Refilwe Ledwaba
Photo by: AeroTime
Aviation digital ‘hub’ AeroTime has awarded an Aviation Achievement Award to South African pilot and ‘social entrepreneur’ Refilwe Ledwaba. This was in recognition of her creation and development of the nonprofit Girls Fly Programme in Africa Foundation.
She is the twenty-third person to receive the award, and its presentation also marks the six-month milestone of AeroTime’s Women in Aviation campaign. To date, the Girls Fly Programme in Africa Foundation has reached more than 70 000 girls in four African countries – Botswana, Cameroon, Kenya and South Africa – teaching them about aviation and aerospace. The foundation develops and supports programmes aimed at making careers in aviation and space viable options for girls in these countries.
Ledwaba is qualified as both a fixed-wing and helicopter pilot. She served in the South African Police Service Air Wing for some ten years, flying both categories of aircraft. She became the first South African black woman to qualify as an air transport helicopter pilot and is also a qualified flight instructor and uncrewed aerial vehicle pilot.
“I’m very grateful to receive this award, and do so not only on my own behalf, but also for the Girls Fly Programme in Africa Foundation,” she said. “Diversity and inclusion have always been an important issue for me and it’s gratifying to see more and more companies understanding this too. I hope the recognition afforded by this AeroTime Aviation Achievement Award will significantly amplify our call for action across the industry.”
The award was presented to Ledwaba by AeroTime CE Richard Stephenson. “It was a genuine honour and pleasure to speak to Refilwe and congratulate her on this award,” he said.
“Many of us across the industry are aware of the need to improve representation,” he added. “In Refilwe we have someone who has not only broken barriers herself, but is taking tangible action to make change happen. Anyone who can impact 70 000 lives, like Refilwe has with the Girls Fly Programme [in] Africa Foundation, is truly deserving of this award.”