Hermanus  

The Area

Hermanus is a holiday town and there is very little industry in the area. There was a large influx of Xhosa people seeking work in the early ‘90s. But they soon realised that the jobs they were expecting just were not to be found – this has caused much frustration and greater poverty in the suburb of Zwelihle as the little infrastructure it did have could not cope with the population explosion. Zwelihle went from a small community of about 1 200 in 1990 to what it is today, a sprawling shanty town. According to Statistics SA, the population of Zwelihle was counted 6850 in 2001 and 35000 (Source: Overstrand Municipality) in December 2006. The number of unemployed and previously disadvantaged people in the town number approximately 18 000, of which roughly 9 746 live in Zwelihle, 5 280 in Hawston and 2 495 in Mount Pleasant (Figures from Dept. of Health for 2000). Among these groups, there is also a language difference – half have Xhosa as their first language and the other half Afrikaans.

WE HAVE MOVED INTO OUR NEW BUILDING!  SEE THE PHOTOGRAPH ON OUR HOMEPAGE.

LtE involvement

• Our Hermanus branch was founded in March 1999.
• Most of the training done is in sewing and there is a budding small business developing in the repair and making of abalone bags and baskets.
• Since April 2007, we have introduced a Home Management course which prepares students for work in the hospitality industry.
• In 2008, PetroSA donated R3.1million toward the construction of a training centre for LtE in Hermanus. Construction began in July 2008 and the facility should be ready for operation in February 2009.
• The Hermanus team were able to move into the new training building in May 2009!  Phase 2, the Coffee Shop, Retail outlet and entrepreneurial hives should be completed in July 2009.

The latest photographs from the building site (taken Friday, 17 October 2008)