Robin Muchetu Health and Gender Editor
IT is one thing to imagine a scientific experiment and its results and another to carry it out and prove whether the results are true or false.
That imagined experiment is now becoming a real-life experience for learners at Sojini High School in Mbembesi, who have been gifted a fully equipped science laboratory with a capacity of 60 learners by businesswoman and former pupil Ms Zodwa Mkandla.
The laboratory will be life-changing, giving learners hands-on experience and the opportunity to put theory into practice.
Ms Mkandla said the vision came about after she reflected on how she could give back to the community that had raised her.
“Today is a very emotional day for me. I am who I am because of my mother; her home is just one kilometre from this school, where I learnt. I would like to thank her for bringing me up to become who I am today.
“In 2022, when the Zodwa Mkandla Foundation was born, we sat down with a group of friends. Every holiday and birthday, we would travel all over the world, spend money and enjoy ourselves. But there came a time in my life when I asked myself: ‘Why am I spending so much money? What am I doing for others and the community I come from, and for the people I live with?’ This is when the foundation was born,” said Ms Mkandla.
“We sat down with my friends, including Sicelo Dube, who is here, and asked each other what we were doing to give back. The Bible says, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ As I give from my own pocket, I know God will also bless me one hundredfold.”
Having been raised in Mbembesi, she said she felt it was right to help her community, especially girls.
“I am a daughter of this area, a child of the village, and I am passionate about the girl child. The foundation started with a focus on the girl child. All the learners who are here are my daughters. Use the laboratory for your own benefit. Do not see it as just a donation; you must make sure you use it well,” she said.
Ms Mkandla said she was happy that learners were still in school and striving to pursue science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).
“I was impressed when I spoke to the young man, Iphithuli, who wants to be an engineer. He was describing human anatomy using a model in the laboratory. We never learnt about all the things he was describing. I would like to thank the headmistress for ensuring the children are learning so much. When I was at school here, most of us were pregnant or married by the age of 14. Stay in school, girls, and develop yourselves,” she said.
She said that remaining in the country and helping to develop it was a deliberate choice.
“Many left for neighbouring countries after school, but I chose to stay here and help build the country. If we do not build it, who will do it for us? Who will build a beautiful laboratory for you if you are not around to do so? We have to build our country and our villages together,” she emphasised.
She said she would return occasionally to check on the learners and the laboratory.
“We want doctors, engineers, pharmacists and biologists to come out of Sojini. This is one of many laboratories that we are going to build in the country. We do not want to leave any child behind. This is for you to learn and advance your knowledge, so make use of it,” she added.
Tawana Matsokere, a learner at Sojini High School who wants to become a biomedical engineer, said his dream would now come to fruition.
“This laboratory will help us with our studies, as we can now carry out practicals and experiments. We are going to see what we read about in books. The models, such as the skeletons in the laboratory, will also help us visualise what we are learning,” he said.
Another learner, Iphithuli Ndatyana, said the laboratory was an important part of their education, as they could now carry out practical lessons and better understand concepts through live experiments.
Chief Ndondo thanked the Zodwa Mkandla Foundation for its kind gesture.
“We grew up with Zodwa, playing together. I did not know that she would one day return and remember where she came from. This is such a generous gift from a former pupil, and we are grateful. We are proud of her as a daughter of Mbembesi. I want to encourage all parents here to send their children to school and ensure they get an education, as resources are now available. We are also grateful for the support we have received from the First Lady,” he said.
The girls at Sojini High School also received a generous donation of sanitary pads from Mrs Thembeka Mtolo Ndlovu, founder and chief executive officer of Amlonde Sanitary Pads. She is from South Africa, but her initiatives extend across the Matabeleland region.
Amlonde Sanitary Pads focuses on fighting period poverty by providing affordable and accessible sanitary products to young girls and women in rural and under-resourced communities.
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Ms Sicelo Dube, founder of LEC Biotec, is affectionately known as the STEM lady for championing science education across the country, particularly in rural and underdeveloped areas. She said the laboratory was a game-changer for the community.
“A lot of us attended university without having experienced a laboratory or seen microscopes. How can you aspire to be a doctor when you have never seen blood cells under a microscope? We are not going to have children who think outside the box if they do not study subjects such as chemistry. This laboratory will help these children become great scientists. They will experiment, and learning will not be theoretical only. We thank Zodwa for this gift to the children,” said Ms Dube. @NyembeziMu
