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Grocott’s <strong>Mail</strong> Friday, 31 July 2009<br />

Feature<br />

7<br />

An empowered woman<br />

ynthia Nyama<br />

What you see is<br />

what you get!”<br />

she says as she<br />

uts on her helmet and gets<br />

eady for the job at hand.<br />

ynne Kent is no ordinary<br />

4-year-old woman, she does<br />

ne of those jobs that women<br />

ardly ever think of – she is<br />

health and safety officer<br />

nd electrician on construcion<br />

sites. At first glance she<br />

oesn’t look more than 17<br />

ears old, but Kent is one of<br />

nly two female electricians<br />

n the whole of the Eastern<br />

ape. Born and bred in Port<br />

lizabeth, she comes from a<br />

mall, close-knit family of four,<br />

wo boys and two girls.<br />

When one thinks of<br />

eing an electrician a dangerus<br />

mass of cables springs<br />

o mind, not to mention the<br />

at chance of being fried to<br />

shes by just by one jolt. But<br />

or Kent, handling those tricky<br />

ables is all in a day’s work. At<br />

resent her and her crew are<br />

orking on the construction<br />

ite of the Rhodes University<br />

ain Library building a new<br />

ing onto the library.<br />

As a graduate of NMMU<br />

he decided to venture into<br />

he industry encouraged by<br />

er older brother, Vernon Rosouw.<br />

Through training with<br />

ig companies subcontracted<br />

y Rossouw she got her foot in<br />

he door. She says from as eary<br />

as six years old, she had alays<br />

been fascinated by how<br />

echanical things work, takng<br />

apart her toys and putting<br />

hem back together again.<br />

While growing up she says<br />

er brother “motivated me<br />

nd told me to study, do courss<br />

and enhance myself.<br />

He also told me that this<br />

ndustry will never die out, it<br />

as great potential for growth<br />

nd can empower you as a<br />

oman.”<br />

When her parents passed<br />

way six years ago, she was<br />

till at school but this did not<br />

eter her although it meant<br />

that finance would be a challenge.<br />

Kent studied through<br />

the Masters Builders Association<br />

in Port Elizabeth and<br />

qualified as an electrician.<br />

She also completed Health<br />

and Safety courses and qualified<br />

as a health and safety<br />

representative officer. After<br />

doing her practical training<br />

at the new world soccer stadium<br />

in Port Elizabeth, she<br />

was brought on board at the<br />

“... it’s a working environment<br />

we have respect for each other<br />

and our roles are well defined. ”<br />

Rhodes Library construction<br />

site. She calls this project “her<br />

baby” as she is responsible for<br />

the health and safety of the<br />

workers and has been working<br />

on the site right from the<br />

beginning.<br />

Her face changes to that<br />

of serious, deep thinker when<br />

asked about what she dislikes<br />

most. She answers forcefully:<br />

“The attitude of the youth of<br />

today, by not doing anything to<br />

educate and empower themselves”.<br />

According to Kent the government<br />

makes information<br />

and resources available to our<br />

youth but they all too often<br />

“turn to prostitution, drugs<br />

and sugar daddies for attention<br />

and money”. This leads<br />

MAKANA MUNICIPALITY<br />

MUNICIPAL NOTICE<br />

INTERRUPTION IN WATER SUPPLY<br />

This notice serves to inform the general public that due to maintenance<br />

work on water lines, there will be interruption in the water<br />

supply on Sunday, 02 August 2009 between 08:00 and 17:00. The<br />

following areas will be affected:<br />

• extension 6<br />

• extension 7<br />

Any inconvenience thAt will be cAused by this<br />

ArrAngement is regretted.<br />

ms. n.l. bAArt<br />

municiPAl mAnAger<br />

Notice No: 95 of 2009<br />

HARD-HEADED WOMAN... Health and safety officer Lynne Kent on site at the Rhodes Library.<br />

Kent is also an electician and gives all the men in the industry a run for their money, respectfully<br />

of course. Photo: Cynthia Nyama<br />

to the high crime rate and “it<br />

really ticks me off” she says.<br />

She says often the youth of today<br />

are “lazy, they want everything<br />

to fall in their laps.”<br />

I ask her if she ever<br />

feels intimidated by being in<br />

charge of men old enough to<br />

be her father or her grandfather.<br />

She laughs and quickly<br />

says, “No, I don’t feel that at<br />

all because it’s a working environment<br />

we have respect<br />

for each other and our roles<br />

are well defined. Of course<br />

you do get one or two guys<br />

that want to challenge you. “I<br />

don’t worry about that, l just<br />

put them in their place.”<br />

Every Wednesday at exactly<br />

1.15pm she does something<br />

that she calls a tool box<br />

stock where she educates<br />

the workers about health<br />

and safety issues and talks<br />

through their problems with<br />

GBS MUTUAL BANK<br />

Assistant Accountant<br />

A position exists in the Accounts<br />

Department. The applicant should either<br />

have a formal accounting qualification<br />

with a minimum of 5 years experience<br />

or at least 10 years experience in<br />

a related field.<br />

Application forms available at reception.<br />

Closing date 7 August 2009<br />

The DR Wynne School of Music is an integral part of the Diocesan School<br />

for Girls and St Andrew’s College and is one of the most exciting school<br />

music departments in the country, offering students a diversity of musical<br />

experiences.<br />

Applications from suitably qualified and motivated teachers are invited for the<br />

