FOSST Discovery Center ×JICA Newsletter

Highlight

May

PC skill Workshop

by JICA volunteers

June

Career Exhibition in Umtata

July

Mandela Day

National Science Week 2013

August

Career Exhibition for UFH

September

Career Guidance for Department of Science & Agri-culture

October

Official Invitation for Schools

Outreach

Programs

celebrations in London’s Hyde

Park in 2008 when he said: "It is

time for new hands to lift the bur-

dens. It is in your hands now”.

The United Nations officially de-

clared 18 July as Nelson Man-

dela International Day in the fol-

lowing year.

Reference: Mzamomhle Day

Care Centre introduction video

created by Mr. Mike Earl- Taylor,

lecturer in Department of Crimi-

nology: http://www.youtube.com/

watch?

v=ZEWRwok8pyM&feature=yout

u.be

Every 18th of July in South Africa is

a day embraced with peace, be-

cause this day is the Mandela Day

that is celebrated for the birthday of

Mr. Nelson Mandela, the first black

President of a democratic South

Africa.

On that day, when Mr. Mandela

reached 95th anniversary, FOSST

Discovery Centre staff visited Mza-

momhle Day Care Centre located

in the same town Alice, to imple-

ment outreach programme.

The Mzamomhle Day Care Centre

is a school for mentally handi-

capped children, where 32 students

attend aiming at social independ-

ence. Three workers engages in

the school with being donated from

the government and companies

such as Coca-Cola. Some academ-

ic groups in University of Fort Hare

such as Criminology, Phycology,

and Sociology department assist

them as well.

We cultivated the soil for a field so

that students can grow more organ-

ic vegetables. All the staff in

FOSST Discover Center tilled the

hard soil with hoes and shovels

being soaked in sweat. All of us

were fatigueless through the work

because sprouts have been coming

out from the seeds that our environ-

mental team had donated on the

previous visit.

Some of my colleagues led lectures

with mobile science exhibits. The

students were captivated by a mod-

el of human body and an animal cry

quiz. There were some students

who started to compete each other

by their dance. All of us who partici-

pated in the event had a good time.

At the end of the time, everyone put

their handprints on a placard I paint-

ed. The handprints whose colors

are red, blue, yellow, and green

remind us that we are living in the

diversity.

We're encouraged to take action for

67 minutes to make the world better

place because Mr. Mandela had

spent 67yeas to do so. The idea of

Mandela Day was inspired by Nel-

son Mandela at his 90th birthday

Action to change the world, just for 67 minute

3rd term 2013

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FOSST Discovery Center ×JICA Newsletter 3rd term 2013

National Science Week 2013

A hectic week for persons con-

cerned to science educational

field in South Africa raised a

curtain for the National Science

Week 2013 as usual years,

which is the largest national sci-

ence event. University of Fort

Hare hosted a science competi-

tion event from 29th July to 2nd

August on the initiative of

FOSST Discovery Centre. In

addition to students elected from

about 30 junior-high or high

schools in the same municipal

district, particularly general pub-

lic was strongly encouraged to

join in the event.

The elected students were divid-

ed into each and every school

and competed in knowledge,

skills, team work, and presenta-

tion skills. They competed in

strengthen of the bridge made

with thin and long wood stick for

Bridge Building and in running

distance of the car consisted of

aluminum can which run with

ethanol as fuel for Schemed

Propelled Car. They puzzled

over in the battles of Math & Sci-

ence Quiz and made jury im-

pressed with fantastic presenta-

tion for Poster Presentation, by

which every university students

might feel embarrassed. Plus

teaches showed their teaching

skill each other in Simulated

Class competition.

In the competition for general

public, Beading Contest was

taken place in the theme of sci-

ence of beading. The handmade

masterpieces created by female

artisans who got dressed nicely

with multicolor traditional wears

amused visitor’s eyes.

The teams and individuals that

scored higher received awards in

giving awards ceremony on final

day, and the first team in each

category and overall champion

team got hampers donated by

Johnson and Johnson South

Africa.

Ms. Asisipho Ndyawe, a grade 7

student in Davidson School in

Alice, whose team got 2nd prize

for Poster Presentation an-

swered for an interview, “The

National Science Week was fun,

challenging, and hilarious.

We’re very happy because we

were given the awards due to

our comprehension, intelligence,

and passion. I’ve got a lot of

friends in other schools as well”.

