In the past seven years Mandla Njokwane (22) has seen and done things that most young men his age can hardly imagine. After running away from home he survived hunger and violence as one of Johannesburg’s street children, before ending up in a psychiatric ward after “smoking” too much glue.
Last weekend the power of his imagination propelled him to a new dream when he won the information communciation technology industry African Achievers Youth Innovation Award for his computer skills.
Njokwane wowed the awards panel with his expertise, original ideas and passion for sharing his skills. Njokwane touched a computer for the first time just over a year ago, but is already able to use the technology to edit photo images, shoot a video and edit it, create animation, games and even design a website. In addition to focusing on his own work Njokwane is a role model and mentor to younger children who make use of the Intel Computer Clubhouse.
The clubhouse is a project of the Youth Development Trust and is designed to provide inner-city kids with an enriched after-school learning environment. The members of the clubhouse learn through exploring and experimenting, and express themselves using their new skills. Children and adult mentors work together on projects utilising state-of-the-art technology. Njokwane’s peers at the clubhouse nominated him for the award.
Njokwane discovered the Computer Clubhouse when he met Jeff Arthur from the Boston Museum of Science. The museum issues licences for the 72 Computer Clubhouses around the globe, and Arthur was in the country to help set up the Newtown clubhouse. Arthur welcomed the young man to the clubhouse and began by teaching him basic computer skills such as typing and how to use a mouse.
Njokwane took to computers like a cat to cream. Once he understood the basic concepts there was no stopping him and he rapidly taught himself how to use all the computer programmes available. Once he had mastered them all he turned his attention to teaching the other children at the clubhouse.
The clubhouse has 600 members from Mayfair and central Johannesburg, half of whom are street children. “We have an agreement with six shelters in Johannesburg to let the children join us,” says Youth Development Trust CEO Ntuthule Tshenye. He believes many people stereotype street kids and automatically assume that they are untrustworthy. “Nothing has been stolen here, not even a mouse pad”, says Tshenye. “We teach them that the clubhouse is yours and if you steal from it, you steal your future.”
According to Tshenye, what makes the clubhouse so popular is that the children are allowed to choose to do things that interest them. He says the project encourages the concept of “learning by doing”. His philosophy is that the children should begin to see technology as a means towards an end and not the end itself. “The clubhouse is a vehicle for young people to be able to build better career choices and to express themselves,” he says.
The project has certainly presented Njokwane with a wider range of choices than he might ordinarily have had. He was able to complete grade 10 at the New Nation School in Mayfair while living in a shelter, but is still determined to get his matric certificate.
Forge Ahead BMI-T, the sponsor of the information communciation technology industry African Achievers Awards, has offered to pay his school fees while he completes his education. Another Youth Development Trust partner project, the Thutong Institute for Information and Communications Technology, has offered him the opportunity to pursue an information technology course next year. Njokwane will consult the management and his peers at the clubhouse before deciding which course to follow.
Right now life is looking good for Njokwane. There was a time when he smoked glue to forget his emotional pain, to blot out the freezing cold of a city pavement in winter and to take the edge off his hunger.
Now he is reconciled with his family and visits them regularly. He lives in informal housing with a group of musicians and artists in Newtown and earns money for occasional jobs, such as the Youth Development Trust logo which he recently designed and painted for the clubhouse.
His life isn’t perfect, but he has a sense of hope and purpose for the future. “Life on the streets is painful,” says Njokwane, “but it teaches you a lot. I only ended up there because of circumstances beyond my control.”
His new-found skills have given him not just knowledge, but faith and a sense of control over his own destiny. He gives a confident grin and says “I won’t go back.”