The Challenge Goes out at Langa Secondary

Skill Yourselves for Your Future

At the launch of the Khanya laboratory at Langa High School, the learners were challenged by both Khanya representatives and representatives from the Bytes Technology Group to empower themselves by making full use of the technology they have been given.

The launch, hosted on the 29 August 2005, marked a significant moment in the life of Langa High School.  The school ' the first black secondary school established in the country ' is in the unique position of being able to offer their learners a wealth of opportunities never before envisaged as they now have two computer laboratories and 60 computers.  In his speech, Kobus van Wyk, Project Director for Khanya, urged learners, parents and the community to use the laboratories to skill themselves, stating that computers and the accompanying skills were no longer a luxury but an essential and that if they were to get ahead in life, they would need to skill themselves thoroughly for the future.

His comments were given added weight by both Yolisa Thase and Skip Franzen of the Bytes Technology group.  The Bytes Technology Group, an international company, is passionate both about technology and the youth, a fact which is born out in their commitment to Langa High School which received state of the art equipment from them for a second laboratory.  The Bytes Technology Group has also made a commitment to the future running costs of the laboratory and the upliftment of the school itself.  Their interest in the school is self-evident: they need people with computer skills and they challenge the learners to become those people.

An educator at the school, Ms Mfunda, who has been involved with the project from the start, added her appeal to those of the other speakers, urging the learners not to take the computer laboratories and the technology for granted, but to use it to gain the knowledge and the skills to make a difference in their own lives and the lives of their community.  She added passionately that the only one who held a key to their minds was themselves.

The event, a dignified celebration of Langa High's progress, also included musical items by the school choir and the school steel band, and a dance item.  Clearly, Langa High School has many talented learners who have the potential to do even greater honour to their school's name in the future if they heed the advice of the speakers.