SANDF unveils community centre at Tek Base
The forum seeks to build a healthy resilient military community by providing a lifetime legacy project to its dependents.
The South African National Defence Force (SANDF) Spouses Forum unveiled the community centre on Friday at Tek Base, Pretoria.
The programme started at 08:00 with members of the military community partaking in a fun walk to raise awareness for the opening of the community centre.
The forum unveiled the community centre with the theme: Promoting Resilience in Military Families.
The Military Command Council and members of the SANDF Spouses Forum also visited the Kiddies college, a military educational centre at Tek Base.
The forum is under the leadership of the chairperson, Sibusisiwe Shoke, and various members from Gauteng attended the ceremony.
“The centre is aimed at providing a safe place for the military community and the idea is to have establishments of this kind in military communities all over the country,” Shoke said.
“We want to provide services to the children of the military community such as recreational and educational services.”
She said the centre will offer all of these services under one roof and kitchen and gardening facilities will also be available to use by the unemployed members of the community.
“These services also include baking ventures for those who can bake but have no facilities available to them.”
Among services to be provided by the centre is producing vegetables from their vegetable garden, sewing and beading projects, such as a soup kitchen and a recreational area.
Members of the Military Command Council and defence attachés also attended and honoured the event.
Secretary for Defence, Gladys Sonto Kudjoe, delivered an official address after the unveiling ceremony, articulating the idea behind the establishment of the centre.
“SANDF Spouses Forum has always been the support behind the military community through worthy-cause community outreach programmes. The forum seeks to build a healthy resilient military community by providing a lifetime legacy project to its dependents,” Kudjoe said.
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Kudjoe said her department will support the spouse’s forum wherever and in every way they possibly can, whether it be with advice of finances.
She encouraged the various spouse’s forums of the province to draft their proposal budgets and submit it to her department in order to see how and where they can assist.
Roleen Saaiman, spokesperson for Johannesburg Spouses Forum, was also present with her team.
Saaiman said it was encouraging to know they can rely on the department’s assistance.
“We do similar projects. We have a bakery, various sewing projects, and a vegetable garden. We also have a poultry project going.”
Zoleka Gcaza from Centurion Spouses Forum, who has a sewing project, was also encouraged by the opening of the community centre at Tek Base.
“It is good to see that progress is made in one’s community and development takes place. There is scope for improvement of the community’s living conditions.”
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