Daveyton now has an eye to the sky

	Councillor Victor Chiloane (centre) of Ekurhuleni receives a telescope on behalf of the community from Patrick Thompson (left), Group Executive: Human Resources of the NRF and Shadrack Mkansi, Manager of SAASTA's Science Awareness Platform.

SAASTA donated a state-of-the-art telescope to the community of Daveyton-Erwatwa in Ekurhuleni on 27 February 2013. The custodians of the telescope will be the RGM School of Excellence (RGM).

The Mbikwa Cindy Community Hall, where the telescope was handed over by Patrick Thompson, Group Executive: NRF Human Resources and Stakeholder Relations - himself a member of the Daveyton community - was a hub of excitement from early to late in the day.

About 200 learners from seven schools in the area participated in astronomy-related activities such as building working telescopes. In the evening, the public were invited to attend presentations on astronomy. They were introduced to the night sky in the mobile planetarium and telescopes were made available for sky viewing.

"I was touched by people's reaction when they first saw a planet through a telescope," says Shadrack Mkansi of SAASTA's Science Awareness Platform. "People know about planets, but to actually see one and realise that it is different from a star is a real eye-opener."

RGM, which is an NGO with the vision to transform people's lives through education, will use the telescope to create greater awareness of the role of science, engineering and technology among people living in the community. They are well geared for this task, since they already organise excursions and events to expose the learners of Ekurhuleni to knowledge and opportunities outside the classroom.

RGM's main focus is to provide extra tuition in Mathematics, Physical Science and Accounting to high school learners.