Interesting day!!
Our day began at 6:45 when we left with our host to meet
Rotarians of the RC of Orkney. We are going to spend the day looking at Rotary
Global Grant projects that the RC of Mt Pleasant co-sponsored with the RC of
Orkney. A group of us boarded a small
bus and drove through the countryside to a rural school. This morning we are going to visit two schools
in rural farming communities. Both
schools are government schools, but they say we will see a big difference in
these two schools.
The Rotary Club of Orkney received 5000 pairs of shoes from
a shoe company that they distributed to schools in the area. It was during this distribution that they became
aware of needs at both of these rural school and asked how they could
help. The Rotarians thought both schools
needed to move into the computer age so these kids would have more access to
information, plus learn computer skills for their future. However, in chatting
with school administrator they realized there were different needs.
The first school where we stopped had all black children –
48 students whose parents worked on the neighboring farms. This school had more basic needs, not
computer needs. They needed electricity,
and they needed water. So the grant for this school included a bore hole with a
solar powered water pump and storage tanks.
With this they have water for toilets (the toilet blocks for the older
kids have flush toilets, and the younger ones have long-drops), and now they
have water for food preparation. As a
Government School the school must provide 2 meals each day for all
students. Can you imagine preparing
meals with no water and no electricity?
Soon after we arrived the students began singing to us. Contrary to what we are seeing in America,
most of the songs are noticeable religious, and when the teachers spoke they
were outwardly thankful to God for providing these very badly needed updates
for their school. After speeches by
several of the teachers, the head master, and Cal, a plague located in the
building was unveiled by Cal and the lead local Rotarian, recognizing the
Rotary involvement. When we returned to the
outdoor location the students staged some local dances, first by the girls then
by the boys (a miner’s dance, since this area has a long history of
mining).
These students will likely continue in the tradition of
their parents, working on farms, but there may be one or two who will build on
this basic education and move one. The teachers seemed very dedicated to the
students. The kids were so cute in their uniforms and all but one student had
shoes – shoes will be given to this child.
Once the performance was complete, snacks were served, goodbyes were
said, and we were back in the bus heading for the second school.
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| Solar Panel that Powers the Water Pump |
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| Watering the Vegetable; Garden |
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| Children Singing |
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| The Head Master of this School |
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| Unveiling the Plaque with the Rotary Club President |
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| One of the Classrooms |
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| Girls Dancing |
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| Boys doing a Miner's Dance |
The second school, mostly children of local farm owners, was
predominantly white student – however not all.
The farmer’s children, who after finishing school here, will most likely
go to a prep/boarding school. There was
a noticeable economic difference at this school – however not wealthy. The number of students was about the same as
the first school, but the facilities, leadership and student involvement was
dramatically different. As we entered
the school property we were met by two students holding their school banner as
a welcome to us. Shortly after arriving
we witnessed a flag ceremony where the South African, US and school flags were
raised, followed by a ceremony in their auditorium which consisted of speeches
by the head master, the boy and girl leaders for this year, and Cal, followed
by a student performance. Gifts were
given to all Rotarians present by next year’s student leaders, after which Cal
and the Rotary Club President were asked to sign their visitor’s journal.
One of the things provided by the grant were smart white boards
for several of the class rooms. We were
given a demonstration by one of the teachers and her students on the usage of
the smart boards, followed by a singing performance from a class of younger
students. The final stop was to their
computer lab to see the computers that were purchased by the grant. The usage of the computers was described
while students were working at them. This school is ready for smart boards and
computers, but the first school had the basic needs. Due to the Rotary interaction with both of
these schools, the Head Master from this second school has agreed to work with
the first school. Also the Interact Club from a high school in Klerksdorp is
planning to work with the first school at least one afternoon a month. The Vice
Principle of the high school is a Rotarian.
After visiting thee classrooms we were all invited to the school
courtyard for dinner. The parents and
local school board had gone together and provided a Braai (BBQ) for us which
consisted of lamb steaks, brats, and all of the fixings that would go along
with this. Wow!! What a spread!! The lamb steaks were superb. This lunch was
not expected, as our next stop was preparing lunch for us. However, everyone was gracious and ate!!
What a day! Everyone was so grateful to our Rotary Club. Now
it is our responsibility to share the story.
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| Student Leader Giving a Welcome |
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| Student Performance |
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| Receiving Gifts from Student Leaders |
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| Signing the School Journal |
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| Cal with Student Leaders and Head Master |
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| Unveiling the Plaque |
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| The Computer Lab |
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| Young Children Singing |
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| The Braai |
We were back in the bus returning to Klerksdorp, to the vocational
school for students who could not or did not want to finish secondary
school. This is a large facility where
there are training centers in catering, needle work/sewing, hairdressing, home
health care, auto mechanics, woodworking and metalworking at several levels,
welding and panel beaters (body shop).
Several years ago the Rotary Club of Mt Pleasant co-sponsored a grant
which provided equipment for this school.
We were able to see all of the equipment and see how it is being
used. This school is doing a fantastic
job preparing these students for a skill that they will be able to use for the
rest of their lives. We were very
impressed!! After a tour of the vocational school we returned to a room near the
catering training location and enjoyed a meal prepared by the teacher – it was a
full dinner for us. It was a spectacular
presentation. Yes, this was the second
large lunch we had in 2 hours. Shortly
thereafter we were in the bus heading back to our host’s house for some rest
and relaxation.
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| The Catering Kitchen |
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| Some of the Equipment Purchased by the Grant |
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| Projects made by the beginning Students |
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| A Gift from the Students |
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| A Welding Project |
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| Rachel with the Men's Program Director |
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| Presenting a Sander to the Head Master |
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| Dinner, again |
In the evening we went with our hosts to the home of a
Rotarian where they had an abbreviated Rotary meeting and a dinner party. Cal and Rachel were the program for the meeting. Rachel talked about the Mt Pleasant Rotary
club and Cal gave a power-point on Iowa and Dist. 6000. We had a great time meeting the Rotarians and
interacting with them about South Africa and their Rotary club.
