Cell C Sharks visit Vodacom ICT Centre

Trainee teacher; Steven Barnwell (Vodacom KZN); ICT Centre Manager, Lindiwe Dlamini; Trainee teacher, Cell C Sharks player Odwa Ndungane.

This year's Vodacom Super Rugby was used as a vehicle to launch the Tries for Teachers initiative that supports teacher training in South Africa.

For every try scored by a South African team during the 2015 season Vodacom agreed to donate R5000 towards the campaign.

Tries for Teachers supports Vodacom Foundation's flagship Mobile Education Programme for teachers to be empowered through access to Information Communication Technology (ICT).

In the spirit of camaraderie

The Cell Sharks were generous in their contribution to the initiative with their 31 tries they scored before the final round of the regular completion which amounts to R155 000.

Marcell Coetzee, Odwa Ndungane and Etienne Oosthuizen visited the ICT Centre to find out first-hand how the Tries for Teachers initiative is boosting education in South Africa, and what a difference their team's try scoring abilities are having in the community.

Springbok flanker Marcell Coetzee has been the leading try-scorer for the union with the five tries he scored this season and is followed by flyer Odwa Ndungane with four.

The players along with ICT trainees were involved in some hands on training with a CISCO technician as they were shown how to assemble computers.

Vodacom KZN's Managing Executive, Steven Barnwell said: "Rugby is a sport that embodies the spirit of camaraderie and it was therefore apt that society at large benefit from Vodacom SupeRugby. We are delighted to see some of the Sharks players that have contributed so richly to the campaign, here to see their own handy work in action."

The Vodacom ICT Centre in Dokkies (Umbilo, Berea) is just one of 61 teacher centres that have been established country wide, which offer teacher development training, youth and community programmes.

The programme offers teacher training and has trained 20 000 teachers in Maths and Science using technology. Teachers are also trained on how to integrate ICT in the classroom.

The Cell C Sharks visit is the first of our planned visits to Vodacom ICT centres around the country, as many of the Vodacom SupeRugby players are keen to experience how their tries are working towards making a difference.