Kwanokuthula e-Centre and Cape Access is brigding the technology gap

In 1968 during the apartheid era, people of colour were moved from the inner city of Plettenberg Bay to New Horizons, an area on the outskirts of the city. In the 1980s a settlement, Kwanokuthula, meaning “place of peace” in isiXhosa, started on the edges of New Horizons. Kwanokuthula, mostly populated by Xhosa migrants, in the beginning, is now home to different ethnic groups from the surrounding areas of Bossiesgif, Qolweni, and the Eastern Cape.
 
Like many settlements in the Western Cape, the people of Kwanokuthula experience socio-economic hardships, but the Kwanokuthula e-Centre in collaboration with the Cape Access Programme wants to change this. Accessible information and communication technologies (ICT) for the community also brings with it the opportunity to learn new skills. Another bonus for the disadvantaged community is that the e-Centre facilities are free of charge.
 
The e-Centre opened on 21 March 2014, offering services to everyone. The centre assist the youth with school-related tasks, young adults and adults with searching for jobs online and older people with research on retirement UIF, pension funds, and more.
 
Services
•    Internet access (45 minutes a session).
•    E-mail facilities.
•    Help setting up e-mail accounts.
•    Online job searches and applications.
•    Computer assistance.
•    Free printing (maximum of 10 pages a day).

Training
•    e-Learner: comes with an entry-level accredited certificate.
•    International Computer Driving Licence (ICDL): seven-month accredited course.
•    Informal computer training.
 
The staff empowers the community and address workforce development by upskilling specifically for technology-related employment opportunities. The Kwanokuthula e-Centre manager, Lundi Gcanga proudly shares some of the success stories at the e-Centre.
 
“Athenkosi Saneti was unable to study after matric. He often came to the e-Centre to search for work online. Our development manager Precious Oliphant told him about the South African Defence Force (SANDF) and their intake programme. Saneti showed interested in the programme and applied. He later called us to share the good news that he is now working for the SANDF", Gcanga said.
 
Nomanani Williams is another of the e-Centres success stories. “She did basic computer and e-learner training and registered for the Management Assistant course at the South Cape college. She passed her Computer Practice and Information processing and said her training at the e-Centre made it easier for her to pass those subjects. She thanked us for helping.”, Gcanga added.
 
The e-Centre helped another user Sibulele Gwe, a trained paramedic, who was struggling to find work in the area. He used the facilities at the centre and applied online for positions. Now he is successfully employed as a paramedic in Knysna.
 
The Kwanokuthula e-Centre staff is proud of the facility and believe in looking out for the community and equipping the people with skills that can empower them. “We provide study rooms for users who are easily distracted by noise and movement around them, for example, the FET students and UNISA students. Our centre staff can communicate in more than 3 South African languages and can assist our diverse users in the language that they are comfortable with,” Gcanga goes on describing the e-Centres service and dedication to the community.  
 
Visit the Kwanokuthula e-Centre at the Simunye Thusong Centre in Xipula Street where the dedicated staff are ready to assist.
 
Contact:
Tel: 044 533 0907
Email: Kwanokuthula.ecentre@gmail.com
Operating hours:
Monday – Friday: 08:30 – 16:30 (closed on Public Holidays)