On 5 May, Pebbles Project launched a skills development centre at their Hemel-en-Aarde Education Project near Hermanus in the Overberg region with the hopes of expanding opportunities for young adults from nearby farming communities.
The Pebbles Hemel-en-Aarde Education Project is situated on a farm in the breathtaking Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge. The Project comprises of the Pebbles Academy, Early Childhood Development Centre, and its latest addition: a skills development centre.
In partnership with the Hermanus Rotary Club, the existing onion shed on the premise was renovated into a skills development centre with the capacity to accommodate 20 learners.
The centre was co-funded by The Rotary Club of York in the UK, The Rotary Club of Bonnin Germany and The McFarlane Family Foundation. Ian Wallace, project manager of The Rotary Club of Hermanus and his fellow Rotarians played a monumental role in the construction of the building.
Fifteen young adults from nearby farming communities who are part of the Pebbles Project Early Adulthood Programme will be utilising the centre on a full-time basis. The training offered will include a combination of soft and hard skills, to ultimately equip young adults to secure gainful employment. There will be a focus on developing strong interpersonal skills, self-confidence, and discipline which are key drivers in creating the leaders of tomorrow.
Training will be overseen by the Pebbles Project Skills Development Centre Coordinator: Chandree Roberts. The young adults have big aspirations. They have dreams of becoming winemakers, plumbers, filmmakers, welders, traffic cops, and musical composers. We look forward to see what the future has in store for them…
Pebbles Project is grateful to the construction manager (Barry Coombe) and his team, who managed to transform a derelict onion shed into a beautiful skills development centre, while managing to preserve the historical features of the building.
Pebbles Project would like to extend their sincerest thanks to Anthony and Carol van Hoogstraten, the owners of the property, for their ongoing support as well as Carolyn Martin from Creation Wines. Carolyn approached Pebbles Project in 2006 after she identified the need for an education project in the Hemel-en-Aarde Ridge.
Pebbles Project envisage that the newly launched skills development centre will equip young adults to reach their full potential and enable them to become contributing members of society in hopes that they will inspire other members from their communities to follow in their footsteps.
Pebbles Project is a non-profit organisation that aims to enable children and young adults from agricultural communities to reach their full potential through education, health, and nutrition services. For more information or to find out how you can become involved, please visit www.pebblesproject.org.