UBUNTU LIES AT THE HEART OF GRABOUW COMMUNITY

March 2021, Klipheuwal Wind Farm.

The small community of Grabouw will soon have its own resident female dentist. 24-year old Jillian Uren, who successfully achieved a Bachelor of Dental Surgery at the end of last year, is doing her community service at St Apollinaris Hospital in Kwa-Zulu Natal, before heading back to her home to work and serve her community.

“Dentistry has always been something I’ve wanted to do – it’s such a beautiful career for women, especially if you want to have a family one day. It’s also a great profession to specialise and I have also considered the demand in my community. There are only two older dentists in Grabouw and neither of them are women, so I would like to take up this role within the community that I come from in the not too distant future,” explained Jillian, who studied dentistry with the financial support of a Klipheuwel Wind Farm Bursary, at the University of the Western Cape.

Jillian’s sense of Ubuntu is evident in her choice to volunteer and help out local Dentists in the disadvantaged areas of Grabouw.

“In my home, we were raised to give back to our communities, so I definitely want to serve my community in Grabouw, even if I need to start off doing dental hygiene awareness at school education, before starting my own practice.”

Jillian is one of 28 students who have been funded by the Klipheuwel Wind Farm Bursary programme, since the inception of the programme in 2016. The bursary programme is open to ambitious youth in the Theewaterskloof Municipality communities of Genadendal, Caledon, Grabouw, Botriver and Hermanus.

The wind farm keeps in touch with the bursary recipients, helping to motivate them to achieve their goals.
“We like to be able to assist graduates to find employment, especially to seek opportunities within the communities that our bursary programme benefits, which affords them the privilege of serving their communities and of course contributing to our country’s rural economy,” concluded Hlengiwe Radebe, Economic Development Director for Klipheuwel Wind Farm.