The sailors are in town and this weekend the people of East London will get a chance to go aboard one of the navy’s newest submarines.
The visit is part of World Hydrography celebrations. Hydrography is the study and science of mapping oceans beds.
As part of the celebrations, sailors helped bring improvements to Nyameko High School in Mdantsane.
Commander Greyling van den Berg said Nyameko was selected because one of their senior officers, Rear Admiral Nomonde Gogi-Gumede, was a former pupil.
The refurbishments include a brand new steel container, fitted and fixed to be a kitchen; the painting of all the classrooms; fixing of electrical connections in one of the classrooms; and basic repairs to the school toilets.
Other gifts handed over included desks, books and shelves. One of the sailors also presented a short class on hydrography. There was also a brief precision drill display.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday, the Mdantsane-born Gogi-Gumede said she was grateful the navy chief agreed to adopt Nyameko because it meant she would be working at a place close to her heart.
“I initially thought of identifying a creche near East London but when I was told our work would have greater impact at a high school, I thought of my old school,” she said.
Nyameko High School principal Thulani Mahlambeni, also a past pupil, said it was a difficult but necessary decision to turn the computer lab into a kitchen because they had no other space.
“So today we have essentially received two things – a kitchen and a computer lab because we can now move the nutrition stuff to the kitchen and the lab will be able to go back to its original purpose,” said Mahlambeni.
Grade 12 pupil Samkele Bokolo said he has been exposed to more opportunities than he thought were available to him and that the hydrography class had helped him decide what to study next year.
The rest of the celebrations will continue tonight with the navy band giving a free concert at the Orient Theatre.
There will be a street parade tomorrow starting at 11am at the city hall. The two ships and the submarine – SAS Protea, SAS Isandlwana, and SAS Manthathisi – will be open to the public between 9am and 5pm both tomorrow and Sunday.
SAS Manthathisi is the first of the new SA Navy submarines and is visiting East London for the first time. — ziphon@dispatch.co.za
The Navy is here!
The visit is part of World Hydrography celebrations. Hydrography is the study and science of mapping oceans beds.
As part of the celebrations, sailors helped bring improvements to Nyameko High School in Mdantsane.
Commander Greyling van den Berg said Nyameko was selected because one of their senior officers, Rear Admiral Nomonde Gogi-Gumede, was a former pupil.
The refurbishments include a brand new steel container, fitted and fixed to be a kitchen; the painting of all the classrooms; fixing of electrical connections in one of the classrooms; and basic repairs to the school toilets.
Other gifts handed over included desks, books and shelves. One of the sailors also presented a short class on hydrography. There was also a brief precision drill display.
Speaking to the Daily Dispatch yesterday, the Mdantsane-born Gogi-Gumede said she was grateful the navy chief agreed to adopt Nyameko because it meant she would be working at a place close to her heart.
“I initially thought of identifying a creche near East London but when I was told our work would have greater impact at a high school, I thought of my old school,” she said.
Nyameko High School principal Thulani Mahlambeni, also a past pupil, said it was a difficult but necessary decision to turn the computer lab into a kitchen because they had no other space.
“So today we have essentially received two things – a kitchen and a computer lab because we can now move the nutrition stuff to the kitchen and the lab will be able to go back to its original purpose,” said Mahlambeni.
Grade 12 pupil Samkele Bokolo said he has been exposed to more opportunities than he thought were available to him and that the hydrography class had helped him decide what to study next year.
The rest of the celebrations will continue tonight with the navy band giving a free concert at the Orient Theatre.
There will be a street parade tomorrow starting at 11am at the city hall. The two ships and the submarine – SAS Protea, SAS Isandlwana, and SAS Manthathisi – will be open to the public between 9am and 5pm both tomorrow and Sunday.
SAS Manthathisi is the first of the new SA Navy submarines and is visiting East London for the first time. — ziphon@dispatch.co.za
Would you like to comment on this article?
Register (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.
Trending Now
Latest Videos