The first week of our journey took us to Zenzeleni Mashamase High School, where we were greeted with excitement and enthusiasm. The school had recently received 45 brand-new laptops from Star for Life Germany, and we had the privilege of assisting the teachers in setting up the computers. Additionally, we hosted workshops for two groups of 12th-grade students, aiming to enhance their digital skills.
Day one of the workshop focused on the basics. We introduced students to the hardware components, guided them through starting and navigating the computer, and practiced typing. For day two, we explored some of the Microsoft Office applications, including PowerPoint, Excel, and Word. It was incredible to witness their quick progress.
The weekended with an assembly where we celebrated together. The talented student choirs and dance groups provided unforgettable entertainment, and we shared delicious food. A heartfelt thank you to the students and teachers of Zenzeleni Mashamase High School.
In the second week, we reached out to other schools, including Nibela Primary School and Nompondo Primary School. At Nibela, we encountered a mix of functional and non-functional computers. We decided to bring the malfunctioning ones back to our base to repair them.
Nompondo Primary School, having received computers a few years ago, many of the students were already quite proficient. We held a class on typing documents and taught them how to style their text.
We also visited Eqakwini High School, which had a beautiful computer lab equipped with screens and mice. Unfortunately, the computers had been stolen. To assist, we donated seven computers and demonstrated some of the software to the school. Although we didn’t interact directly with the students, the school was thrilled to have the computers and showed potential as a future recipient of more donations.
Our visit to Makhasa High School revealed a well-equipped computer lab with enough computers for the entire class and a dedicated computer teacher. We held an HTML lesson for the Grade 12 students, introducing them to the basics of writing code for a clicker counter.
We are very happy with the result of this year’s CESA project. At the start, we felt insecure about the change we were going to achieve since we weren’t able to bring as many computers as in previous years. After the two weeks spent down in Hluhluwe, we left with a feeling that we had actually succeeded in making a difference for the schools we visited. Not only can we say that we have made a difference in South Africa, but we have also grown tremendously as individuals and returned to Sweden with many questions, thoughts, and ideas for improving and evolving CESA.
Thank you to everyone who helped us on this amazing journey!✨
/CESA 2024
