Fire engine driver in top gear
IN ORDER to support her son, disabled mother and her siblings, 23-year-old Zusiphe Mehlomakhulu set her sights on entering a male-dominated field.
Today, she is the youngest woman fire engine driver in the Western Cape, according to Working on Fire (WOF).
Originally from the Eastern Cape, Mehlomakhulu now lives with her mother, son and siblings in Harare, Khayelitsha.
She joined WOF, a government-funded job-creation programme, in October 2014 and gained the skills to be a firefighter at WOF’s False Bay base. Nationally WOF employs more than 5 000 people, of whom 94% are young adults, 31% are women and 3% are disabled.
They are trained in fire awareness, prevention and suppression, health and safety, and communications. They are taught skills such as first aid, carpentry and cooking.
Mehlomakhulu decided she wanted to work hard to uplift herself during her time as a health and safety worker in 2015.
“In 2015, while my mother was still working, I started raising money to get my driver’s licence. Then my mother had an accident and lost her hand and couldn’t work anymore.
“Everyone was depending on me and my older brother to put food on the table, and provide for our family,” she said.
“I was focused and completed my learner’s licence in April 2016, and my code 10 licence in August 2016. In June last year, I completed the (fire engine) driver training course in Nelspruit and passed. In June this year I successfully completed my probation – I am a qualified driver for my team at the False Bay base,” she said.
Mehlomakhulu said she could be considered a single parent, but she had her family and colleagues behind her.
“My family and I never stopped supporting one another and that is what has kept me strong over the years.”
WOF, which falls under the Expanded Public Works Programme, is funded by the Department of Environmental Affairs. It runs an integrated fire management programme and has employed many youngsters from poor communities.