Thank you message delivered to the Autodesk volunteers and Team4Tech staff from Ms. Incosi Kakulu of the Makupula High School Parents Association
As we wrapped up our August project in Kayamandi, near Stellenbosch South Africa, we had a closing celebration with our hosts and teachers. There we recognized the teachers’ accomplishments and were treated with a wonderful performance from the school choir. And we heard this thank you message from Ms. Incosi Kakulu of the Makupula High School Parents Association:
Reflecting on the Wrap-up of the Kayamandi ProjectDear Friends
The legacy of the father of our nation, Nelson Mandela, is a huge gift not only for us as citizens of this rainbow nation, but also for the people of this globe. He helped us to see with new eyes, to reckon every human being as equal and of worth. He helped us to look at ourselves with dignity and worth.
For Mandela, children were very special and the opportunity to be educated not a favor, but a human right. Because education is the key to unlock the potential and a future for everyone.
Africa teaches us UBUNTU – that we become through engaging with each other. We want to thank you for the courage to come to South Africa, to come to Kayamandi, to come to us and to engage with us. Your presence, your engaging with us, makes us a better people. Thank you for building on the legacy of Madiba to contribute to the education of our precious children, to give them a chance to unlock their potential. Thank you for your contributions of the computers but more so for your time and trouble to come so far to show your love and compassion.
We trust that you yourself also experienced something of UBUNTU and that you go back as people expanded in your own human capacity.
No doubt, everyone on the team had the opportunity to experience Ubuntu. And so I get to ask myself – what have I become from engaging there? For me, through engaging with those teachers we served, I became a more patient learner. Through engaging with our local partners – Hannes, Nelleke, Charles and others – I became inspired by their dedication to serve their community. Through our daily work on the project, I became trusting in the deep talents of my Autodesk team mates. And returning home, I am becoming an (even stronger) advocate and supporter of the teachers and students in Kayamandi and Makupula High School.
Achumile Manyonya and Asemahle Matyholo, students from Makupula High School who helped us with installing software on the new laptops