HARDWARE FOR BINGA INTERNET CENTER UNDERWAY!
The first consignment of 15 computers for the establishment of the first Internet Centre in the Tonga area has arrived in Harare / Zimbabwe last week on its way to Binga Highschool. The donation was made possible by support
-> from the Austrian Ministry for Foreign Affairs (thanks to Mr. Milletich for making 15 "second hand" Pentium PC´s available),
-> from the Government of Upper Austria Province (thanks to Governor Dr. Pühringer for a subsidy of ATS 100.000.-) and
-> from sponsors like Techworld and Silverserver.
Our friends and partners from VUM (special thanks to Ingo Lantschner and Carsten Wagner) worked hard to do the set up and screening prior to the shipping. Karl "Max" Greis did a great job - thanks also - to pack and optimise the loading of 500 kg hardware onto two airfreight pallets.
Our partner World Links for Development / WorLD in Zimbabwe will take over the networking (thanks to Gary Brooking) and provide connectivity, technical backup and qualified staff (thanks to Ted Sells and Eliada Gudza) within the next few days and also in the long run.
Carsten Wagner from VUM will assist and provide some basic training at Binga Highschool.
Altogether this means a major breakthrough for the Tonga.Online project: Binga Highschool and the TONGA community are going to have full ONLINE (Internet) access within a couple of weeks!!
TONGA BASKET PROJECT: ABC WINS THE INTEGRATION PRIZE OF LINZ CITY COUNCIL
On the 13th October, the "friends-ball" took place for the second time on a marvellous nostalgia ship called "Schönbrunn" on the Danube river in Linz. This event was created last year by youth clubs to celebrate cultural diversity and tolerance towards immigrants in town. In this context, our training firm at Auhof Business School, called ABC Auhof Basket Company, was awarded one of the "Integration Prizes" sponsored by the Linz City Council.
The twenty students committed to this firm are planning to invest the ATS 15.000 prize they got in buying and selling of the so-called Tonga baskets. These will be imported from the Binga Craft Centre in Zimbabwe where Tonga women design and produce them out of leaves of the Ilala-palm which are coloured with the bark of the Berchemia tree. The main aim and activity of ABC is to introduce and promote African arts and handicraft in Austria.
SYMPOSIUM: CHANGE IN SOUTHERN AFRICA
At the occasion of the exhibition "Tracing the Rainbow" a Symposium "Change in Southern Africa" will be held at the Schlossmuseum in Linz on 18th October in collaboration with the University of Linz. A range of topics - from "The Historical Meaning of Freedom and Development in Contemporary South Africa" to "Zimbabwe - last steps to decolonise or ruin the country" - will be covered. Find more details on: www.schlossmuseum.at
TONGA ONLINE CHAT
Dominic Muntanga, a Tonga student and member of the Tonga.Online project group will visit Linz later this month. He is going to brief the students of the collaborating schools HAK Auhof Business School and LISA Linz International School about the situation in his home area and generally in Zimbabwe. At this time the first Internet Centre in Binga will already be operational and therefore allow for a direct link and online communication. Dominic Muntanga will provide for translation in chiTonga, the language of the Tonga people. Twalumba (thank you)!
On Sunday 4th November 11 a.m. the Governor of Upper Austria province Dr. Josef Pühringer, Zimbabwean Ambassador Tirivafi J. Kangai and other sponsors will visit the Tonga.Online Project room at the Schlossmuseum. They will stress and handover symbolically their support to Dominic Muntanga who is representing the Tonga community. The special occasion will celebrate the achievement of Internet access for the Tonga people and promote communication online with Binga Highschool.
Due to great public demand the exhibition "Tracing the Rainbow" has been extended for another two weeks until 18th November. Take the chance to talk to the Tonga.Online at the project room! This website will keep you informed and in touch with developments also after this date.
You are welcome to subscribe NEWSLETTER@mulonga.net, we keep You posted!