Help 1000 young entrepreneurs in Eswatini

The Enterprise Computer Club continues to provide young primary learners aged 9 to 13 from the Ezulwini Homework Club with opportunities to develop practical digital skills in a supportive learning environment. During this reporting period, 26 primary school learners attended the programme, including 16 Beginner learners and 10 Intermediate learners. While one learner from the Intermediate group progressed to high school and was no longer able to attend the club, a new learner joined the Beginner group, maintaining overall enrolment at 26 learners.

To better support learners at different stages of their digital learning journey, learners were divided into Beginner and Intermediate groups. This approach enabled facilitators and volunteers to provide more focused guidance while allowing learners to progress at a pace suited to their individual needs and abilities.

Beginner learners completed a Microsoft Word course designed to build foundational computer skills, including document creation, formatting, inserting images, creating tables, and file management. To assess their understanding, learners completed a practical assignment on the importance of technology in education, requiring them to apply the skills learned throughout the course.

Assessment results showed encouraging progress among Beginner learners. Approximately 68% demonstrated good overall performance in Microsoft Word activities, while 75% were able to create, format, and save documents independently by the end of the reporting period. Learners showed particular improvement in document creation, text formatting, image insertion, and table creation, although approximately 32% continued to require support with typing speed, spelling, grammar, and advanced formatting features.

The work produced by Melokuhle, one of the Beginner learners, demonstrates the practical application of these skills through the successful formatting of a title, creation of a paragraph, insertion of an image, and development of a table.

Intermediate learners participated in a Microsoft Excel course focused on spreadsheet organisation, data entry, chart creation, worksheet navigation, and basic calculations. To assess their understanding, learners completed a practical school shop exercise that required them to organise data, use formulas to calculate totals, format spreadsheets, calculate discounts, and perform basic calculations using Microsoft Excel.

Results from the Excel assessment also demonstrated positive progress. Approximately 67% of learners showed a good understanding of basic Excel functions, while 75% successfully completed spreadsheet organisation and table creation activities. Around 70% demonstrated confidence in worksheet navigation, including working with rows, columns, and data arrangement, while 60% were able to create and interpret charts correctly. Learners particularly performed well in data entry, spreadsheet organisation, and basic formatting activities, while approximately 40% continued to require additional support with formulas and calculations.

The completed worksheet produced by Ntando, one of the Intermediate learners, demonstrates the practical application of the skills gained during the course. The learner successfully organised data, used formulas to calculate totals, formatted the worksheet, and completed basic calculations independently.

Conclusion

The reporting period has shown encouraging growth in both confidence and digital literacy among learners. Through structured Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel activities, learners have developed practical skills that support their education and prepare them for an increasingly digital world. While some learners continue to require additional support in specific areas, the overall results indicate steady progress across both groups. We remain grateful to the volunteers, supporters, and community members whose continued commitment makes these learning opportunities possible for the children we serve.