Klawer, a town known for its prolific display of wildflowers, is located about 240km north of Cape Town on the right bank of the Olifants River in the Matzikama municipality. Klawer gets its name from an Afrikaans word that means a type of wild clover. The farms that surround Klawer employ most of the residents.
With a population of about 6 234 residents in 1 680 households, Klawer is like any other small town that struggles with unemployment and social ills. The youth have found an outlet in sports such as rugby, soccer, and netball to keep them busy after school.
The Klawer WCG eCentre opened its doors in March 2008 in the St. James Church with 1 administrator and 7 computers. After it relocated to the local community hall, it officially relaunched on 22 October 2011.
The eCentre has grown since it opened and serves between 400 and 600 users monthly. It provides relief because all the services are free, and they also help with searching for vacancies, typing CVs or any other documents, scanning, making copies and applying for social grants. Students use the eCentre to do their school projects with the assistance of the staff.
According to the eCentre manager, they treat everyone like family and assist them in the best way possible and with know-how. “We try to provide a service with a smile to each user and make them feel welcome from the moment they set foot in our building.”
Some of the success stories in the Klawer WCG eCentre include the stories of Celest Lindert, the staff assisted her in 2009 to apply at Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT). She received a scholarship and is now permanently employed as a Grade R teacher at Vergenoeg Primary School in Vredendaal.
Patricia Afrika also used the eCentre services to complete several computer courses and applied to different Universities to further her studies. Today she is in her second year studying Education at the University of the Western Cape (UWC). The staff, services, and facilities the eCentre offers also helped Monica Bottom, a regular user who is now busy with her ICDL training at the eCentre. She works for Klawer as a ward councillor. The eCentre assisted a few users who now work for mines and government agencies.
Services:
Contact the eCentre:
Alpha Street
Klawer Community Hall
Klawer
8145
Email: klawer.ecentre@gmail.com
Telephone: 027 216 1740
Operating hours
Monday - Friday
09:00 – 17:00
Saturday
09:00 – 12:00
Visit the WCG eCentres website for more information.