Plaatjies, Assistant Manager: Hermanus Administration for the Municipality, helped with the transportation of trees and her operational team assisted by digging the holes where the trees were planted. She said Mandela had said in 2002: “take it upon yourself - where you live - to make people around you joyful and full of hope.”

“Love is the common thread woven into these beautifully crafted blankets and teddy bears,” so said Overstrand Executive Mayor Nicolette Botha Guthrie at a special handover ceremony that took place at Onrus Manor, a retirement village in Hermanus.

The knitted items were handmade by residents of the facility and will be distributed by the Mayor to various beneficiaries to mark Mandela Day on the 18th of July.  

One of the highlights of the event was the appearance of Wilna Snyman, the South African actress best known for her starring role as Madel Terreblanche in the SABC2 soapie 7de Laan. Snyman delighted the attentive audience with readings of poems by well-known Afrikaans bards Adam Small and Ingrid Jonker.

The Driving License Project aimed at addressing the high unemployment rate amongst the youth in the Ovestrand, proved so successful that 6% of its candidates are now employed by the Overstrand Municipality, 16% are working as interns at various organisations and another 16% are enjoying full time employment in the private sector.

These statistics are particularly pleasing to the Overstrand Municipality, Department of Mineral Affairs, AFRIMAT and Overberg Driving School. 

The collaborative efforts of these partners and stakeholders ensured the intake of young people aged 18 – 35 years who completed the course, are now able to boast a driving qualification. As one of the participants said, “Each of us recognised that getting a driver’s licence would provide us with the means of securing greater career opportunities.