ROBOTICS and coding have opened American doors for a group of teenagers from the Western Cape.
United States of America (23 June 2023) – Far removed from the township where they live, Zwelethemba in Worcester, the group of 9 learners (out of a 16-member team), accompanied by two coaches and their robotics teacher, Kudakwashe Takawira, set off on the trip of a lifetime on June 8th to the United States of America.
Speaking from Worcester, Massachusetts, this week where they were attending lectures at Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI), one of the United States’ first engineering and technology universities, Takawira said the trip had been one great adventure.
“First of all, we didn’t deserve to be here. Both fate and nature were heavily against us – it is a miracle that we are here. The learners are from an informal settlement, but they experienced their first time flying, first time crossing the border, and first time travelling across the continent. That was a huge one.”
Just a year after Takawira established a Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) Club at the Zwelethemba High School, the group – known as The Galactic Einsteins – had already won numerous local coding and robotics competitions.
While in the US, the team also competed in WPI’s first Lego League Event, before jetting off to another First Tech Challenge competition in Maryland.
“The children have seen great robots, and have rubbed shoulders with the world’s top robotics teams in one of the toughest robotics tournaments, the FTC. It’s an experience and an opportunity of a lifetime to them thanks to a well determined school principal, Ms Salome October, and the unwavering commitment of team mentors and guardians like Ms Fatima Jakoet of Sakhikhamva Foundation for making this happen,” said Takawira.

Grade 11-learner Lilitha Siyo, 16, said she loved visiting WPI.
“I found myself checking some items off my bucket list in a short time span. Robotics opened many doors of opportunities for me. It has shown me that there is more to the world than what we are exposed to as teenagers. I came from South Africa to The United States of America because of robotics and coding,” said Siyo.
Upon their return on the 28th of June, the Galactic Einsteins will not be resting on their laurels since they will be gearing up for Tangible Africa’s Mandela Day Tournament.
Tangible Africa’s annual Mandela Day event, Coding4Mandela – cultivating the coding ecosystem of the future takes places on July 18. Over 10 000 learners are expected to participate in the coding event from across South Africa, and the continent.
The youth make use of Tangible Africa’s flagship coding applications, TANKS and RANGERS, that are played offline, using minimal resources.
The award-winning tangible coding movement, an engagement project of the Nelson Mandela University Computing Sciences Department and the Leva Foundation, has for the past two years been gaining momentum across the continent.
- To find out more about coding in your region or to participate in the #Coding4Mandela event, contact info@levafoundation.org