On Saturday 8 October, the Ikusasa Lethu Saturday school held their prizegiving to celebrate the achievements of our Community Partnerships learners from the schools in nearby Alexandra township.

As we watched literally hundreds of certificates being passed out for progress, excellence and academic commitment, we were reminded of the individuals within this programme and the impact we can have and are having. We are grateful to St Mary’s for making this programme possible as well as to the school district whose representative, Yvonne Mashiane, attended our event.

BBD Software Initiative

On Saturday 15 October, the Foundation team was invited to BBD Software Development to see what our group of Grade 10 learners had accomplished in the after-school IT sessions with BBD graduates. The learners presented PowerPoint briefs of their concepts and showcased their functioning live websites (Wow!). Their programmes included: virtual registers, online homework assist, a mental health counselling app “Webchatty”, an improved HomeAffairs application system, a music translator, a sound-sensitive colour-specific LED alarm system, a soccer club finder and a goods tracker for them to be taken safely by taxis over long distances. The most successful learner (Home Affairs), as judged by a panel on the day, was given a top-end laptop and accessories along with life-long tech support at BBD. We are proud beyond words. We definitely have some budding developers in our community and are looking forward to what this partnership could accomplish in 2023.

ROBYN KNOWLES
HEAD OF THE IKUSASA LETHU PROGRAMME