Mgcawezulu School gets electrified

Posted about 7 months ago

Nestled at the bottom of a hillside approximately 10 kilometres from the Kob Inn Hotel, lies a tiny six classroom school, which houses at present 187 children from the surrounding area.

Distances in the Transkei rural areas are vast and although some are lucky enough to live close by, most children walk many kilometres to get to school, the youngest of which are just 3 years of age. The headmaster Luyanda, is a young, highly motivated man, who at one stage was the choir master at Gojela school, about 6km away. The Grade R, 1 and 2 learners were housed in dark and damp ronadavels at the edge of the mountain for many years, with only one classroom built of brick and mortar serving the balance of the grades up to grade 6.

With the assistance of Touch Africa, the school now has six classrooms and the youngsters have been moved out of the rondavels into proper classrooms.

During the Enduro Africa event, the riders spent one day at the school, turning it from just barely livable into a school in which the whole community can be proud.

The weather was not kind on the day of the renovation as it rained throughout the day. This did not daunt anyone and after the truck, which was delivering materials got stuck in the mud and could not come down the mountain, the intrepid riders walked up the mountain and carried the materials down to the school. Work parties got to work quickly and managed to build a jungle gym, paint the entire outside of the school, roof one classroom, painted two others, carpeted, rehabilitated desks, set up a Grade R classroom, with tables, chairs, mattresses and blankets and loads of toys and educational equipment.

The piece de resistance however, was the fact that the school was electrified. Honda provided a generator and the six electricians on the ride, managed to electrify all six classrooms in just a couple of hours in the rain.

The school was provided with a TV and DVD machine which was the last thing to be completed on the day. At around 16h00 in the afternoon the children all gathered in a warm dry classroom, fitted with a carpet to witness the lights coming on for the first time. For many it was the first time they had seen electricity work. This was welcomed with shouts of joy and faces that are indescribable. When the DVD was switched on and Madagascar was loaded, you could have heard a pin drop. Notwithstanding the limited English the children understand, they got the humour and as we left, we could hear them happily laughing as they enjoyed the experience.

There are still projects to take place at this school including providing ceiling boards, equipping the grade 1 and 2 classroom with additional desks and chairs, leveling the playground to accommodate a football pitch and netball court.

The school has been changed forever and is the only building in the area to have electricity. This is going to make a meaningful change in the lives of not only the children, but also the community.

If you would like to become involved in this or any other project, contact Elise on 076 170 6449 or email elise@touchafrica.info