Nomalizo Cynthia Mokgoko bought a computer for her 12-year old grandchild, but decided that she too would like to learn how to use it. So she enrolled in an International Computer Driving License course offered by Mmabatho High School to teach the community how to use computers.
She admits that completing the course wasn`t easy, but then adds with a smile, "Learning is not a lion that will bite you".
Cynthia was born in the Transkei seventy-two years ago and is the oldest recipient of the International Computer Driving License (ICDL). The Transkei is where Nelson Mandela was born too, so maybe there is something in the air, or in the soil, that encourages those born there to flourish later on in life when most other people have retired to potter around the garden.
At the age of 21, Cynthia enrolled as a trainee nurse and persevered through the years to gain numerous diplomas in various fields of nursing, culminating in an Honours Degree taken at the University of South Africa.
Apart from Cynthia, no less than 91 other students also received their International Computer Driving Licenses at the same gala dinner held at the Mmabatho Tusk Hotel at the end of June. All had studied and practised to acquire the skills to pass the ICDL.
The ICDL is based on seven modules (Basic Concepts of Information Technology, Using a Computer and Managing Files, Word Processing, Spreadsheets, Databases and Filing Systems, Presentation and Drawing, and Information Network Services - which includes e-mail and browsing the World Wide Web). Students have to pass a practical test for each of the modules, so the award of the ICDL is a true test of competence and not simply a certificate of attendance.
In Europe the ICDL is known as the European Computer Driving License (ECDL). The ICDL/ECDL is truly international certification, and is offered and recognised in more than 40 other countries and 20 languages around the world. In South Africa the ICDL is administered by the ICDL Foundation of South Africa, a subsidiary of the Computer Society of South Africa (CSSA).
When asked how she would be using her newly gained skills, Cynthia said that word processing would be useful in writing articles for the church, and she was also interested in databases.
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