Gogo Makhotha hosts a Coding and Robotics session

Gogo Makhotha hosts a Coding and Robotics session

Gogo Makhotha, a 93-year-old citizen from Maserijini Farm near Lothair, will turn 94 on January 10. She was born in Badplaas and married the late Mr. David Makhotha. She had lived on this farm for over 60 years. On December 26, 2022, her daughter-in-law and granddaughter, Nomzamo Makhotha, request that she host a coding and robotics workshop for the Maserijini and Lothair farm village children. "Mine angati lutfo my kind, nine nifundzile phela yentani msebenti wenu," Gogo Makhotha said, claiming that she knows nothing and that because you are educated, you can do the work. She never hesitated to extend the invitation to her neighbors who came to see her on Christmas Day. "Nitfumele bantwana kusasa, makoti utobafundzisa," she was heard saying. On the 26th of December, the community children arrived as expected. Despite the fact that it rained in the morning, the children were eager to learn about coding and robotics.

Coding and robotics are relatively new subjects in South Africa. The President, Cyril Ramaphosa, announced it in his state of the nation address in 2019, and a few schools were identified to pilot the subject in 2020. The Minister of Basic Education announced in 2022 that all schools will fully implement the coding and robotics subject in grades R through 7, with other grades, such as grade 8 and 9, continuing with the pilot.

The workshop got off to a great start at Gogo Makhotha, with two sessions introduced to the children. The first session was about the Boat app, and the interface of the app was laid out on the ground in a grid, and children had to move two robots according to instructions given by facilitators to two groups of children. One group quickly named their robot Viase (Female), while the other named theirs Ace (Male), and they both used their group mate to follow their instructions to reach the other robots.

The second session focused on manipulating the Tanks App with seven smartphones and seven sets of Tanks puzzle pieces designed by Nelson Mandela University. After the first few levels, the children had to play the Tanks game independently by following a few basic instructions from the facilitators. The Tanks game has 35 levels, starting with simple steps and progressing to levels that are more complex. The power of Tanks, with its embedded problem-solving skills, inspires the children to keep going until they reach the next level. "We'll get it right this time, let's try again," some kids said. "We are now in level 7 and ready to use the red puzzle," said Lindo Zulu, one of Gogo Makhotha's great grandchildren. The red puzzle is the Shoot Puzzle, which clears the path by to removing obstacles in the app so that the Tanker can reach the Star.

The coding and robotics session was full of joy and laughter, and the children were special here at Gogo Makhotha's house. They prepared special hot dogs and cold drinks with the help of other older grandchildren, and Gogo Makhotha gave them sweets.

Mpumalanga Tangible Coders

I've been coding since 2016, and one of my main challenges has been reaching as many kids as possible, but that wasn't always possible because many schools don't have computer labs, and devices like desktops, laptops, and tablets were fantasies for many schools in my district.

Some schools will receive old unused desktop computers disguised as contributions. Because the schools with devices were not connected to the internet, connectivity, which was necessary by some coding sessions, reduced my energy levels. One extraordinary, unexpected day occurred when I feared the Mpumalanga ICT Club of my dreams would not survive the Covid-19 trials. I needed something to get me through it, especially after the President announced that coding and robotics will be added as formal subjects. I wanted to do more. 

I discovered about unplugged coding via Prof Jean Greyling's articles and reached out to him without hesitation; he hooked me up. You know what, I was overjoyed, and my sister Ntombizodwa and my daughter Nomzamo shone the brightness through my eyes as they touched those coding tokens of Tanks. We were all taken aback by the app's image recognition magic, as well as the game's inherent problem-solving and teamwork skills. Wait until I engulf you with all of the reactions we received from each child who touched the same tokens. "Mem, I'm winning," one grade 3 pupil said in the middle of the workshop at Benzangani Primary School. We were able to reach more schools,  than what we expected such as ITsoseng, Rankaila, Phopholo, Bazani in Mpumalanga and Tiamoko and Tlamaganyo Primary School in Soshanguve.

I tried my best to explain the coding games on the local radio stations and in the local media, but it only made sense when journalists came to witness the largest coding competition ever held in our province, the Mandela Day Coding Tournament. 

It had a great impact, made people smile, and told amazing stories all around South Africa and beyond. We were counted in and are still waiting for additional major events. We, the Mpumalanga ICT Club and the interns from the Leva Foundation, have established ourselves as Mpumalanga's Tangible Coders.