Refilwe Ledwaba overcame discrimination and stereotypes to become South Africa’s first Black female helicopter pilot (Photo: Instagram @our.black.sheros)South Africa’s first Black female helicopter pilot Refilwe Ledwaba has some words of advice for anyone who fears discrimination will prevent them from achieving their dreams. Growing up in apartheid South Africa with six siblings and a single, working mother, Ledwaba was very close to her local community but under no illusions about the outside world. “When you are a female and a Black person, it is a double whammy,” she said. Her white colleagues encouraged her to become a pilot and one, a pilot himself, offered to train her for free if she covered the cost of the fuel. She is now a certified flight instructor training other women in aerospace and aviation (Photo: Instagram @womenofmulticolor)Months later she became the first female Black helicopter pilot to join the South African Police Service.

Source: Standard Digital March 10, 2021 07:41 UTC