Four years ago Veronica Namane and her colleagues were retrenched as miners at Ashanti Gold Mine in Carletonville West of Johannesburg. This left them without any means to support their families. But Namane was not going to allow that to stand on her way to find an alternative source of income for them.
She roped in Mahlatse Tshonyane and Sindi Wanda together they founded the Bambisandla – Sami Centre of Excellence in Western Deep Levels, Carletonville.
Namane said "I was one of the employees affected by retrenchment after the downsizing of the Mine due to the decline of the economy in the sector. I was a Manager, my portfolio included skills development for people with disabilities. Following retrenchment, I saw an opportunity to establish an institution that will benefit society at large. I wrote a proposal to Ashanti Gold Mine management and they were impressed with the concept. They approved it, they also permitted us to use a mining facility which was dysfunctional"
"The facilities used to be a residence for Anglo Gold Ashanti employees with disabilities. The area is wheelchair accessible. It became vacant after employees with disabilities were relocated to Free State, the facility was supposed to be demolished. They are now being put to good use to train former miners and the community in clothing manufacturing, hospitality training such as professional cooks and animals and plant production by the Bambisandla-Sami Centre of Excellence. It is an accredited training facility and is funded by the Gauteng Department of Social Development, SETA, and Ashanti Gold Mine.
Namane said "We are still going strong because of them and we would like this centre to become a FET College.
Furthermore, we would like to expand into other business ventures to ensure the youth and broader community gain access to economic opportunities in our Centre".