Mon séjour en Afrique du Sud (Cape Town)

In contests of strength, team work and precision, graduates of the South African National Defence Force's new Military Skills Programme demonstrated their abilities at a passing out parade enlivened by smoke grenades and dramatic pyrotechnic effects.

The gun run - a traditional naval contest in which teams compete to disassemble a weighty field gun, get the parts and team members across the demonstration field along a line suspended above the ground, then reassemble the gun on the other side - was the clear highlight of the programme.

To the delight of the audience, a mast display and precision drill were also included.

The graduation marked the conclusion of the flagship year of a project aimed at empowering youth by providing them with skills that can be used outside the military as well as within.

After what Sub-lieutenant Greyling van den Berg calls the post-1994 "miracle" military transition in which former enemies from the South African Defence Force and the liberation armies joined in the SANDF, the military leadership realised that under-used facilities could be used to train people as a step to alleviating unemployment.

"We have a responsibility not only toward Africa, but toward the citizens of this country," he said.

In all, 450 students representing a cross-section of society were chosen from 12 000 applicants to participate in the two-year programme.

They were chosen on the strength of their matric marks and their performance in an interview with a panel of officers.

At the end of the two years students graduate with certificates in seamanship, computer skills, basic language and mathematics skills, a military driver's license, environmental, fire fighting, and first aid skills, and financial and career management.

A R1 700 monthly salary is supplemented by three-and-a-half meals a day, a bed at night, comprehensive medical care, transportation, and a uniform at no cost.

At the end of the programme, some students are invited to remain in the military and become officers and others are given the option to sign a five-year contract to join the reserve force.

Those who join the reserves are also given one year's salary.

Ultimately, the military hopes that graduates will use the skills acquired in the programme to empower themselves and help build their communities.