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In November 2004, an article in the Zambia Daily Mail announced that former senior UNIP member and cabinet minister, Grey Zulu, was taking classes at our computer school. The article said:

“Veteran politician, Grey Zulu, 80, doing a beginners’ computers course, yesterday said ‘age should never be a limiting factor to education’. He said he decided to go back to school to learn computers so that he could write his memoirs, know how to use the Internet and electronic record keeping.”

“From the time he had been doing the programme, he realised that a computer was simply a fantastic piece of equipment where one could learn a lot of things. It was important to always strive to learn new things in order to move with time and live longer…”

“Zulu said although he was a very good typist in the pre-independence days as a civil servant, it was difficult to learn new methods. ‘I was good at typing with two fingers, there was no shorthand then but I managed to keep the provincial office of the water development department in Kabwe in good condition. My hands were swift and the mind was quick, but that cannot be expected to be performed at 80 because the hands are stiff and shaky.'”

“Zulu’s tutor, Towera Mukubu, described him as a determined student who was willing to learn. She said he had done Introduction to Computers, Word Processing, the Excel Program, and Internet Appreciation and had always been doing his assignments.”

“‘It is exciting to see someone over 80 years doing computers,’ Mukubu said. ‘I would like to encourage people to study computers because the world is changing, IT is growing.’ Mukubu said Zulu’s interest in learning new technology was a challenge to everyone as the world was getting computerised.”

About Makeni Webmaster

I spent most of my youth in Makeni, growing up at the centre as it emerged from the bush, one building at a time. I now work in the UK as a lecturer in computer science.
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