Laptop donation delivered by Ajimba supports 9Miles Project in Cape Town.
My heavy package traveled 13,000 km with me and has finally reached its destination. I am excited to meet its recipients. Nikki, "Auntie Cal," and I are greeted by about 10 children in wet wetsuits with wide smiles and cold but soft hands, fresh from the chilly Atlantic. With a handshake and a clear, warm "Welcome, my name is...," they show us the 9Miles Project clubhouse right on Strandfontein Beach.
The 9Miles Project is a registered non-profit organization founded in Cape Town in 2013. The project works with youth from coastal informal settlements, providing mentoring and support to vulnerable young people in Cape Town, Elands Bay, and St. Francis Bay. The project is a sanctuary for youth who have very few positive role models in their lives.
I unpacked the two donated Labdoo computers in the midst of the children's silent anticipation. The 9Miles Project offers after-school homework and literacy programs, and the Labdoo laptops (there are now 4) are used alongside the existing desktop computers in the clubhouse computer lab. The children learn how to use the internet for assignments and projects, and the computers provide them with access to online learning and reading. They help bridge the significant digital divide that the impoverished children from the informal settlements face every day.
The clubhouse also houses a foosball table and a ping-pong table, a creative room where the children do crafts and painting, and a music room with guitars and African drums to let off steam when the sea doesn't allow for surfing. A small kitchen provides warm tea and daily meals, as surfing, swimming, and water sports can make them very hungry. For many, it is sometimes their only meal of the day!
In addition to surfing and swimming lessons, 9Miles offers supplementary academic support, literacy programs, computer literacy training, and development and nutrition programs. The children receive a mentor and support that reinforces and affirms the benefits of a positive and healthy lifestyle. This way, regardless of their situation, (almost) anything is possible!
Motivated by his love for surfing and the central role that the discipline of this activity played in his life, Nigel Savel, together with his wife Sher'Neil, started the project 6 years ago with the vision of improving their community, which was plagued by crime and drugs. Nigel realized that the children growing up in the surrounding informal settlements lived with gangsters and drug dealers as role models and that there were very few organized activities or programs to motivate and shape young, impressionable minds. Surfing was used as a catalyst to attract students to the project and teach them discipline, determination, and life skills.
The combination of surfing, life skills education, and mentoring is a dynamic trio that builds sustainable character, boosts self-worth, and develops a goal-oriented mindset.
The project, which runs on donations, is open 6 days a week and offers a safe and welcoming place to spend the afternoon. The next challenge for the 9Miles Project is a fundraiser for a new minibus so that the children and teenagers can be safely transported from home to the clubhouse for educational and fun trips.
Ajimba African Tours works with organizations like 9Miles to provide guests with personal encounters and insights into local life alongside their travel experiences. As part of this collaboration, Ajimba supports specific projects – as in this case, through a laptop donation.
