New laboratories to ignite a passion for science and technology in South Africa's rural classrooms

A sign on the hundredth containerised maths and science laboratory. (Photo: Supplied)

21 Oct 2024

Ford South Africa and its partners have donated 100 containerised maths and science laboratories to underprivileged schools over the past year. These facilities will immediately benefit 20,000 learners, and have the potential to affect about 250,000 students over the next decade.

Over the past year, 100 state-of-the-art maths and science laboratories have been built at under-resourced primary schools across South Africa. The hundredth laboratory was handed over on Thursday, 17 October 2024, at Vlottenburg Primary School in Stellenbosch, Western Cape.

The project has been spearheaded by Ford South Africa as part of its 100th anniversary celebrations. The company partnered with Ford Philanthropy, Gift of the Givers Foundation, Maersk South Africa and the Department of Basic Education to deliver the laboratories at schools in all nine provinces.

“These 100 laboratories will immediately benefit 20,000 learners and have the potential to affect approximately 250,000 students over the next decade. That is a gift that is worth giving, and it is a sustainable gift that leaves a legacy. The project aims to set learners on the path to careers in Stem (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) fields such as doctors, scientists and engineers,” said Neale Hill, the president of Ford Motor Company Africa, at the launch on Thursday.

The containerised maths and science laboratory at Vlottenburg Primary School. (Photo: Supplied)

Pupils of Vlottenburg Primary School in Stellenbosch, Western Cape, test out the equipment in the maths and science laboratory donated by Ford South Africa, in partnership with Ford Philanthropy, Gift of the Givers Foundation, Maersk South Africa and the Department of Basic Education. (Photo: Supplied)

Hill noted that a key motivation for the project was “empowering youth” in South Africa, especially those living in underprivileged communities, and ensuring that education made a difference in people’s lives.

“What was key in the selection of the schools… is that we wanted to make sure that we reached areas in South Africa where… students did not have access to facilities like this, and to really make a difference in people’s lives,” he said.

Charmaine Abramse, the principal of Vlottenburg Primary School, said that the new containerised maths and science laboratory would allow the school to make maths and science education more fun and interactive for both pupils and teachers.

“As a rural and also a quintile one school, we are blessed and honoured that you chose us to donate the 100th maths and science lab to,” she said. “The teachers and pupils can’t wait to start using the lab, and they are very curious about what is inside.”

Collaborative partnerships

The 100 Maths and Science Labs project involved key partnerships between private, public and civil society organisations. Logistics company Maersk donated 100 shipping containers for the building of the facilities, while nonprofit organisation Gift of the Givers transformed each container into a fully functioning laboratory, complete with teaching and learning equipment.

Badr Kazi, the director of partnership at Gift of the Givers, said: “We did it in about eight months, and it’s a testimony to when private and public partnership takes place. In other words, when the private sector gets together with the government, these are the types of facilities that we can create.

Equipment in the new maths and science laboratory. (Photo: Supplied)

A sign on the hundredth containerised maths and science laboratory. (Photo: Supplied)

“I think we were all in complete agreement that it should go at primary school level… because many of our learners… start with a huge disadvantage from a very young age. So often what happens is that learners from rural areas and from our under-resourced communities, the first time they see a lab is late in high school, or some of them even at university. This now allows our learners at basic education level to access a lab.”

The Department of Basic Education helped to identify primary schools across the nine provinces to receive the laboratories. It also worked with Gift of the Givers to roll out a training programme for teachers who would be working in the laboratories, to ensure they were equipped to “maximise the impact of these new facilities in their classrooms”, according to Ford South Africa.

“This is not only about education and learning, it also brings hope to the learners, educators, parents and the broader community. It serves as inspiration and recognises that each person matters, even in rural South Africa, and shows they are not forgotten,” said Dr Imtiaz Sooliman, the founder and chairman of Gift of the Givers.

“There’s an urgency and desire to learn, and we have witnessed the huge impact this project has already had on communities, and how grateful the people are for this support.” DM

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Collaborative partnerships