Sindeka Cythina Mangigoes to Qingqa Mntwana School near Cape Town. The school is twinned with Kildare Place School, Rathmines. With their support, the South African school now has 28 computers for its 1,320 students. They also provided the resources to purchase some much-needed air conditioners for the computer room. She explains the impact of the programme.
"We have set up a communications network with our twinned school in Ireland. It is very exciting to be communicating with Kildare Place School in this way. It is something that we've never done before and it's great to learn about a new culture like this. Some people from Kildare Place came to visit us before and donated toys to grade one learners,
"I think things in Ireland are very different to here. Our weather is quite different. Here it is always hot, there it is always freezing. In South Africa we have 11 different official languages while there are only two in Ireland.
"Here we study nine different subjects. I like them all. I want to be excellent all the time. But my favourites are the natural sciences and computers. We are very fortunate that our partner school has helped us to buy some computers. In class we learn how to type and use the internet. The school recently bought a webcam and now we are hooked up to Skype so we can make long distance phone calls from the web.
"Computers are very important and the school uses them for many different subjects. They certainly make life much easier. I don't have one at home, nor do most of the students here. We live in a very disadvantaged place and many students had never even seen a computer before the school got them. It is a dream for us. The air conditioners are greatly appreciated too! I also love English classes. I have written many poems, stories and cards. I also recently wrote an article about the apartheid system in South Africa before 1994. I used to want to be a writer but now I'm not so sure.
"The principal and deputy principal of Kildare Place School have come to visit us twice now, which is good because it means our partnership is strong. We can continue to work together into the future and, hopefully, learn even more about each other."
