Perseverance, dedication and a heart of gold. This sums up Joanie Fredericks, an activist from Mitchells Plain who not only founded a driving school for women because she wanted to empower them, but also started paramedic training for women because ambulances were too scared to enter their area.
Recently the driving school celebrated the acquisition of its first car, after a year of fundraising.
Fredericks, the founder of Ladies Own Transport, registered the company, which has since provided learner classes and driver training to hundreds of women. When the project started last year she was overwhelmed by the huge response she received from women. The youngest student who registered for the classes was 17, with the oldest 64.
“For me it was great to see that all these women were eager to drive and become independent. Many women have since passed their driving licences. It is great because many of them come from disadvantaged communities. There was a huge need in the community for this driving school.
“Now, after the efforts of the women, we have our own car in which we can do the driver training. In making this dream become a reality we had to overcome a lot of struggles.
“I believe in humanity and have a passion for working with people. And I believe in the empowerment of people. When we recently unveiled the car there were shouts of jubilation and excitement.
“Some women also have cars but never went for driving lessons, so they did not learn to drive.
“Now they will be able, for instance, to drive to the mall to do their shopping,” Fredericks said.
“The first thing we did was pray and thank the Lord for the great blessing. I was once again reminded of our common humanity. I also want to thank all the women who attended our learner licence classes despite the tremendous challenges they were going through.
“One person who comes to mind is Nazeerah Moosa, who gave birth to three children with rare blood diseases. This brought us all to tears. And despite this she said she was going to be okay,” Fredericks said.
Last year the women also received free paramedic training from Emergency Medical Services. The training was provided because Tafelsig in Mitchells Plain is a red zone for ambulances.
Other red zones for ambulances are Nyanga, Manenberg, Gugulethu and Hanover Park. Paramedics have previously been attacked in the red zone areas.
The women who received the training can now do first aid in emergency situations and know how to save a person’s life in the event of a knife or gun wound.