"What do we do?"

Establishment of Protea Education Development Project

The charity, Protea Education Development Project, was established as a result of a conversation on Robben Island in November, 2003, between Shadrack Mbobo, a driver/guide on the island, and Danny Gallagher, who was on holiday in Cape Town at the time. The chance meeting on Robben Island led to a tour of some of Cape Town´s biggest townships being provided for Danny by Shadrack. One of the places visited on the tour was Intshayelelo School in the township of Khayelitsha, a primary school in which Shadrack has a brother on the teaching staff. Having become aware of the lack of computer technology in the school´s classrooms, Danny decided that he would set about doing something, on returning to Ireland, to rectify the situation.

In the spring of 2004, Danny set up a registered charity with the name of Protea Education Development Project. Initial funds were raised by running a charity golf classic in Ireland. Substantial additional funds were provided by the Irish state (Department of Overseas Development), while a technology donation was made by IBM South Africa.

Intshayelelo Primary School Project

In September, 2005, a state-of-the-art computer centre was officially opened at Intshayelelo Primary School by the then Irish Ambassador to South Africa, Gerard Corr.

Over the years since its establishment, the computer centre at Intshayelelo Primary School has gone from strength to strength.

For example:

• Today, all of the teachers and children at the school are computer-literate.
• The school curriculum and the computer technology have been successfully integrated.
• The schoolchildren use the computer technology each day for lessons conducted by their teachers on subjects such as language (including English), literacy and mathematics.
• An initiative, whereby a group of 40 of the senior pupils at Intshayelelo School participated in an e-learning pilot project on the subject of HIV/AIDS, run in partnership with the Medical Research Council of South Africa, was successfully completed in early 2007.

Zisukhanyo Schools Project Stage I

The success of the Intshayelelo School Project led to the initiation of a follow-on project, called the Zisukhanyo Schools Project. The first of what was to become a series of Zisukhanyo Schools Projects was launched in April, 2008. The project is known as the Zisukhanyo Schools Project Stage I. The project was completed in August, 2011, and responsibility for the long-term sustainability of the computer laboratories at the supported schools was transferred from Protea Education Development Project to the Western Cape Education Department, the governing authority for the schools. For the names of the schools supported, please refer to the schools supported page of this website.

Zisukhanyo Schools Project Stage II

An expansion of the Zisukhanyo Schools Project was launched in April, 2010. The project is known as the Zisukhanyo Schools Project Stage II. The project was completed in June, 2013, and responsibility for the long-term sustainability of the computer laboratories at the supported schools was transferred from Protea Education Development Project to the Western Cape Education Department, the governing authority for the schools. For the names of the schools supported, please refer to the schools supported page of this website.

Zisukhanyo Schools Project Stage III

A further expansion of the Zisukhanyo Schools Project was launched in March, 2011. The project is known as the Zisukhanyo Schools Project Stage III. For the names of the schools supported, please refer to the schools supported page of this website.