(I was also very happy because

they decided their theme for the

poster as Astronomy due to the

outreach programme I orga-

nized in April for them with a

topic of Astronomy!) Mr. Ibrahim

Jarso, a science teacher in Little

Angel Primary School in Alice,

who got a 2nd prize for the Simu-

lated Class said with deep emo-

tion, “I’m proud of being award-

ed. I’ve realized that we are the

member of this community”.

In this year, gracious speeches

were carried from gorgeous

guests such as Dr. Tom Vuyo,

vice chancellor of University of

Fort Hare for opening ceremo-

ny, Ms. Tebogo Gule from DST

on 2nd day outreach to St. Mat-

thew High School in Keiskam-

mahoek in Eastern Cape, and

Prof. Farhad Aghdasi, dean of

department of Science & Agricul-

ture for closing ceremony.

From now on, we’d love to vigor-

ously work out to be able to

spread our activities more to-

wards as many students and

public as possible with showing

gratitude to everyone who sup-

ported and sponsored us for our

National Science Week 2013.

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Poster Presentation by Davidson School Opening ceremony with Vice Chancellor The Bridge Building

The Math and Science Quiz Outreach to St. Matthew High School The Scheme Propelled Car

FOSST Discovery Center ×JICA Newsletter 3rd term 2013

FOSST Discovery Center ×JICA Newsletter 3rd term 2013

Two JICA Volunteer coordinated PC training workshop

According to The World Bank, 64

million cellular phones have been

registered in South Africa (2011).

When it is converted into numbers

per person, 1.3 cellular phones are

owned by a South African. Aside

from that, when it comes to compe-

tency of computer literacy, it isn’t

enough in some workplaces in rural

area since various administrative

duties have come to be done with

personal computers. Therefore,

FOSST Discovery Center and the

staff planed the PC training work-

shop coordinated by two JICA vol-

unteer on 2nd and 3rd May and im-

plemented it for high school teach-

ers in surrounding districts aiming

at enhancing basic computer skills.

We invited Mr. Tota Sato as a lec-

turer who was a PC technician in

Women’s Development Businesses

as a JICA volunteer (WDB:

www.wdb.co.za). We had con-

structed training programme includ-

ing basic skills to operate Windows

OS, Microsoft Word & Excel, Inter-

net Explorer, and Gmail so that the

participants are able to use them in

their duties.

We’ve got impressions from them

with pleasure such as: ”I’ve come

to be able to make professional

certificates and manage examina-

tion scores with a laptop”, and “I’ve

come to be able to use internet

and got my own mail address” etc.

This workshop was favorably re-

ceived to national volunteers who

supported as assistants. They

said ambitiously, ”We must do it

again by just ourselves”.

We’d like to provide an opportunity

like this initiated by mainly national

staff next time for anybody who

wants to improve computer skills.

3D educational software ”Eureka” plays outstanding roll in Career Guidance

The Eureka, which is being adopt-

ed a special feature tool in FOSST

Discovery Center, played an out-

standing roll in the Career Guid-

ance in University of Fort Hare

from 19th to 22nd August. This

event, which was intended to high

school students in the same munic-

ipal district with the university, was

taken place for supplying infor-

mation about departmental intro-

ductions and the admission proce-

dure by every and each depart-

ment. The Eureka was indeed set at

the centre of the main venue. This

software (the English title: Design-

mate) includes over 3,000 titles of

movie which cover indispensable

items in Mathematics, Physics,

Chemistry, and Biology from funda-

mental level to FET level. Users are

able to experiment for Physics and

Chemistry in the software and solve

problems based on the contents

they’ve learned. It could help learn-

ers to make up with classes in their

school s as the number of science

teachers isn’t enough and most of

schools in rural area don’t have

available science laboratories.

Plus it can provide an opportunity

to touch the up-to-date technology

for students.

This all-round software have

proved to be quite useful in anoth-

er career guidance for the depart-

ment of Science & Agriculture

when 45 students from Umtata

visited the University of Fort Hare.

From now on, key factor in order to

extract enormous potential of the

software would be how to manage

our centre effectively associating

with various institutions in the uni-

versity with this software.

I’m waiting for any comments from you!

Contact us : kokao@ufh.ac.za FOSST Discovery Center ×JICA newsletter Writer: Kazumasa Okao 岡尾 和真

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