Internet connection for Mnyakanya
Bambisanani Partnership brings the internet to remote Mnyakanya High School in rural KwaZulu-Natal
The culmination of three year’s work and fundraising has brought the internet to Mnyakanya School in the latest phase of development to use computers and the internet to enhance teaching and learning in this remote rural school, which has large class sizes and relatively few resources. Over the past two years, the St. Mary’s School based charity, The Bambisanani Partnership has worked closely with Tony Moodley from the KwaZulu-Natal Department of Education, Uthungulu District Office and William Vilakazi, Principal of Mnyakanya School to develop a comprehensive plan to utilise Information Technology to raise standards at the school and provide students with the necessary skills for the modern world. The plan initially involved providing training for teachers on integrating technology into their classroom teaching and introducing tablets to the school. Access to the internet now provides teachers and students with teaching and learning opportunities that would be taken for granted in the UK and indeed many schools in South Africa.
The foundations have been laid for a more comprehensive ICT rollout at the school so that the entire school and, hopefully, the surrounding community begins to benefit.
““Thanks to the Bambisanani Partnership, we are the first rural school in the remote Nkandla region to have access to the internet. For the first time ever, we are now literally connected to the rest of the world and have access to resources that in time will support all aspects of the curriculum. Our Educators and Learners are very excited and motivated by the prospect, a prospect that many thought would be impossible to achieve.””
““Our aim has always been to establish a Beacon of Excellence in ICT at Mnyakanya for its own learners and the surrounding community. Training, some hardware and now the internet have given us a firm foundation to develop this work further. This innovative project has the potential to provide a blueprint for success for remote rural schools throughout South Africa. The project has been fraught with difficulties and frustrations but has also provided the opportunity for valuable lessons to be learnt; all those involved in The Bambisanani Partnership deserve great credit for their determination in making it happen.””
““I have always been blown away with the desire and determination of Zulu children to learn and at the same time am heartbroken by the sheer number of barriers that prevent them from doing so. In the global village, these children are disadvantaged in so many ways and the absence of computers and the internet to aid their learning only serves to compound this. The ‘left behind’ have been increasingly left behind and the gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’ has got wider. Access to this technology has the potential to transform teaching, learning and study at the school which in turn has the potential to transform the life chances of its students. The staff and students at Mnyakanya will seize this opportunity with both hands. None of this could have happened without the amazing work of Tony Moodley and William Vilakazi on the ground; they have my utmost admiration and gratitude.”
”
““This is the latest stage of ICT development at Mnyakanya that will establish a sound foundation for future plans. Our aim is to ultimately provide ICT opportunities for teaching and learning at Mnyakanya which any school in South Africa would be proud of.””
