As 2019 draws to an end, I’ve been reflecting on the highlights of the year. There have been many rich experiences and lessons to be taken into 2020. One of the highlights has been coaching a remarkable young man, Thembelani Mentyisi.
Thembelani is 23. Two years ago he filled the ranks of the unemployed youth. Thembelani – always full of initiative – approached Tim Dold of PG Glass Grahamstown and asked Tim for work. Note, he didn’t ask for a job. He asked to work.
To cut a long and highly insightful story short, within 18 months of starting work at PG, Thembelani won the “Best of PG 2019” a bi-annual competition to determine the top automotive glass technician in the PG Group.
Read that again. Thembelani, a humble young Makhandian (he lives with his mother in Fingo Village) won a national competition against the best of the best in SA. He travelled to Johannesburg (first time on an aeroplane) and competed against his peers from across the country, many of whom are older and more experienced than Thembelani.
The story does not end there. In June 2020 Thembelani will represent PG Glass South Africa in the bi-annual “Best of Belron” International Fitter of the Year held in Barcelona, Spain. The competition is hosted by Belron International the world’s largest Aftermarket replacement glass company. Representatives from 36 countries will be competing for the coveted International Fitter of the Year title.
Thembelani, you are a special young man and an outstanding ambassador for Makhanda, the Eastern Cape and South Africa. You can be proud of your achievements and the role-model you are to many in Makhanda. Wishing you the best for 2020. Stand tall and fly our flag high.
Warm congratulations to Tim Dold for giving Thembelani his work opportunity and guiding him to achieve as he has.
Gratitude to my colleagues Nick Smuts, Robyn Cooper and Cheryl Fischer who worked with Thembelani to produce the attached video for the “Best of Belron” competition.
GRAEME HOLMES
Before moving back to Grahamstown in Oct 2017, Graeme was a bank executive based in the big smoke and craziness of Joburg. He has 20 years’ experience in the Payments Industry. He is a Chartered Accountant, has a Masters in Management by Research (MMR) from Wits Business School, and attended an Advanced Management Programme (AMP) offered by INSEAD (The Business School for the World!) in France.
Graeme is the founder of The Grahamstown Project. It’s simple. He says, “Grahamstown is a microcosm of South Africa. If we can’t get this place to function properly then the whole country is stuffed. Many of the troubles we experience as a country today have their roots here in Grahamstown. it is here where black and white people first engaged in conflict on the African continent. It is here where 9 wars of dispossession over 100 years took place and virtually destroyed the amaXhosa nation. But we are where we are. I don’t have a British passport and the boat-trip back to where my ancestors came from is exorbitantly expensive. Furthermore, this is my home. I am a son of Africa. We must work together to redress the injustices of the past and move as one into a brighter future.”
Graeme is an avid historian, writer, vlogger and public speaker. Like and follow the Facebook page. Join him on a tour. Contact him. He would love that.