We left with learners waving goodbye and headed towards Cofimvaba. I was reminded of the incident of getting stuck in the mud and pointed out to everyone where we had to be rescued. Sbo had warned me that the school was only Grade R to Grade 3 and that he did not recommend that we do the Alternative Fuel Demonstrations.

On arrival we met the principal and the decision was taken to allow the Grade 2 and 3s to play with the Lego. This is always a winner as it did not take long for the usual scrum for pieces. The basic instruction was to find 10 pieces and to return to their desk. They were given a few minutes to construct something with the pieces that had and then ask their partners to check that they had used on 10 bricks. There were some that had not followed the instructions.

The next step was for them to combine their blocks to make something bigger and then to explain in English what they had made. Easier said than done as they battled to articulate what they had made despite the high levels of interest and enthusism.

Sadly after about 90 minutes we had to drag the equipment away from them having seen the positive effects on their cognitive development. I am convinced that well constructed Lego programme has a place in education to the point of impacting on most subjects in a positive way.

I was not looking forward to leaving this community that I had come to know so intimately let alone the long drive to Pinetown. It was an awesome journey visiting all 26 schools in the  Nciba district with a bonus of adding a further 4 schools and the Lego project.This journey had included over 3500 learners and a large number of teachers as well.

There were many lessons learnt and I look forward to implementing these in the next project.

A  sad day for a number of reasons. It was the last day of the project and we would be travelling to Durban for my father’s funeral. We had breakfast and made an early start to the day having cancelled the accommodation for the Wednesday evening.

We arrived at the Education Department in Cofimvaba on 08:00 as per usual and were soon joined by an excited Sbo. The route we chose took us up and over the mountains past Sidubi Poort. Even Sbo was impressed with the majestic mountain views which were breathtaking.

I was not surprised that Sbo had not visited Keilands as he enquired about it. He confessed that he had been in the Cofimvaba district for 4 years and hod not had the need to either drive to the Sintele area and walk down the mountain and across the river, or driven round to Stutterheim to access the Keilands school.

We arrived at the school having negotiated some serous mountain climbs in a forested area. We were greeted by the principal where the school buildings were constructed by the locals. The ablutions were a modern facebrick but the rest of the buildings very dilapidated. On closer inspection we discovered that the building roof trusses were made from long poles harvested from the forest with a tin roof on top – functional.

The whole school consisted of 55 learners with 15 from Grades 4-6. We set up the table in the space outside the principal’s office while the Lego was shared with the Grades 2-3 classes – 23 in total.

I initiated the discussion with the solar demonstration as there were the usual remnants of a solar panel on the school grounds – minus the panels. This created the link to the Sun, photosynthesis and the flow of energy. Surprisingly enough there was a learner who added the importance of chlorophyll. This worked well as I used to use this as the lead in using the dynamo apparatus which was now non functional. A spare had been ordered from Prague.

After a 90 minute lesson I had to sadly disrupt the Lego class as the learners were having so much fun transforming their creative ides into realistic aretfacts using the Lego bricks.

During our visit last week I had peppered Portia with questions relating to Keiland Primary. I had located it on the banks of the Black Kei River but had not made the connection that it was in fact on the far bank. I did not believe the principal of Intlangano that one would have to park at the top of the hill, traverse down and then carry the equipment across the river. The alternative I was told was a two and a half hour journey from Cofimvaba side.

On returning to Port Elizabeth on the weekend I had used Google Maps to determine the best route approaching the school from the Stutterheim side. An academic exercise but interesting nevertheless. We left Port Elizabeth round 05:30 with the intention of making it to Stutterheim by 08:30. The trip in was dirt road which took a good 2 ½ hours to cover 50km, the last 10 km in over an hour. This included the opening and closing of 9 gates and sections of the road that had to negotiated in first gear only. I was left with the thought of who in their right mind would willingly drive to find this school.

The setting for the school was absolutely awesome as it was an old mission station. Yes it was in a poor state of repair with no electricity and yet it had the charm of a school with an incredible history (established in 1890). There was an eerie silence with the absence of the usual noise associated with a school. Yes, the learners were busy with school which was pleasing to note.

The principal informed us that there were 38 learners in Grade R to 7 and that there were 15 learners in Grades 4 to 7. The decision was taken to let the Grade R to 3 learners simply play with the Lego while the senior pupils received exposure to the clean energy program. The differences in the language were very evident though most of them displayed the cultural shock with limited interactions. Despite this there was the single student who noted my incorrect orientation of the solar panel. Again I am left with the feeling that given the opportunity these learners can go as far as their counterparts in top private schools, given the chance.

Well, the Lego session was an absolute hit. By the time I got to the classroom every conceivable block had been used by 23 learners. My wife overheard one of the learners saying ‘opie tata’ or ‘where is father’ to show off her marvellous creation. Each one was a masterpiece in it’s own right and the owners were extremely proud of them. I was called by several pupils to take pictures.

One thing that I found a little disconcerting was the fact that the learners seldom smiled. I could not come up with a logical reason for this and yet I was very aware of their sense of achievement.

The customary hand over of equipment and photographs took place but I was once saddened to not leave any Lego with this school. It made a profound impression on these learners and I am convinced that these experiences will be etched in their minds for years to come.

Given the chance I would certainly visit the school again to meet the learners and to experience the joys of a school that is doing good work.

I had begun the day with the sad news of the passing of my father in the middle of the night. It was a tough decision to complete the contract in favour of travelling to Pinetown ahead of the funeral. There was simply no alternative to completing the project other than this week as my lectures start on Monday 09 February. Despite the tragic situation I was heartened to experience the joys of making a small difference in the lives of these learners.