Simphiwe Sabelo is a passionate animal lover who was recently given an opportunity to train as a sniffer dog handler; he is loving every second of it!
Johannesburg, South Africa (06 March 2020) – Funda Nenja runs in the township of Mpophomeni, near Howick, in the KZN Midlands of South Africa. On average, 100 children and their dogs attend weekly dog training sessions which happen on Friday afternoons at Zamethule Primary School in the township.
These lessons not only teach the dogs some skills, but it also helps the children bond with their pets and forms deeper connections. These new classes help educate children about animal welfare and encourage them to show their families how to treat animals.
Classes are taught by volunteer instructors, and some of the instructors are previous pupils who have gone through the training programme themselves.
One of those instructors is Simphiwe Sabelo. Simphiwe has made a massive difference in the lives of the children he has taught. Recently an opportunity came along that is changing Simphiwe’s life!
Chelsea Mercado offered Simphiwe the opportunity to train as an intern with Vapor Wake K9 South Africa as an explosive detection dog handler. He flew to O R Tambo airport from KwaZulu-Natal to attend the programme in January. When he completes it, he will have a specialised skill that is highly valued not only at airports but within the security industry as well.
“Simphiwe reports that he is very much enjoying the course and is trying to be the best possible handler he can be while his mentor, Chelsea Mercado, shared that she is thrilled with his dog handling ability and he ” is awesome with the dogs”.” – Funda Nenja