The arrival of modern technology celebrated in one of the most impoverished areas of the country when Vodacom's Yebo Millionaires formally handed over a new computer centre on Wednesday 25 April to the Mhlwazi Junior Secondary School in the Eastern Cape.
The school was one of the recipients of the monthly computer centre giveaway in Vodacom's Yebo Millionaires Game Show, designed to say "thank you" to its customers for their support. Vodacom donates computer centres to two public schools every month, thereby helping to uplift education for the people of the areas in which the schools are situated. The donation is part of Vodacom's commitment to investing in the communities from which it draws its business.
Mhlwazi School is situated in the Ngcobo district of the Eastern Cape, about 55km south of Elliot. With few work opportunities, most of the community in the area are dependent on social grants, and poverty levels are high.
Life for the Ngcobo community is challenging, especially for the children. Some of them leave home at 5.30am for the 15km trudge to get to school by 8.30am - and face an equally daunting walk back in the afternoon.
The school, catering for 300 learners from Grade R to Grade 9, also struggles. Learners are taught by ten educators in six prefabricated classrooms and two mud huts.
It's little wonder that everyone, in the words of principal Siziwe Rwetshe, is "delighted and very, very happy" with the new computer centre.
Rwetshe said the computers would bring educational resources to the school and give her learners skills that will improve their chances of finding employment.
She also believes it will be of benefit to the community, many of whom are very keen to be educated.
The donated centre consists of 10 general workstations plus a server, a printer and cartridge, and educational software.
Yebo Millionaires is Vodacom's weekly game show for its customers screened on SABC 1 on Tuesdays at 6.30pm after the Bold and the Beautiful.
Anyone can nominate a school to receive a computer centre in the Yebo Millionaires Game Show: he or she simply calls 082-24-32082 and gives details to the agent. An application form is faxed to the principal of the school, who must complete and return it to qualify for the lucky draw.
Since the show's inception, 32 computer centres have been given to schools throughout the country.
Every week, Vodacom gives two free SMSes to all its customers so that they can enter Yebo Millionaires by sending their nine lucky letters of the alphabet via SMS to 32082.
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