Kulile senior secondary school construction/computer project

High school aged children in Kulile village in South Africa spent more than an hour a day walking to and from the nearest village with a secondary school. Not only was this a hardship for the children, but it put them at some risk since they had to cross a relatively large creek on their way to school in the winter months.

Given the concerns of the villagers, Mr. Magwashu, the Headman of the village, took a courageous step by imposing a one-time fee on every household equal to the average annual income of households in the village. The proceeds of this one-time charge were used to buy building materials for the school. The villagers volunteered their time to construct the school. Needing additional funds, CELD stepped in to help.

Kulile was the first village CELD supported in their efforts to construct a secondary school. The village built four classrooms, which were finished 2002. 

Empowered by this success, the community approached the provincial government and requested four additional classrooms be built. After a site visit, the provincial government agreed to build four more classrooms and two offices, which were finished in 2003.  The provincial government brought electricity to the school for the first time. As a result, CELD made an additional contribution to the school so they could outfit the office with a copier and fax machine.

In March of 2025, representatives from CELD again visited the school.  All of the buildings were still in use.  More than 260 students are enrolled.  Over the past 23 years there have been approximately 1,400 graduates.  Impressed by this success with limited resources (old and worn textbooks), CELD is planning to  provide a Rachel server, laptop computers, and the necessary infrastructure. There is no internet access in the area, thus a Rachel server is needed.

"The village of Kulile struggled for 10 years to build a secondary school for our children. We are very grateful to the Coalition for Effective Local Democracy because their aid came when we needed it most and made our dream come true. The educators and learners are now very delighted because they have proper classrooms, which are conducive to effective teaching and learning. In addition, the presence of the building has enabled those learners who dropped out to return to school. Thank you." (B. G. Makuzeni, Head Master of the Village)