A new computer laboratory has opened at Nhlengelo Primary School in Burlington, Acornhoek – capping a decade-long, community-driven effort that pulled together international funders, local NGOs and a determined set of volunteers to give rural learners a digital foothold.
Nhlengelo is a no-fee, public primary school serving the Bushbuckridge Local Municipality in the Bohlabela (Ehlanzeni) district. Public records list the school at Burlington New Stands near Madizi Secondary, with roughly 600 – 700 learners and about 15 teachers on staff.
Nhlengelo School originally started around 16 years ago, due to a nearby lodge being asked to assist in providing some cement for bricks for toilets being built. Teaching, at that stage, was basically out in the open under a tree. A local Hoedspruit resident, Dave Jackaman, then became very involved in getting the buy-in from local residents, Chiefs and the Department of Education, and was responsible for getting most of the classrooms built with ARC/Alumier funding.
Things were put on hold until almost 12 years ago when another Hoedspruit resident joined a mountain-bike ride that led to an introduction to “Mother Teresa” of Acornhoek, Shirley Beretta – known for daily solo runs delivering antiretrovirals to patients who couldn’t reach hospital care and for stocking soup kitchens across Acornhoek and Bushbuckridge. One of those kitchens operated from Nhlengelo Primary, where a chance meeting with then-principal Lyson Mdluli sparked a long-term commitment to the school. (Mdluli has since retired.)
Early donations were modest – paint and large water containers for classrooms – but the push for a lab took shape after contact was re-established with a former South African linked to Alumier’s philanthropic work (formerly ARC Foundation), unlocking capital for new buildings. The Kirsty Watts Foundation stepped in to assist and introduced Click Learning, who in turn agreed to activate the literacy lab once reliable connectivity was in place – a process that, in this deep-rural corner of Acornhoek, took two years to resolve.
The new facility – comprising a purpose-built computer lab and attached administration offices – was funded through the Alumier Foundation, the global philanthropic arm of Canadian skincare company AlumierMD. Alumier’s foundation focuses on bricks-and-mortar education projects and has raised funds for additional classrooms and infrastructure at schools in South Africa. Project organisers estimate the value of Alumier’s recent contribution at about R2.5 million. Alumier and other funders have also sponsored the other classrooms over the years at Nhlengelo with total contributions estimated at about R10 million. No funding came from the Government.
Furnishings and a large share of the equipment including a large security safe came via the Johannesburg-based Kirsty Watts Foundation (KWF), together with Click Learning, which confirmed it channelled support for a “Computer Learning Centre” at Nhlengelo in 2024. In total, 52 laptops were purchased alongside a safe and security upgrades, according to the project team.
Connectivity – often the stumbling block for deep-rural schools – was solved in partnership with Click Learning (formerly Click Foundation). Click Learning provides a tech-enabled literacy model built around individualised software and youth facilitators; two previously unemployed local youths have been trained as lab facilitators for Nhlengelo.
Inside the lab, foundation-phase learners will use Reading Eggs and Reading Eggspress – Australian-developed, evidence-based programmes Click Learning deploys nationally – to strengthen phonics and literacy/reading-for-meaning. Recent evaluation work with Click Learning shows extensive usage of these tools across hundreds of South African schools.
Nhlengelo’s setting underscores why the project matters. The school sits at the southern end of Acornhoek, roughly 25 km from the main town, in an area where learners face long commutes, low household connectivity and limited exposure to digital tools. Public listings confirm the school’s rural location and status as a no-fee Quintile 1 institution.
Click Learning’s model brings both literacy gains for learners and local jobs by training unemployed youth as in-school facilitators who run lab sessions and track learner progress. The approach is designed to be scalable across no-fee government schools.
KWF’s involvement at Nhlengelo predates the lab, with earlier furniture donations routed to the school; the foundation – founded by Kirsty Watts during her recovery from a malignant brain tumour – specialises in practical, school-level interventions.
For Nhlengelo’s staff and community, the lab is more than a room full of screens. It’s a bridge: between a rural school and the wider digital world; between Grade R learners and the confidence that comes from reading with meaning; and between a community’s quiet persistence and tangible change.
