Stories of Hope: Episode 13 - Sabelo Ngema
Sabelo Ngema’s story: He is an adaptive surfer and a learner at Edge Training. Sabelo Ngema is a young man from eShowe who has albinism and visual impairment. He changed schools a lot due to his disability, and how he found his passion for surfing when he met Julia Van Zyl at Open air school. He has achievements in surfing competitions and awards, and how he joined Edge Training to learn about Hygiene and Cleaning, Management, and Work Readiness Programme. He expresses his gratitude to Edge Training and Rina Tech for giving him the opportunity to facilitate the Step-In programme and to earn a stipend that helps him pursue his surfing career. Episode 13 below or watch the video.
“(00:17) My name is Sabelo Ngema, I’m from eShowe in a rural area called eVuma. I grew up not being around home because due to my disability I had to find schools that were accommodating to my disability. Living with albinism and being visually impaired was a challenge, so I changed schools a lot.
(00:48) When I got to high school at Open air, I met Julia Van Zyl who was doing PE (physical education) and she introduced me to adaptive surfing. From there, I started becoming passionate about it as I was training and getting ready for my first competition. Surfing became a space where it was almost like a therapy session for me because it was where I could be myself and just enjoy riding the waves and to also enjoy the love of the ocean.
(01:15) In 2020, my first competition was the World Champs, it was in America in California. I achieved seventh place in the world which was a global ranking. After that I became a Sportsman of the Year in KZN, which was last year and I now look forward to my next competition in July.
(01:43) I heard about Edge Training from a friend who referred me to a learnership and from there I joined Hygiene and Cleaning. I was identified as a learner with potential and Edge suggested for me to join another learnership which was management 3. During my Management 3 learnership I was also accepted for the Step-In programme which is a work readiness programme where we learn about different skills in order to prepare us for the work environment, they teach us interview skills, skill building and also time management.
(02:19) After completing the programme, Edge also allowed me and gave me the chance to follow Latasha, my facilitator, in order to learn how to facilitate the programme. I started facilitating and teaching my other classmates. Step-In, since it’s a work readiness programme, being a part of improving somebody’s life and equipping them with the skills that they need for work, its life changing. I’m so grateful to be apart of changing people’s lives.
(02:53) While facilitating the Step-In programme I’ve been earning a stipend that also helps me to attend more trainings and to attend more surfing competitions to follow my passion.
(03:06) I would like to express my huge gratitude towards Edge and to my sponsor Rina Tech for being part of improving myself and the skills that they are instilling in my life.”
Next Steps
Are you interested in changing the life of a student while maximising your BEE scorecard? Reach out to Edge Training today! We are an accredited training provider with over 24 years of experience in the Skills Development industry. We offer various learnership programmes so you can find a learnership that best suits your needs. Reach out to one of our representatives today, we can’t wait to hear from you!