The Daily Dispatch spent last week hanging out with the Green Griffons in their area of work, the Mkambati Nature Reserve, and heard a few of their personal stories.
Abongile Paula Sodlula
Abongile Paula Sodlula, 26, from Mtshayelo village, is the mother of a young son.
She says that in her youth, conservation was an arcane subject “loved by white men” in a household run by women, particularly the unflinching matriarch of the family, her grandmother Nomvuso Bellinah Sodlula, who believed that when men abdicated their responsibilities, it was up to the women to lead.
“I was raised by my mother and grandmother,” Sodlula, whose mother died of pneumonia at 32, said.
Nomvuso took in her daughter’s three children, raising the family on social grants.
She drilled into them that education was the way out and so after Sodlula passed matric, she grabbed at a bursary offer from the Eastern Cape Parks and Tourism Agency (ECPTA) to study.
She studied hard for her advanced diploma in nature conservation at Mangosuthu University in Durban, eschewing the student lifestyle of partying.
Sodlula, at 20, had given birth to a son who was swept up under Nomvuso’s care with no recrimination, simply grim determination.
Her academic lessons were a revelation.
“I could see the links between my village and the need for environmental conservation.”
On completion, she was back at Mkambati working as an intern ranger for ECPTA.
Despite her passion and intelligence in the field, when it ended, she was back home, unemployed and applying for work as a supermarket packer or cleaner.
A call came from one of the ECPTA rangers saying the Green Griffons were starting, and she should put forward her CV.
She was called for an interview and made it through all the training and selection phases.
She feels she is in a place where she is “free to be me”.
The brutal physical training was difficult for all the women, but she saw the point of being “fit to survive”.
Her dream is to be an environment teacher, which is in the career path of the Griffons.
Encountering poachers, who are generally men, starts with polite greetings, then information on laws being broken and why those laws are good for the community which depends on a healthy reserve.
“Men will say ‘but we cannot be caught by female rangers’ to which I reply: ‘Yes, I am a woman, trained and hired to do this job’.”
Ironically, poachers are aware that what they are doing is unsustainable, “but people feel conservators are depriving them and we are doing it for the business owners”.
“We explain that this reserve is owned by the community, it is also for them.”
Abongile Sikhathele
Abongile Sikhathele, 34, from Khanyayo location outside the reserve gates, says about growing up without a father: “South African men are like that.”
Her family could not afford her high school fees, but with financial help from NSFAS, she managed to obtain a national certificate in travel and tourism from an FET college in Port Shepstone.
She went to Cape Town and worked as a cashier until tragedy struck. Her sickly mom died after being hit on the head by a boyfriend back home.
Sikhathele had to return to care for family, which included her own son.
The call to try out for the Green Griffons came through. She applied and succeeded — not without a major struggle.
“Everything in this group is about teamwork. If I eat, we all eat.”
She says women are excellent at their jobs.
“We are caring, we are reliable and we understand how conservation now is good for the next generation.
“We all know each other, can laugh and be loud, we can tease and we are supportive.”
But there comes the moment when someone needs to produce a fishing licence or comply with reserve rules, such as no littering.
“They say ‘but you are from our village! You are my neighbour’. I say no, this reserve is a tourism project for our village. We need the jobs.”
Yonela Mkhovani
Yonela Mkhovani, 33, from Cele Village, and the mother of a daughter, says growing up was tough. Her father was absent from her life.
Her mother fell ill and died when Mkhovani was 11.
Grandmother Makumbaza Madingi ran the family and even when money and food ran out and meals were skipped, would never stop encouraging the children to “stick to your studies”.
Mkhovani obtained her level 5 in business management but there was no work and she had to return home where she was unemployed for three years.
Then she got a job as a housekeeper for the ECPTA’s offices for a few weeks — and when the Green Griffons training opportunity arose she went for it and managed to pass the pre-selection tests, which were light training compared to what was coming.
She taps her side and says she was a bit heavy and when the training started for real, she suffered.
“In my heart, I said I am going to do this!”
And she did, shedding 12kg. In the village people would ask ‘Are you sick? What are they doing to you?’
The money is humble, and after she has sent money home for food, school fees and sets some aside as savings, she has R1,500 for herself.
Back home, grandmother Mndingi’s many prayers were answered and there was food on the table.
“She was so happy. She cried many tears,” Mkhovani said.
Daily Dispatch
