Faeeza Mahomed (left) and Thembisa Nonnies have now received their official certificates and badges as trained tour guides. They are presently employed by the Aberdeen Heritage Archive and Tourism Bureau, to whom they are grateful for this opportunity given to them.
After studying for their certification and attending classes in Port Elizabeth under the tutorship of Mrs Shirley Naude, a lecturer for “Drumbeat Academy” and a Port Elizabeth Tour Guide, Thembisa and Faeeza are looking forward to sharing their knowledge with tourists and the general public of Aberdeen, Lotusville and Thembalisizwe.
Part of their studies was to create and present an individual project to Mrs Naude, of a guided tour around Aberdeen and surrounding areas, with an in depth knowledge of all the historical aspects of this area. Their studies also included a theory and practical first aid course, which has been made compulsory by the government for any person undertaking the duty of a tour guide. This course has to be taken again in two years to upgrade and re-qualify.
Whilst in Port Elizabeth, Thembisa and Faeeza were taken on a city tour of all the historical sites, a tour of Algoa Bay and were also shown around the “Kragga Kamma” game reserve.
The Aberdeen Cemetery has been a focal point of their research up to date. They have now achieved a computerized documentation of every grave site in the cemetery, with all available historical details, and this has been fundamental in assisting people world wide in researching their ancestors and soldiers from different countries who were buried here.
The well known author Wendy Van Schalkwyk has been of tremendous assistance to Thembisa and Faeeza. In the first week of December, Wendy took them to visit farms in the Camdeboo area. They were fortunate enough to visit Skietfontein, Eureka, Komskloof, Ouplaas and Karoo Rivier.
Their work is now expanding to other areas, and they are busy identifying historical sites in Thembalisizwe, where they are hoping to gain interest and assistance from the Municipality in maintaining these sites. Glimpses of stories are being revealed to them by local residents as they work at identifying all aspects of this historically rich area. These two tour guides are working industriously at gathering the history of Aberdeen and surrounding areas. All this information is being managed and stored on computers which is being archived and can be shown as a ‘slide show’.
After studying for their certification and attending classes in Port Elizabeth under the tutorship of Mrs Shirley Naude, a lecturer for “Drumbeat Academy” and a Port Elizabeth Tour Guide, Thembisa and Faeeza are looking forward to sharing their knowledge with tourists and the general public of Aberdeen, Lotusville and Thembalisizwe.
Part of their studies was to create and present an individual project to Mrs Naude, of a guided tour around Aberdeen and surrounding areas, with an in depth knowledge of all the historical aspects of this area. Their studies also included a theory and practical first aid course, which has been made compulsory by the government for any person undertaking the duty of a tour guide. This course has to be taken again in two years to upgrade and re-qualify.
Whilst in Port Elizabeth, Thembisa and Faeeza were taken on a city tour of all the historical sites, a tour of Algoa Bay and were also shown around the “Kragga Kamma” game reserve.
The Aberdeen Cemetery has been a focal point of their research up to date. They have now achieved a computerized documentation of every grave site in the cemetery, with all available historical details, and this has been fundamental in assisting people world wide in researching their ancestors and soldiers from different countries who were buried here.
The well known author Wendy Van Schalkwyk has been of tremendous assistance to Thembisa and Faeeza. In the first week of December, Wendy took them to visit farms in the Camdeboo area. They were fortunate enough to visit Skietfontein, Eureka, Komskloof, Ouplaas and Karoo Rivier.
Their work is now expanding to other areas, and they are busy identifying historical sites in Thembalisizwe, where they are hoping to gain interest and assistance from the Municipality in maintaining these sites. Glimpses of stories are being revealed to them by local residents as they work at identifying all aspects of this historically rich area. These two tour guides are working industriously at gathering the history of Aberdeen and surrounding areas. All this information is being managed and stored on computers which is being archived and can be shown as a ‘slide show’.
Article By: Joan Tinker
