Final Week, Final Thoughts

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*My apologies on the delayed final South Africa post! Coming back to the USA, sorting through jetlag, and celebrating my birthday took all my time and energy!*

So, in our final week in Cape Town, we were partnered up with our Edunova counterparts and each partnership was assigned one of the workshop schools. We then spent a few hours per day in that school, following up with the teachers that attended our workshop, meeting with the administration, and helping to get the ball rolling on the IT goals for that school.

Every school was very different. Some looked similar in construction to the school we'd held the workshops at, but had newer computer labs and systems, others were in far worse shape and in very dangerous areas. The school that I was assigned to- Bongolethu Primary School- was in a brand new building (less than a year old) with beautiful exterior and interiors. The staff room and gymnasium were so big and clean, and the computer lab easily held the 40 student classes that came in. I especially loved that it also followed the same decor ideas as the other schools we'd seen, in that the walls had wonderfully colorful murals all over them!

We worked with our two teachers and the IT Coordinator of the school to set up their own Personal Growth Plans, to decide that all teachers in the school would be required to fill one out in regards to IT goals, and helped to make a plan for electing and sustaining a school IT committee. My South African partners should be continuing to follow-up with the school, to see what the teachers need as far as IT skills support, and help the ICT committee to keep going.

It was a nice week of really getting to know a school, and also to get to see the realistic situation of where the schools are located amidst all of the shacks in the townships, what crime faces them, and what the kids attending the schools are contending with.

We ended our week with a group party at the Edunova center. We had a braai (barbecue), goodbye speeches, and even some surprise African dances. Some of the girls had taken me aside earlier in the week and taught me the dances and told me to keep the secret so that we could surprise the others at the party. It was a ton of fun. Sad to say goodbye, but I am certain that I'll be seeing these men and women again in follow-up visits!

Following our goodbye party, we had a final dinner as our Education Beyond Borders group, then Sarah left on Saturday morning and I headed over to Roger and Jacqueline's home in Camps Bay to stay the night there before flying home to the USA on Sunday.

All in all, this month was a fantastically rewarding experience and just the start of what I hope becomes a lifetime partnership between myself and developing areas that are open to ICT support.

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