Andre Brewis (1984) se lewe het soos ʼn handomkeer verander toe hy teen einde 2013 genooi is vir ʼn werksonderhoud by die konstruksiemaatskappy Basil Read en ʼn geleentheid aangebied is om by die konstruksie van ʼn internasionale lughawe op die afgeleë Suid-Atlantiese eiland St Helena betrokke te raak. Op ʼn eiland waar selfone eers verlede jaar bekend gestel, die internet frustrerend stadig en die posboot een keer per maand vars voorrade bring, sou die meeste van ons moeilik aangepas het, maar Andre het in sy drie jaar baie skoonheid en goeie mense gevind.
Andre tells his story:
Early in October 2013 my life started to change dramatically for the good.
The Technical Director of Basil Read visited the site I was a concrete- and formwork foreman on at that stage. He inspected the work I have done, and invited me for an interview. During the interview they asked me to go to St Helena Island in the South Atlantic Ocean as a concrete- and formwork foreman, where Basil Read was appointed to construct and build the first airport on the Island.
On 30 December 2013 I boarded the RMS St Helena, for a 6 day journey to St Helena. We arrived in Jamestown on 4 January 2014. I was in total awe, as this huge rock seemed to appear out of nowhere. We were ferried to shore, where we were met by Basil Read officials, and taken to the house where I was going to live for the next three years.
On Monday 6 January 2014, I started at the airport site, by constructing the Combined- and Terminal Buildings. The work was not without its fair share of challenges, as we had to work between the blasts from the Civils department, where they were busy filling the Dry Gut on which the runway was to be build. Another milestone as this was the largest landfill ever: 8 000 000 cubic meters.
Other challenges consisted of very strong winds, and ongoing rain and mist. We had to endure all the elements to enable us to complete the work on time. Gratefully we never suffered any serious injuries or incidents on site.
We completed the construction of the St Helena Airport on time. Scheduled air services from Johannesburg were due to commence on 21 May 2016. On 26 April 2016 St Helena Government announced an indefinite delay because of wind shear.
Once the construction of the megastructures at the Airport building was finished, me and my Thai- and Saint teams started work on the Sea Rescue building in Rupert’s Bay.
After the completion of the Sea Rescue building, we started the Bulk Fuel Installation building in Rupert’s Gut. I casted the last concrete on 27 October 2016, after which we started packing for our journey back to South Africa on 3 November 2016.
The first year was very emotionally draining for me, as my wife only joined me in the last half of the second year. I also went home only twice during the three year period.
St Helena Island is beautiful, with lush green valleys and high mountains. The people are most friendly and make everybody feel welcome. The roads, however, are not in a good condition, and there is mostly singular lane traffic.
As the RMS only visits the Island once a month, there is a lack of fresh produce, and you have to make do with what is available in the shops. We, as Basil Read employees, imported our meat and frozen products from Cape Town.
There is only one bank, with no ATM’s. Internet connection is very slow, and only a few DSTV channels are available from South Africa. Cellphones were only introduced by late 2015.
For the sakes of the Saints, as the people of the island are known, we hope and pray that a solution for landing big aircraft will be found soon.
