May 2020

Veronice Cloete, a local Concordia resident, believes so strongly that she can make a difference in the lives of young children that she has moved heaven and earth to study, so that she can qualify as an Early Childhood Development (ECD) practitioner and start working in her community.

This 35-year old mother of two daughters did not have the opportunity to continue her studies after High School due to financial constraints, but seized the chance last year to apply to Kangnas Wind Farm for study support and is now ready to complete her studies and start working.

“Due to the COVID-19 pandemic I have been unable to complete my NQF Level 4 ECD course as we are unable to attend contact sessions with our facilitator. The graduation ceremony has been shifted out to next year, so I need to wait until 2021 to complete and graduate with NQF Level 5,” explained Veronice.

She adds, “Our Level 5 modules would have commenced in April, but due to COVID-19 we were unable to start and my plans to start working as an ECD practitioner have been postponed indefinitely.”

Veronice enrolled at a training academy in 2019 for an NQF Level 4 Early Childhood Development course but could not start her studies, due to a lack of finances. This is when she applied to Kangnas Wind Farm and was able to begin her course, albeit 3-months behind the rest of her class. Through hard work and long hours of studying, she caught up with the rest of her class.

This work ethic and tenacity has won her high praise from her facilitator, who describes her as very thorough and diligent.

“Early 2019, through a formal call for applications that form part of our Socio-Economic Development Programme, our advertisements targeted a number of Namaqualand communities. We were pleased to announce bursary funding for Veronice and one other applicant, as part of our early spend budget, as our wind farm is still in construction,” said Cheryl Persensie, Economic Development Manager at Kangnas Wind Farm.

At this point in time, Veronice, along with her fellow students, are waiting for formal communication from the tertiary institution to confirm when classes will resume.

“Kangnas Wind Farm plays a big role in my life because due to their support I am on my way to becoming an ECD practitioner, which is why I am extremely grateful,” concluded Veronice.