Cape Town - Hendrik Baadjies and Raymond Carolus are the first Matjiesfontein residents to get involved in the South African National Space Agency (Sansa) deep space ground station project through the company responsible for geotechnical investigations at the site.
Born and bred in Matjiesfontein, though 10 years apart, Baadjies and Carolus both attended school until Grade 6; they are married with three kids each, they are both skilled in painting, brick laying and carpentry; and their livelihood typically depends on odd jobs in the construction and road works industries around the Laingsburg Municipality.
The pair was recommended to get involved in work at the site by community developer, Riaan Willemse.
“My hopes and dreams of being part of this project have come true,” Carolus said. “I have semi skills in carpentry, plumbing, painting, and a Code 14 licence for driving trucks. I can manage a crane mounted on a truck and know how to use a water truck and ready-mix truck. I believe this project is an opportunity to use these skills. I am in the age group of 50+ and jobs are not readily available for me. It also means that sometimes I have to work far from home.
“As a community, we are behind financially and economically because of few projects happening in the area. Matjiesfontein is also far from shops and banks, so people struggle to put food on the table. Things are difficult at the moment, but the Sansa project has brought us hope. It gives us the assurance that God is still out there and he answered our prayers.”
Baadjies sees a bright future for the project and the youth in the community.
“This project will create a beautiful future for the Matjiesfontein community, especially for the young people. The whole community, old and young, is looking forward to the change it will bring. I hope it will create permanent jobs,” he said.
When asked why he recommended the pair, Willemse said they were both reliable and hard-working individuals.
“Importantly, they are very excited and positive-minded about more work to follow.”
Sansa Business Development Manager Tiaan Strydom said they believe that the Matjiesfontein ground station would stimulate economic activity by increasing tourism in the area and encouraging entrepreneurship.
“It has been our intention from the beginning to ensure that the community benefits in some shape or form, directly or indirectly, from our activities in the area,” Strydom said.
The new Matjiesfontein deep space ground station aims to fulfil Sansa’s ambition to develop deep space exploration infrastructure with sophisticated equipment for communication with satellites, probes, rockets and terrestrial planets.
Eventually, the site will form part of National Aeronautics and Space Administration (Nasa) Lunar Exploration Ground Sites.
Cape Times