Go with Henry: The outback of South Africa

Thursday, 18 February 2010

The outback of South Africa - Libode in the Transkei

Tour of the Eastern Cape

Rural Education Development

Learnthings Africa

Rural South Africa

15 January 2010

Background

For nearly a month I traveled more than 7000 km through the Eastern Cape of South Africa (including the area previously known as the Transkei) to install Learnthings and Microsoft software content at poor rural schools on behalf of Learnthings Africa.

In this post, I cover the Libode district. On my way to Mthatha, I completed all 3 installations in the Libode district. I left Lusikisiki after breakfast and after the installations, I stayed in Mthatha the Friday night. The next morning I drove to Port Elizabeth.

Saying goodbye to Bonga, my guide to the schools in Libode district, Transkei

About Transkei

The Transkei (meaning the area beyond [the river] Kei), officially the Republic of Transkei, was a Bantustan—an area set aside for members of a specific ethnicity—and nominal parliamentary democracy in the south-eastern region of South Africa. Its capital was Umtata, which was renamed Mthatha in 2004.

Transkei represented a significant precedent and historic turning point in South Africa's policy of apartheid and "separate development"; it was the first of four territories to be declared independent of South Africa.

Throughout its existence, it remained an internationally unrecognized, diplomatically isolated, politically unstable de facto one-party state, which at one point broke relations with South Africa, the only country that acknowledged it as a legal entity.

In 1994, it was reintegrated into its larger neighbor and became part of the Eastern Cape Province.

About the Eastern Cape

The Eastern Cape is a province of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are Port Elizabeth and East London. It was formed in 1994 out of the Xhosa homelands of Transkei and Ciskei, together with the eastern portion of the Cape Province.

Landing place and home of the 1820 settlers, the central and eastern part of the province is the traditional home of the Xhosa people.

This region is the birthplace of many prominent South African politicians, such as Nelson Mandela, Oliver Tambo, Walter Sisulu, Govan Mbeki, Raymond Mhlaba, Chris Hani, Thabo Mbeki, Steve Biko, Bantu Holomisa and Charles Coghlan (Wikipedia).

Rural scenery - Libode district, Transkei

Excerpt from my diary Day 6 – Friday 15 January 2010

I left Lusikisiki after breakfast and drove approximately 100 km to Libode, via Port St. Johns. I met with Mrs. Pama and Bonga from the Libode ICT district center. I followed behind them as we took a dirt road to Chizela JSS about 7 km from Libode town.

I gave the principal, Mr. Mjali a demonstration on how the software works. The lab is in very good condition. I then followed Mrs. Pama and Bonga to our next installation at Dimanda SSS about 30 km on another dirt road, which was not in a good condition. The principal and some teachers waited for us and we arrived around 1 pm.

We then went back to the Libode Resource center for the third installation, which never took place. Upon our arrival, we were told the building has no electricity. The power trips all the time and it will take electricians some time to solve the problem.

I then followed Mrs. Pama to Mtatha, who was kind enough to show me where the Country Lodge was situated just outside Mtatha.

I stayed at a country lodge just outside Mtatha, the Friday night, and drove to Port Elizabeth the next day, where I spent the weekend and most of the following week. I used PE as a base for all the surrounding rural areas.