Ozias Davhana High School at Mpheni brought home a cheque to the value of R1,1 million after winning the SITA CSR High School Robotics and Coding Challenge. The competition was held at the University of Mpumalanga on 25 March.
The school's learners showcased their creativity and innovation, developing unique solutions to real-world problems.
Four of Ozias Davhana High's learners represented the school by writing a unique essay and were selected as finalists for the competition. Their motivation was that disabled and older people existed in their community who had no-one to take care of them while their caretakers or siblings went to work, school or out to do shopping. Their solution was a programmed robot that can help their loved ones by giving them food, medication and help them get around at specific times during the day while their caretakers are not around.
Ozias Davhana High's coordinator, Ms Sewela Sasa, was lauded for having put together and guiding the winning team. She could not hide her excitement. "We are very proud of them; they put our school on the national map. We had all along hoped to win and get crowned national winners. We knew our time was coming. The money they had won will be utilised to build a robotic stem lab here at the school," she said.
Representing the participating learners, Rhandzu Hlungwane told Limpopo Mirror that the victory was not just theirs but was for the whole of Limpopo. "All the people of Limpopo should be proud, especially the Vhembe area. We thank God for this prestigious award bestowed on us as learners. It was not an easy journey, as we were competing against different provinces, but because of the grace of God, Ozias Davhana High has won. We worked so hard in preparation for the competition, and we are very pleased with the results and the award we managed to bring home," she said.
The Limpopo MEC for Education, Ms Mavhungu Lerule Ramakhanya, was thrilled about Ozias Davhana High's win. "There are not enough words to express how proud we are of the award given to one of our own rural schools. Such enormous recognition does not come easy and should be appreciated as a testament of selfless determination and excellence that we are privileged to see in our learners," she said.