AN impoverished rural school in Mpumalanga benefited to the tune of R250 000 when a Canadian man gave his wife, a former schoolteacher, an unusual birthday present. Ray Menard and his wife, Christine, handed over two new classrooms, a storeroom and three revamped classrooms to Lepesi Primary School in Luphisi tribal village, about 60km east of Nelspruit. Menard said the donation was a birthday present for his wife, who has been visiting the impoverished school twice a year since 1997 to teach children and train teachers. – African Eye News Service