Setsembiso Sebunye Growth
2005 100 Computers
Four years after the first amazing shipment of 57 computers, the Mona Foundation has had the unbelievable happen again. 100 more computers have been obtained to replace the old aging computers and create a new second laboratory for the high school. The computers were shipped in the winter of 2004-5 and arrive in June 2005. The school principal writes: “What a bounty! At last the computers were delivered to school on Friday. The number of 100 is quite overwhelming! We have built a second lab in the high school and will replace many of the older machines in both high school and primary. Thank you for your efforts!”
top2004 Graduation!
In 2004 the first high school
class graduated!
2004 25,000 Books & Library
In 2004 the school library was constructed. Shortly after its completion, a shipment of 25,000 books arrived. The books were provided by Mona's Children which is a Books for Africa program of the Foundation. It was quite a celebration as a workforce of hundreds turned out to unload the 420 heavy boxes. The school has arranged with the Ministry of Education and a library organization under them to distribute between 10,000 and 15,000 books to other schools. Along with the library, a full science laboratory and other new buildings accommodate a greater number of students. The total student body has risen above 1000! The new laboratory has strengthened the science program.
2002 Elementary School 35-Computer Lab
In 2002 35 more computers were shipped for a separate lab in the elementary school. This too was the first such lab in an elementary school in Swaziland.
2001-2 AIDS Funding Provided
We are thrilled also to share with you that the Mona Foundation Board of Directors has approved initial funding of Youth to Youth HIV AIDS Educational Initiative at Setsembiso Sebunye High School in Swaziland through a $7,000.00 grant. Directed by Mrs. Anne Waite, this forward looking and innovative approach engages the youth of this high school to take the message of AIDS prevention to all the other high schools in Swaziland through indigenous forms of art such as participatory drama and music.
2000 AIDS Awareness Funding
Swazis are an exceptionally beautiful people. The country has been protected from Apartheid because it has been an independent Monarchy for many years. Their faces and smiles and their cheerful embrace of new comers demonstrate a trust unsullied by ugliness of prejudice and exclusion. There are no orphans in the country. Even though the Aids epidemic is devastating the young population of the country (it is estimated that 40% of the population of 1,000,000 is infected with the AIDS virus, with the highest rate concentrated on children and youth between the age of 10-22), every child belongs to every adult. When the mother dies, some other adult in the family takes over. In Swaziland children are cherished, loved, and cared for. This Youth to Youth AIDS Awareness project proposal is very innovative in that it will be using youth to inform the youth through popular media such as participatory dance and drama, music, video production, radio programs, and such.
The board of the Mona Foundation considered the needs of this school, and has approved the following range of support: to develop and publish Web Pages for the school, to continue extending technical support and assistance, to purchase a laser printer, and to pursue locating funding for a Youth for Youth HIV/AIDS Awareness Project
2000 Web Page Development
We are also pleased to announce that we have developed a Homepage for this high school, entirely through the tireless and volunteer efforts of Teresa and Paul Eade of Eade.com.
2000 Computer Lab is a Success!
Our trip to Swaziland and this high school was truly remarkable. To be in the company of a group of dedicated and totally selfless people intent on serving the people of Swaziland is a moving and exhilarating experience. Everyone of the people associated with the school whom we visited have adopted, raised and put through school, Swazi sons and daughters (those who have families but cannot afford the tuition for schools, as primary and secondary schools are not free in Swaziland).
This school is the FIRST in the country to have a complete lab. Our gratitude goes to many who have supported Mona Foundation in this effort. We would like to particularly acknowledge the contributions made by Attachmate Corporation and TouchMarketing.com, without whose generous support this project would not have been so successfully implemented.
The technology lab of this high school provided by Mona Foundation has been a smashing success. Here is an excerpt from an E-Mail we received from Mr. Stephen Waite, the principal of this high school: “Each of you should know how successful the computer lab is. The kids here are just so appreciative. You walk into the lab during class and there is absolute silence, everyone staring at their screens. Multiply the satisfaction of the kids by many factors to reach what the parents are saying and you have an estimation of the stir that has been created. Happily, we just had a nice article with photos appear in the Saturday newspaper. I will send a copy. The effect is also to bring a large and steady flow of applicants to the school. Of course it is not just the computers, but they are playing their part.” “Happily, it appears as though UNDP [United Nations Development Program] and the telephone company are going to jointly fund the establishment of a gateway to the internet at the school. They wish to assist the school to become the ‘flagship’ institution (school) of Swaziland as far as IT related to the Internet is concerned. We have a visit by the team on Wednesday morning.”
2000 57 Computers Found and Shipped
We are OVERWHELMED!! Now we have the computers and network cards to send them, courtesy of Britte!! She contacted a friend of hers whose company gave us about 70 working computers: Pentium 133 computers, complete with network cards and Windows 95 site licenses, a Xerox Printer, HP scanner, 15 Texas Instrument calculators, and an assortment of educational and office application software. This is the best they wished for, and WE GOT THEM!!!
Shipping cost $5,000.00 including packing the 57 systems. We were also given a ticket for Britte to travel to Swaziland for a month and help the school set up the computer systems. The computers were unpacked by Britte Kolve and Mahnaz Javid in Swaziland in March.
1999 The High School Opens
This high school, the last phase of a 10 year project, and the extension to an elementary school, opened its doors to 400 students in January 2000. As a part of its master plan, it intends to establish a technology lab, the first of its kind in the country. Mona Foundation has so far procured 28 computers from Attachmate, a company in Bellevue, Washington and is working on the remaining 29 computers, which we expect to get from several sources. We will ship them all at once and will continue to work with this school to provide them with the technical support and staff development that they need. Lots of computers for Swaziland!!