Cape Town Flying Club celebrated Mandela Day on Sunday 18 July 2021 by donating and delivering 58 pairs of shoes to the farming community of Diemerskraal. This project was made possible by donations received from our members and volunteers who assisted with the delivery of the shoes. Special callsigns were issued for the two aircraft used to fly the shoes to Diemerskraal. ZS-PRJ piloted by Jehann Allie and Alderman James Vos used the callsign Madiba 1, and ZS-KBK piloted by Storm Friedericks and Matthew Maslamoney used the callsign Madiba 2. Alderman James Vos assisted us with a lucky draw which gave 5 people the opportunity to experience a flight around the Diemerskraal farm. We want to thank Oom Daan Morkel from the farm Diemerskraal for allowing us to use his airfield for the special delivery, Shadow Shoes Parow for supplying us with the shoes, Jehann Allie and Carl Scholtz for piloting Madiba 1 and Madiba 2 with our 5 lucky draw winners and all the volunteers who assisted on the day.
Alderman James Vos had the following to say about the initiative:
“Today I had the most incredible experience on this Mandela Day with the team at the Cape Town Flying Club. In handing out shoes to the little ones and their parents, I was reminded of how we can help those around us stand taller and prouder. The children also learned about what it means to be a pilot and, with aviation being such an important contributor to Cape Town’s economy, I hope to see many of them take to the skies in a few years! After what has proven to be an exceptionally difficult week for our nation, putting those shoes into the hands of those who need it most brought to mind a picture of what we must do in order to fill the shoes of someone like Madiba. We can, each and every one of us in this beautiful country, play a part in carrying on his legacy and fulfilling that hope of a better life for all. ” Alderman James Vos
