Big Favour: IT company delivers computers to Drakensview Primary
Netconfig Innovative I.T Solutions honours the hard work of Opportunity Class teacher.
Iain Emerson, CEO at Netconfig Innovative I.T Solutions, reached out to The Big Favour wanting to donate up to seven laptops, as well as any software / I.T infrastructure support, candidates may require.
Listen to part one of this incredible Big Favour story from Gail Hohls:
Name: Gail
Last name: Hohls
Sponsor: Netconfig Innovative I.T Solutions
Designation: Iain
Emerson (CEO of Netconfig Innovative I.T Solutions)
Good day, Darren and Sky.
I'm a teacher at Drakensview Primary School in Estcourt. It is a mainstream school with one special needs class that I teach.
I will give you a little information about the class that I teach before I ask for a big favor. There can be up to 15 learners placed in this class.
LISTEN: Keagan receives special gift from East Coast Cycling Club
Each learner has different abilities and different barriers to learning. Some learners are not coping in the mainstream and have come from other schools, they are purely remedial cases who need to catch up.
They spend one to two years with me learning to read and closing gaps in their math that they misunderstood, then they return to the mainstream classrooms.
Read more: Big Favour: AMC Hunter Inc return to celebrate innovative entrepreneurs
Other Learners are with me from where they could not cope in Grade 1 all the way through to when they leave primary school and move on to a pre-vocational high school.
As you will by now have realized, my classroom is a multi-aged, multi-ability class where the youngest can be 7-8 years old and the eldest 13-14 years old and I teach them on my own.
Read more: Big Favour: Dr Gcina Mhlophe's Big Favour wish comes true
I love what I do, and I love my children dearly because they spend most of their days with me in the classroom, I get to know them well, and each little step of achievement is celebrated.
For instance my Luthando, I was told
4 years ago when I took over the class, that he would always just be like a preschooler
and to just allow him to go and play whenever he got restless.
He has learned to read and do math at a grade 2 level and has a hilarious sense of humor and general knowledge that pops out at random moments.
Then Nakho who is a miracle child who due to birth complications should not be able to go to school. At 10 years old, he is beginning to read on his own and write on lines.
Then on the other side of the scale, there is Melokuhle who came to me last year from Grade 4 with zero self-confidence, could not read at all nor do any basic math.
Read more: Big Favour: Breast cancer survivor returns for a progress update
He caught up with everything in the year and has returned to mainstream and is flying!
So now that you know a bit about my situation, I have a huge request. I have 5 extremely old desktop computers for my class to work on. They were refurbished and donated back in 2012 and still run on Windows XP.
They take at least 10mins to boot up and then hang every few minutes when the children work on them.
Read more: Big Favour: Sherwyn receives amazing Big Favour from AMC Hunter Inc
In fact, I have packed them away as they cause more frustration than good for everyone. I would love some newer computers/laptops for my class to work on.
We would be grateful for refurbished ones as I'm sure they would be better than what we currently have.
If it is at all possible, may we please have 6? This is appreciated greatly. Thank you for what you do to uplift communities.
Kind regards,
Gail Hohls - Opportunity Class teacher.
Listen to the incredible conclusion to the story of how the Big Favour was able to help:
Make sure to catch the Big Favour every Wednesday just after 7am. Caring for those who are in need
MORE ON EAST COAST RADIO:
Main image attribution: ECR