Meet Calvin, the security guard with Hope...

Calvin, on the day he passed his Drivers Licence

Meet Calvin, the Fidelity security guard onsite at my company.


A few months ago I would not have thought I'd help someone out by providing a renewed sense of Hope, Trust and Faith in fellow citizens of South Africa...but somehow I did. I am certainly not feeling overly proud, wishing to boast this to the world, in fact, we're taught to keep the good that we do a secret, so that it promotes humility and gratitude to God that it was only by God's will that some good has come out of your actions. There's a saying that if you do a good deed, it should be such that your left hand doesn't learn what your right hand has done, so keep it secret...

But in this day and age, it's necessary to share the little good that has been done; and with the power of social media, perhaps the same act could be repeated by others, creating a stimulus for good and create further joy in this world. So I feel compelled to publish a humble success that I hope can lead to other successes. For now I've helped someone by creating hope, and instilling self-confidence, that no matter what one's situation is, given the right motivation and support, if you're willing to try to change your life for the better, you will succeed, even at the risk of failure, as one of my mantras that I repeat often goes "If at first your don't succeed, try, try and try again"

Calvin is the security guard at my company who manages entry/exit of vehicles into the car park. We got to know each other in the first couple of months as I was using a hire car at the time, and used the visitor car park quite frequently.  We only got to striking a good conversation when I braved the walk to the local Civic Centre offices in Randburg to enquire about my SA Drivers licence.  I say "braved the walk" because nobody in Joburg really walks anywhere, and I returning from the UK after 10 years, have grown accustomed to walking anywhere.  Against the concerns of some colleagues, I decided to walk the 800 metres to the Office, to get a sense of the security myself....suffice to say, it's safe and I've repeated the walk several times hence.

On my back from the Licence office, I spotted Calvin and waited for him, a) so I could chat and b) to have a security guard as company :-) On this brief walk back to the office, I learnt that Calvin spoke very well, had strong opinions about corruption and the state of the country, he was quite curious to find out about London. He was in awe about the underground trains and more so, when I told him about the level of transparency and accountability the politicians have with their constituents, that there is a strict control over corruption and personal expenditures, so much so that politicians public resign...he wished the same could be done in SA.

I would then stop at his post now and again for a chat, and one day in August I found him really stressing about his situation. He tells me how he's been a security guard for the last 6 years, how he wanted to study engineering and was forced to leave school at an early age when his father passed away...and now he's got his Truck Drivers Learners certificate that would soon expire (Dec 2011) and he's got no money to do what's required to get his Drivers Licence before it expires. I knew in my heart immediately that I should help this guy out, and told him not to worry, these things have a way of working out, and left him with that thought - went for my meetings, and returned in the afternoon to continue the conversation.

I learnt that Calvin was serious to change his life for the better. As a security guard, he'd become friends with many of the truck drivers the company uses, and so he was aiming to get his Code 14 drivers licence with the aim of working for a trucking company. Truck drivers certainly earn much more than a security guard, so he'd started the process of, had passed his Learners test over a year ago, but just didn't have the funds to go for driving lessons and do the exam.  He also wants to study engine mechanics -- I recommended he focus on one goal at a time, first get the licence, change jobs and then think about the next step...

Without consulting my wife, I told Calvin that I'll help him get his licence.  Obviously, to a seasoned South African, all alarm bells would be going off at that moment, around trust, being taken for a ride, taken advantage off, etc... Dismissing all of the negativity, I proposed to Calvin that I will contribute the majority of the costs towards the licencing, provided he contributes some of his hard earned money to the cause.

I didn't want to do everything (although I had the means to fully sponsor it), but I felt that if Calvin contributes some of his own money, he'll be compelled and motivated to work hard, and succeed... I also grew up in tough times, I value commitment and dedication, Nothing comes for Mahala...

With this contract in place, we worked together on a plan of action and aimed that by end of November, Calvin should have been on enough driving lessons to be comfortable with taking the final exam.  Calvin surpassed expectations, and with five lessons managed to pass his Code 14/C1 Drivers exam!  We were both beaming with joy that day - you can see it in the photo!

Proof!

So what costed me just under R2000-00, which I could've easily used up on toys and take-aways, I helped enabled Calvin to step out of what was a depressing situation, and instil a renewed sense of hope.

It's not over yet...
Getting his licence is the first step. My aim is for Calvin to land a job by the start of the new year.  He must leave his job of Security Guard of the last 6 years, and take the plunge into a world full of possibilities.  I will continue to look out for Calvin, my company has a campaign called "Be More" and I'm going to send this blog post to the senior management and HR to see if the company can reciprocate or think about setting up similar initiatives...
I am also going to contact Talk Radio 702 to see if this is an example for Lead SA...

Doing more for South Africa...
When I left SA to work overseas, one of my ambitions was to return home and add a valuable contribution socially and professionally. I've made a humble start with the social aspect, but I do have bigger ambitions for the helping the professional outlook.

I'll post about this topic later, but I have a bee in my bonnet with the lack of skills/competencies in the IT/Software development field...I was really surprised that much of the workforce in my current company is outsourced to contractors from India, that there isn't any talent in our country. I blame the schools and tertiary institutions for not doing enough - so much so - that I strongly believe that it's a waste of time and money to go to a SA university: If you're interested in IT or programming, teach yourself, become self-taught, work on Open Source Projects, that's your ticket to landing a decent job and earning a salary...I've been mulling over setting up an Open Source Software academy where people can learn from high school, real world software engineering, contributing to real world projects without needing to attend University...