Every child wants to be something when they grow up. A pilot. An engineer. A teacher. A doctor. And every child deserves an opportunity to build the future of their dreams – and it starts with a good education.
The challenge is that not all children in South Africa have access to the same opportunities. In the rural district of Cofimvaba in the Eastern Cape, prospects are scarce as many schools remain unconnected to the national power grid and are forced to function on a day-to-day basis without lights and other conveniences offered by a regular supply of electricity.
We’ve partnered with the Department of Science and Technology (DST), to help improve rural education and help bring these children’s dreams within reach by bringing power to three schools in Cofimvaba through platinum-based fuel cells.
The power generated by these fuel cells will be used to power technology like tablets and Wi-Fi, which all the schools didn’t have access to before. The fuel cells will also act as back-up power and in some cases, primary power. The ultimate goal of this project is to discover how these new technologies can contribute to the development of rural teaching and learning.
In addition to the fuel cell technology, we are also running an education programme at these schools to help improve levels of Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths, and Innovation education (STEMI) – an areas where South Africa needs a considerable boost.
We spoke to the children and teachers at the Mvuzo Junior Secondary School in Cofimvaba to find out just how much this project has impacted their daily lives.
Mivuyo, a Grade 9 student now looks forward to school and absolutely loves science. “I know a lot of things now, for example platinum can be used for fuel cells, and these fuel cells can be used for electricity here at school, and it can be used to do experiments in class,” she says.
She added that “We all use tablets in our class as textbooks and to write tests.”
Okuhle, another Grade 9 pupil says his grades in Maths and Science have already improved since the project began. “The fuels cells allow us to do experiments in class and see how things work, I think that helps especially because I want to be an engineer. Thank you so much to Anglo American Platinum for the donation. We really appreciate it because of them I can dream bigger and take the world by storm,” he says with excitement in his eyes.
According to Nombaliso Jara, a teacher at the school, this technology has already made teaching students easier and more effective.
She says that even learners that struggle to write with pen and paper have improved. They have now been given an opportunity to work at the same pace as other students because they recognise the letters on the tablet and respond faster.
“The technology that our school has adopted has generated a lot of interest, not only with our students but also students from other schools. This is great because as a teacher it is rewarding to see that students are willing to learn. The pass rate in my class has improved a lot.”
At Anglo American, we believe that it is partnerships like these that can truly make a difference in the lives of South Africa’s children. With the power of platinum based fuel cells and a solid education, these children can go on to flourish at school and build the future they dream of.