Nengwenani an inspiration to young rural women

At a time when women are celebrated in the country, some women who are pioneers and making strides in their chosen fields remain in the background.

Ms Livhuwani Nengwenani has become a classic example that, no matter one's background, nothing is impossible in life with dedication and determination.

Born and bred in rural Tshisahulu outside Thohoyandou, the 28-year-old, who now stays in Kempton Park, is the only woman Aircraft Avionics Engineering Technician at the South African Airways (SAA) Technical, which is perceived to be a male-only domain.

Her day-to-day schedule involves repairing, inspecting, troubleshooting and replacing avionic or electrical equipment and components on aircrafts. This includes working on systems such as radio, radar and navigation.

She is not only a technician, but also a philanthropist as she has adopted female pupils at secondary schools at her home villages of Duthuni and Tshisahulu, where she gives the disadvantaged sanitary pads from time to time. She will also pay for the matric dance expenses of two needy but hardworking pupils this year.

She landed at the SAA as an apprentice in 2012 and, upon completion of her training, she was lucky to get a permanent post there in 2014. She has never looked back. "I love my job so much. We are working with the safety of people. People's lives are in our hands, and we do our best that all aircrafts are always serviced.”

She added that what she loved about her job was that it was demanding and interesting. “Here I never stop learning new things. The challenging part is that all the tasks must be carried out within a stipulated time to ensure on-time departures and minimum delays," she said.

She further indicated that the biggest challenge that women faced in a workplace like hers, which is male-dominated, is that they must work twice as hard to prove that they can do the job and prove all the critics wrong.

"My message to all young women out there is that it is possible, it doesn’t matter where you were born. I’m still the only woman in the department I’m working at, and the youngest technician.”

News - Date: 20 August 2018

Elmon Tshikhudo

Elmon Tshikhudo started off as a photographer. He developed an interest in writing and started submitting articles to local as well as national publications. He became part of the Limpopo Mirror family in 2005 and was a permanent part of the news team until 2019.

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