HAILING from a small town in the Eastern Cape, Nomagcinazana Mtingeni only dreamt of becoming a social worker, but little did she know that against all tides and tribulations, the ocean would be her oyster.
The captain of the Robben Island Museum ferry was raised by her grandmother, who worked tirelessly to ensure that she had the education she needed.
“My father passed on when I was still young and my mom, who was a housewife all her life, needed to step up as the breadwinner of the family. With the help of our grandmother and her old-age grant, she raised us.
“Our grandmother took us to Cape Town where she also worked as a domestic worker to supplement her income. It is here in Cape Town where I matriculated at Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela High.
“My dream was to become a social worker in order to reach out to children in distress. Unfortunately, due to financial constraints at home I had to put my dream on hold. I secured a domestic job as a babysitter for a young couple back then, Mr James and Ms Naidoo.
“After working 18 months with the couple, the husband secured a job with Robben Island and they were looking for people.”
“Long story short, I got the job as a cashier onboard, Autshumato, a ferry to Robben Island and I remembered how my first interview was not the smoothest because they had told me that the only way they were going to hire me, is if I had the correct gears.
“So Ms Naidoo accompanied me to get the gear, because it was ridiculous to think that the only thing stopping me from getting this job was gears. But, nevertheless my first job on the boat entailed welcoming tourists on the boat and selling snacks.
“On the first day I was a bundle of nerves. It was my first time on the boat. I couldn’t even swim and kept wondering what would happen if the boat capsized. I got used to the daily commute between the waterfront and the island. I was also taking keen interest in other areas of work on the boat and in no time, I was helping out as a deckhand,” said Mtingeni.
Soon after Mtingeni started helping on the deckhand, she saw an opportunity to grow and make a better life, not only for herself, but also her family.
“The company had plans to prioritise women for development. We were given an opportunity to choose careers to pursue. I was the first person to choose and I chose to do a skipper’s course.
“I was no longer satisfied with working on the boat, I wanted to become a captain, so when I enrolled for the course, by grace and perseverance, I passed.
“Quite honestly, working in a space which was predominantly male-dominated, was not easy. I was doubted and the mistakes I made as a beginner were blown out of proportion to prove my inability to do the job.
“However, I didn't give up because I come from a long line of fearless, praying women and that made me step up my faith and elevate myself again. Soon after that, things started to shift in a positive direction and even sceptics were converted and believed in me,” Mtingeni.
Former Robben Island ferry senior manager Jesse Munsamy said that what set Mtingeni apart was her dedication to her work and her resilience.
“When I met Mtingeni, she was so resilient and dedicated to her work. She took her work seriously and was always responsible. Even though getting her to where she is now was not an easy task, she faced the challenges head on and saw it through.
“I think women empowerment in such a male-dominated industry is important because women bring a different element to the ferry. I think this change is crucial to the growth of the industry because even if we look at it from a tourist perspective, the female tourist love Mtingeni.
“One can imagine that it was inspiring to see a female captain on board and they related to her because they were at ease knowing that they were in her care. I am glad that the stigma around women not being captain is being challenged, and we have women like Mtingeni who rise to the challenge and see it through,” said Munsamy.
Robben Island spokesperson Morongoa Ramaboa said that the maritime industry was quite niche and the ferry operations department experienced challenges in sourcing, recruiting and retaining suitably qualified master port operations and chief engineer port operations.
“As an entity that operates a ferry hybrid model, it was through this challenge that we identified an opportunity to capacitate the industry by initiating a partnership between Robben Island Museum and the Transport Education Training Authorities, in form of a Cadet Training Program, to qualify cadets to a level of master port operators and chief engineer port operators as per latest Merchant Shipping Act (Safe Manning, Certification and Training) regulations.
“This programme, similarly to how Mtingeni was integrated, focuses on empowering 10 young aspiring marine professionals to become qualified as Chief Engineer Port Ops and Master Port Ops. The 10 participants, five of which are females, are aged between 22 and 31.
“Our primary focus is to have women form part of our succession planning and integrate them officially into the maritime employment sector. We are also prioritising the development and training of females within the entity in line with our employment equity plan,” said Ramaboa.
Years later, Mtingeni is still grateful for the experience of going through what she went through, as she only had her strong will to see her through.
“I thank my parents and grandmother for instilling good values in me which became the foundation I still stand on. I’m indebted to Mr James and Ms Naidoo for giving me the job as a baby sister, which later culminated into this opportunity.
“I will forever be grateful for their kindness for trusting me and believing in me. I am also thankful to my children for allowing me space to pursue my goals and sometimes deny them of a present mother.
“From the whole experience I learnt that perseverance is important. I’ve also learnt to be patient. Having the responsibility to ferry close or more than 200 people per ride is a huge responsibility.
“I've learnt to pay attention to detail. The sea is like a child. One minute she’s happy and playing; the next minute she looks like someone stole her candy. I’ve learnt that hard work and dedication pays. I’ve learnt to depend on myself mostly. I’ve also learnt that life is generally about balance.”
“To young women of our country my message is simple. Anything is possible with the right attitude, hard work and dedication.
“Do not wait for an invitation at the table. Make your own table and invite others to sit. Focus and open yourselves to new possibilities. It is your time, don't let it pass you,” said Mtingeni.