A walk on the digital side

After his Chicago trip, Solomons was no longer alone when it came to dreaming big dreams for his school. Staff at Zion-Benton came on board and developed a powerful partnership with the South African school, opening up a world of new opportunity. First, they raised money to bring two Esangweni students to their school on a year-long exchange program. Through their contacts, they have since lined up scholarships to US colleges and universities for other Esangweni graduates.

In 2002, a group of teachers from Zion-Benton visited Esangweni, bringing with them 60 computers - the leftovers from an upgrade of their own labs - and helped to set up what is now Esangweni's famed computer lab.

Visiting South Africa, Gomez says that he was impressed by Solomons's dedication, but dismayed by the stark contrasts between Esangweni and a wealthier school he visited in suburban Cape Town. That is what convinced him to raise money to ship his school's old computers to South Africa.

"I realized that the dedicated students of Esangweni would be battling in the same college classroom for a grade against those students of Herzilia, and when asked to perform a technological skill, it was no question who would win," he says.

The more technology advances, some experts argue, the further those without access to it will be left behind. But Solomons says that once his students pick up the basics, they amaze him with what they are able to teach themselves.

"If you give kids an opportunity, they'll make the most of it," he says. "I'm convinced that the next Bill Gates is going to come from Africa, as opposed to the US."

To 13-year-old Mxolisi Kene and his friends, computers have become a way of life. Mxolisi spends his lunch hour, and as much time as he can after school, in the Esangweni computer lab, surfing the Net and troubleshooting on the school network. When the school has computer problems, Solomons says, it is often the students who fix them.

Even on weekends, Solomons often brings Mxolisi and other students to join a group of volunteers to help needy clients at local computer labs. Setting up new computer labs is also easy and fun, Mxolisi insists.

That's why one recent weekend Mxolisi and his friends were busy reconfiguring hard drives and measuring out lengths of network cables at the Eindhoven Primary School. While volunteers carried newly configured machines into a classroom that was hastily cleared out to accommodate the new lab, Mxolisi gave teacher Danzil Sauls a quick lesson in computing.

For Mr. Sauls and his fellow teachers at Eindhoven, the occasion was nothing short of momentous. The new lab will provide his students with their first computer access. "Most of my colleagues are not computer literate, and I am only partially computer literate," he explains. "We need computers so we can empower ourselves."

Mxolisi says he sees computers as a ticket to a better life. Since he knows a lot about them himself, he says, it feels good to share his knowledge with others, too.

"I can just imagine on Monday morning, when the kids arrive, how excited they will be," Sauls adds. "They've been poking their heads into this classroom all week long."

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