Laptop donation delivered by Ajimba supporting 9Miles Project in Cape Town.
My heavy parcel has travelled 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 broad smiles and cold, yet 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 organisation founded in Cape Town in 2013. The project works with young people from coastal informal settlements, providing mentoring and support for vulnerable youth in Cape Town, as well as in Elands Bay and St. Francis Bay. The project is a sanctuary for young people who have very few positive role models in their lives.
I unpacked the two donated Labdoo computers from my bag, amidst the quiet anticipation of the children. 9Miles Project offers after-school homework and literacy programmes, and the Labdoo laptops (there are now 4 in total) 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 to bridge the vast digital divide that the impoverished children from the informal settlements they come from experience every day.
The clubhouse also houses a foosball table and a table tennis table, a creative room where the children can do crafts and paint, 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 programmes, computer skills training, and development and nutrition programmes. 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 is plagued by crime and drugs. Nigel realised 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 organised activities or programmes to motivate and shape young, impressionable minds. Surfing was used as a catalyst to attract students to the project and to teach them discipline, determination and life skills.
The combination of surfing, life skills education and mentoring is a dynamic trio that builds lasting character, boosts self-esteem 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 9Miles Project is a fundraising campaign for a new minibus so that the children and teenagers can be transported safely from home to the clubhouse for educational and fun trips.
Ajimba African Tours works with organisations 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.
You can find more information in the video here.
