This second week has been full of adventure as we have both attended and attempted to attend a number of schools.
The first day we attended Nompondo Primary School, they have no computers as of yet, but the plan is to change that rather quickly as a major donation is being made to this school with 30 laptops being given to the school in a couple of days.
The goal for the day was to do a status report and make sure that the school was ready for the donation, which they absolutely were. Visiting their computer lab, we were greeted with empty desks that were ready to be stationed with laptops. So in the coming week, we hope to personally be able to deliver the computers!
Second day we visited Mavuso High school. The school had a very well functioning computer lab which was nice to see. We fixed smaller issues that needed fixing. We also recovered a password to some of the laptops donated last year so they could use them properly!
Third day we visited Bonga High school, another incredibly well functioning computer lab with a teacher in place teaching some of the students HTML.
In terms of fixing computers and education, well we weren’t needed much as everything was working. But it was incredibly nice to see a properly functioning computer lab that showed the potential of further donating computers and making kids interested in learning about the subject.
Fourth day was a bit unfortunate as the intended school we wanted to visit was blocked because there was a strike and a protest at the road, meaning we couldn’t visit. Our dear friend at Star for Life, Phakamani, arranged so that we would visit another school but as luck would have it there was road work being done and our tiny car could not make the drive on the sandy alternative road to the school. Luck was not with us that day but our hope is now that we’ll be able to visit the schools next week instead.
Our fifth day we were greeted with a pleasant welcome at Ezibukweni High school. The school had a really nice setup with almost all computers working which is a welcoming sight to see.
4 computers had issues that we managed to fix and we felt like we were leaving the place in the safe hands of their wonderful CATS teacher, who says she learned a lot in the process.
In summary, this week has made us very hopeful about donating the computers to the schools knowing that they are put to good use and are well maintained. Our hope is that we will see similar situations in the coming week although, of course, we aren’t shy to work ourselves.
Our last week is approaching quickly and it’s rather sad to be so close to leaving behind what has been an amazing experience. Yet next week also brings excitement as we are prepared to receive our computers that have been shipped and make the donation to Nompondo and wherever else the computers might be needed!
