Go with Henry: Rural South Africa - Kanyamazane in Mpumalanga province

Friday 31 August 2012

Rural South Africa - Kanyamazane in Mpumalanga province

Vodacom Millionaires Project

Kanyamazane

Mpumalanga Province

August 2012

Background

In 2012, I conducted training on the Mecer Classroom Management System. It was done on behalf of Learnthings Africa who was contracted by the Vodacom Millionaires Project. The project launched a competition whereby schools entered a competition. There were 4 winning schools every month. The Mecer classroom Management System was the prize, basically a laptop with about 30 x Mecer mini laptops.

The main laptop, or teacher's laptop managed the learner laptops and teachers could utilize the system in organized class activities. I was contracted by Learnthings Africa to facilitate the training of teachers and students on utilizing this system. It took me to parts of South Africa where few white people or tourists get to go. It was an opportunity to see how most South Africans in rural areas live.

Nature scenery - Near Nelspruit, Mpumalanga

About South Africa

South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by 2,798 kilometers of coastline of Southern Africa stretching along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighboring countries of Namibia, Botswana, and Zimbabwe; and to the east and northeast by Mozambique and Eswatini (Swaziland); and it surrounds the enclaved country of Lesotho.

South Africa is the largest country in Southern Africa and the 25th-largest country in the world by land area and, with over 57 million people, is the world's 24th-most populous nation. It is the southernmost country on the mainland of the Old World or the Eastern Hemisphere.

About 80 percent of South Africans are of Sub-Saharan African ancestry divided among a variety of ethnic groups speaking different African languages, nine of which have official status. The remaining population consists of Africa's largest communities of European (White), Asian (Indian), and multiracial (Coloured) ancestry.

The World Bank classifies South Africa as an upper-middle-income economy and a newly industrialized country. Its economy is the second-largest in Africa, and the 34th-largest in the world. In terms of purchasing power parity, South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa.

However, poverty and inequality remain widespread, with about a quarter of the population unemployed and living on less than US$1.25 a day.

Nevertheless, South Africa has been identified as a middle power in international affairs and maintains significant regional influence

What does Lonely Planet say about South Africa?

Nature scenery - Near Nelspruit

About Mpumalanga

Mpumalanga (Zulu name for "the place where the sun rises") is a province in eastern South Africa, bordering the nations of Swaziland and Mozambique.

It embraces the southern half of Kruger National Park, a huge nature reserve with abundant wildlife including big game.

The province's iconic Blyde River Canyon, among the world’s largest, is known as a green canyon because of its subtropical foliage (Wikipedia).