Quite appropriate in the month of Women’s Day is that this features two remarkable ladies who feel that there is no better BBBEE than they have received through the ABET experience. They are genuinely empowered through ABET. They have both been working in the ABET field for 15 years and have owned their own ABET Agencies since 2005.
Bertha Moitse has owns her own ABET Agency and supplies her services to Triple E exclusively. She is the breadwinner of her family of three children who she has managed to educate and support. “ABET has changed me incredibly,” she says. “My own skills of communication and problem-solving have improved greatly through ABET. I read a lot and I help my own children and friends with their school work. People in my neighbourhood ask my advice about training and education and their children’s career-pathing, all the time.” Bertha believes that this is true black economic empowerment because ABET and owing an agency allows her to reach whole communities; deal with many different people and face new challenges every day.
“I am constantly learning myself and I can impart more knowledge than ever before.” She says although she’s near retirement age, retirement is just not an option. The other aspect of true black economic empowerment is that fact that she has the capability of facilitating both fundamentals learning areas, English Communication and Mathematical Literacy, Numeracy. She has vast experience in both these areas. She prefers to take her learners for a number of ABET levels, because she believes that as they grow with her she can tap into their potential even more. Bertha encourages current affairs discussion, uses magazines and newspaper to stimulate the ABET lessons and always starts with the “known” and then introduces the “unknown.” There is no better BBBEE than through ABET.
Other facilitators and new ABET Agency owners
Bertha’s advice to other facilitators and new ABET Agency owners, is to be fully prepared in all aspects; administration, lesson plans, current affairs and subject matter expertise. New ABET facilitators must make certain that their subject matter expertise is up to date at all times. She adds, “Never walk into a classroom ill-prepared because you will fail a whole group of adults as well as yourself.”Maria Makhele is highly skilled in both ABET Communication/English and Maths/Numeracy at all ABET levels and has offered her services to Triple E Training Holdings (Pty) Ltd since 2005. She thoroughly enjoys the fact that she changes lives on a daily basis. She says one of her most empowering moments is when she sees her learners reading and interpreting their salary slips with understanding for the first time. Many of Maria’s learners work in maintenance departments and the fact that they understand the instructions, meetings and information around them, through ABET, is true empowerment. “Not only are we empowered through ABET, our learners are too,” she says.
Her ABET journey started in a queue at the Department of Home Affairs. She noticed a young man sitting in one corner with a queue of people waiting to see him. This young man in fact was helping others to fill in their forms. She said something just hit her and she knew immediately that she wanted to take this man’s job away, not by sitting in that corner, but by educating adults through ABET. Her passion for educating adults through ABET is tangible. She made “Helping people” her personal mantra and believes she does this best through ABET. “One of my learners was promoted three times after he progressed through the ABET levels,“ she exclaims. She sees the learners all over the city and they never hesitate to greet and chat to her.
Her advice to people thinking about owning an ABET Agency is that they must have the passion for development and learning. “You need to really love what you do because you will have to hide your frustration at times, be patient and constantly think of news way to assist people over stumbling blocks.” She believes that if you do not a heart for this field of ABET, you should not pursue it at all!
In tribute to these remarkable women of ABET empowerment:
“Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.” (Vince Lombardi)
No better BBBEE than through ABET
Maria Makhele has proven over many years that she has a heart for education and training, and especially ABET. She feels truly empowered by having her own ABET Agency and her mantra is to HELP OTHERS.
