09 February 2005
Telkom CEO puts rural school on WWW by satellite in Limpopo
Telkom has set a farm school in rural Limpopo on a path to the "knowledge economy" by donating a computer centre with Internet access by satellite.
Telkom CEO Sizwe Nxasana handed over the centre to Kgolouthwana Secondary School in Dilaeneng near the Bochum District today to increase the footprint of schools with Internet access.
Though underdeveloped, the village of Dilaeneng has demonstrated amazing potential through gallant efforts by members of the community to educate their children under trying circumstances.
The only school in Dilaeneng, Kgolouthwana High was opened in 1991 as a one-block structure, with two teachers, a principal and 132 learners. With no electricity and running water, learners went to school because they had to. And when boys turned 18, it was almost custom to head to Johannesburg in search of employment.
There were rare exceptions, though. Eric Moloto, from Dilaeneng, enrolled at Kgolouthwana Secondary School for Grade 11 in 1994.
After securing a bursary to complete a bridging course for a year at the now University of Limpopo, Moloto was admitted for a BSC Computer Science degree.
Telkom spotted his talent and sought to develop it through financing his second and third years of study. After finding employment at Telkom in 2002, Moloto started the Eric Moloto Trust Fund to help educate students from his district.
Initially he had problems sourcing funds, but his passion to break the cycle of poverty stimulated others to join in his quest to educate others. He turned to the Telkom Foundation for help.
Moved by Moloto's passion, Nxasana personally adopted the school and today leapfrogged it to the information superhighway through donating a computer laboratory with satellite-enabled Internet access.
Nxasana participates in the company's Adopt-A-Project scheme through which top management personally support and devote their time and skills to deserving projects.
Over the years, the programme has seen the development of technology-rich schools with networked computer laboratories around the country.
At Kgolouthwana Secondary School, teachers will be taught computer literacy, and will in turn educate the learners.
Speaking at the handover ceremony today, Nxasana said access to the Internet via VSAT technology would ensure that Kgolouthwana learners joined the information age.
He said Telkom was committed to providing sustainable assistance to develop a knowledge economy - especially in the Information Communication Technology field. The company's investment in education and training is in the fields of mathematics, science and technology
"The people of Dilaeneng can today bear testimony to the benefits of education, and through the investment we are making today, we hope to have hundreds of Eric Molotos in the near future," Nxasana said.
To increase awareness of the plight of the village, Thobela FM, Limpopo's regional radio station partnered with Telkom to broadcast today's event.
"We take e-mail, computers and telephones for granted. It is so easy to forget that there are some people in our country who have no access or knowledge to these basic technologies and as a responsible radio station, we have to get involved in educating communities," said Lueba Ramakgolo, station manager of Thobela FM.
