Teen’s hopes get lift-off

[caption id="attachment_210940" align="aligncenter" width="587"] Madiba Bay School of Flight student pilot Tatenda Chigwada, 26, gives wings to the dream of Simbongile Ndara, 14, to fly.
Picture: Supplied.[/caption]

Wanting to give something back before qualifying as a commercial pilot, Tatenda Chigwada helped make a child’s dream come true this week when he flew Simbongile Ndara up and over Port Elizabeth for his first time in a plane.

Simbongile, 14, could not stop smiling all of Tuesday when he took to the skies in a Sling 2 – a South African two-seater light aircraft.

“During take-off I was terrified. I have never been in the air so it was really scary,” Simbongile said.

“But this was the best day of my life and now I know that I definitely want to be a pilot when I grow up.” Chigwada, 26, a third-year aviation student at the Madiba Bay School of Flight, had to clock two more hours to ensure he had 100 hours of flying time without an instructor before securing his commercial pilot’s licence.

“I am so glad I got to give Simbongile his first flying experience,” he said.

“I had completed 98 hours and thought that with my last two hours I wanted to give something back.”

Admitting he had not had an easy time completing his aviation studies for financial reasons, Chigwada said it was like a dream come true for him as well by helping Simbongile.

“I can safely say that I know what it’s like to want something with all of your heart. “Also, if I am at a place where I can give someone else something they cannot get on their own, I will,” he said.

Chigwada was helped by Alison Colin, who is the education director of One Life Child South Africa, to find Simbongile, whose dream was to one day fly in a plane.

“She helped me make Simbongile’s dream of flying come true,” Chigwada said.

Colin said: “Simbongile is one of our sponsor children. “We had long ago discovered he is a bright pupil and he can achieve anything if given the right opportunities.”

She said after finding out that he had a passion for flying, One Life Child South Africa was tr ying to find him a slot at a private school. “This is our contribution towards his dream of one day becoming a pilot,” Colin said.

Madiba Bay School of Flight flight administrator Grant Liebenberg said it was the first time something like this had happened at the pilot school.

“Tatenda made me realise that we actually should be doing more of it. We should be giving back as often as we possibly can. “I really love what this young man did and have encouraged all the students to do the same,” he said.