post of<br />

DIRECTOR OF MUSIC<br />

St Andrew’s College<br />

Job Responsibilities:<br />

• Work closely in a shared department with the Director of<br />

Music DSG<br />

• School orchestra or Chapel Music or Choir<br />

• Experience in strings and piano would be an advantage.<br />

Applications, including a detailed CV and the names and contact<br />

details of two referees, should reach Mrs Kay Robinson by<br />

Friday 28 August 2009 at PO Box 182, Grahamstown, 6140.<br />

E-mail: k.robinson@sacschool.com Tel: 046 603 2300<br />

Fax: 046 603 2381<br />

All applications will be treated in strict confidence. The schools reserve the right not to<br />

proceed with the filling of the post. An application in itself does not entitle the applicant<br />

to an interview. The successful candidate will be required to start in January 2010.<br />

www.sacschool.com<br />

them (whether they personal<br />

or work-related); empowering<br />

them and helping them maintain<br />

high standards.<br />

“My dear, men in Grahamstown<br />

are not used to working<br />

with women, let alone being<br />

bossed around by one. They<br />

are so stereotypical, they believe<br />

women cannot tell them<br />

what to do, worse still with me<br />

being small, I had to assert<br />

myself, I put them in their<br />

place by defining our roles, so<br />

now we respect each other,”<br />

she says. Kent looks forward<br />

to completing the project so<br />

she can say:<br />

“I was at the core of this<br />

project, a pioneer of a project<br />

of such magnitude”. We take<br />

a tour of the site and she<br />

demonstrates all the safety<br />

checks and the cables she<br />

sorts through to ensure that<br />

they are connected correctly.<br />

We climb down a tricky piece<br />

scaffolding and I think, at least<br />

she isn’t scared of heights!<br />

Her brother Roussouw<br />

also happens to be the manager<br />

of the company she<br />

works for. I asked him what<br />

DANCE TEACHER<br />

he thought about women being<br />

artisans and what sort of<br />

qualities one should have to<br />

excel in this field.<br />

He says, “To be an artisan,<br />

women need to have the right<br />

attitude, because this is a fast<br />

paced field”. He is also working<br />

with government initiatives<br />

for women electricians,<br />

giving women a fair chance to<br />

empower themselves.<br />

He acknowledges that<br />

this world can be difficult for<br />

women, as they have to carry<br />

ladders and other heavy<br />

equipment and sometimes<br />

have to deal with men who<br />

speak coarsely, but “most importantly<br />

you need to have the<br />

right physique and physical<br />

make up”.<br />

It is clear that Kent has<br />

what it takes. This is reflected<br />

in the advice she gives to<br />

young people:<br />

“If you have passion for<br />

a certain field, go for it right<br />

from the start, don’t chop and<br />

change, don’t go looking for<br />

comfortable jobs. If you give<br />

it your best, you will reap the<br />

rewards someday.”<br />

PUBLIC LECTURE<br />

Department of Environmental Science<br />

Francis E. “Jack” Putz<br />

Professor of Biology and Forestry,<br />

University of Florida and Visting Professor,<br />

Environmental Science, Rhodes University<br />

Eden Grove Red, Friday 31 July 6:30 PM<br />

TRADEOFFS ENROUTE TO SUSTAINABLE NATURAL<br />

RESOURCE MANAGEMENT: CARBON, TIMBER,<br />

AND BIODIVERSITY<br />

St Andrew’s College and the Diocesan School for Girls, exciting educational<br />

environments and schools with immense tradition, invite applications for the<br />

position of:<br />

Job Responsibilities:<br />

• Arts and Culture dance: Grade 8 and 9 girls and boys.<br />

• FET Dance Studies: majoring in Ballet and Contemporary<br />

dance.<br />

• Royal Academy of Dance Ballet training: Pre-primary and<br />

Advanced Open Contemporary Classes<br />

The purchase of a dance company is a possibility.<br />

Applications, including a detailed CV and the names and contact<br />

details of two referees, should reach Mrs Fran Gradwell by<br />

Friday 28 August 2009 at PO Box 194, Grahamstown, 6140.<br />

E-mail: f.gradwell@dsgschool.com<br />

Tel: 046 603 4300 Fax: 046 636 2363<br />

All applications will be treated in strict confidence. The schools reserve the right not to<br />

proceed with the filling of the post. An application in itself does not entitle the applicant<br />

to an interview. The successful candidate will be required to start in January 2010.<br />

www.sacschool.com<br />

www.ru.ac.za<br />

www.dsgschool.com

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