Swellendam’s Cyber Tigers have been super hard at work in attempts to raise funds for their chance to represent South Africa’s robotics skills on the global stage. And they have exciting news to share with South Africa!
Swellendam, South Africa (27 February 2024) — South Africa’s Cyber Tigers— the robotics team who won the recent First Lego League’s national robotics competition in Johannesburg—have more exciting news to share with the country.
After their big win where they beat out 46 competitor teams, the Cyber Tigers began focusing on a new kind of puzzle that needed solving: raising the funds to grab their golden ticket to the World Festival in Houston, Texas.
The chance of a lifetime for the high school students Jean Mouton, Luka Steenekamp, Lara Pretorious and Christelle Glatz, who call the rural of Swellendam home; this robotics team were ready to put in the work to make their dream come true.
They have sang, shared their robotics stories, sold burgers, worked with sponsors, sold merch and are holding a raffle. The result? They are 70% of the way to their fundraising goal!
Why does getting a local team to an international competition matter, you ask?
Well, beyond it being another opportunity for South Africa to succeed with the world as our audience, the Cyber Tigers journey could mean much more than a win.
South Africa’s presence in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) still lags behind many other countries because of limited educational opportunities. While many schools are working hard to integrate courses related to coding and robotics—an ever-growing sector of the present and future—we need as much representation as possible in this field to inspire more young people to get into STEM, especially young women.
There are ample ways to support the Cyber Tigers through their last push. You can enter the raffle, make a donation or get in touch with the adults helping the students achieve their dreams on lovetouchgrow@gmail.com.
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