About Us
Meet The Founders
Ed and Beth Rettig
Musawenkosi Christian Academy (MCA) was originally called Mukhanyo Christian Academy, with "mukhanyo" being the Zulu word for "light" and referring to the "light of the gospel". However, to register as a government school, the name was changed to Musawenkosi Christian Academy, with "musawenkosi" meaning "by God’s grace". MCA is an independent school located in the Kwamhlanga township of Mpumalanga province in South Africa, 60 km north of Pretoria. The school was founded in 2010 as an outgrowth of two short-term mission trips by groups of Americans in 2005 and 2007. The school was established with 20 students to serve vulnerable children who had lost parents to the AIDs epidemic. Currently, MCA has 8 grades with 190 students, a staff of 17, and an annual budget of $150,000.
Beth Rettig: The Visionary
Ed Rettig: Theologian, Behavioral Psychologist, Entrepreneur
Meet The Team
Chairperson, Musawenkosi Christian Academy
iTeam Leader
iTeam Assistant Leader
Our Vision for A Model School
Our goal is to create a network of schools across the globe that are using Cardano to better their education and the lives of their students.
Here at A Model School, we've developed an innovative approach to enhancing the performance of students, teachers, and the school as a whole. By merging a new technology, Cardano, with Musawenkosi Christian Academy, we are creating A Model School.
We present MCA: A Model School in South Africa, as a test case for demonstrating the viability of this model and invite other schools to join with us to improve and use this model.
A Model School's Systems:
Current Challenges of A Model School
At A Model School, we are integrating Cardano with MCA to both demonstrate Cardano's utility and enhance the performance of our students, teachers, and the school as a whole. However, we recognize that there are challenges to overcome. Lack of internet connectivity, unaffordable communication equipment, and a shortage of trained personnel are just a few of the challenges we face.
To address these challenges, we are working to ensure that our students and teachers have adequate internet connectivity and communication equipment. We also hope to establish a computer lab and program at Musawenkosi Christian Academy to provide training in computer skills and hire trained personnel to teach our students how to use Cardano effectively. We believe that by investing in technology and education, we can create a model school that prepares our students for the future.
Lack of Internet Connection
The unbanked of the world cannot access this critical technology without access to the internet. Several efforts are underway to solve this difficult problem but it will take some time for good solutions to come to fruition.
Communication Equipment
In many cases, computers, tablets, and smart phones are more expensive than most people can afford. Efforts to introduce the Cardano protocol at MCA and other Model Schools will require, in many cases, some subsidies for communication equipment.
Lack of Trained Personnel
There is a great need for more trained individuals to teach basic computer skills, software languages, and the use of the Cardano protocol. At MCA we hope to build a computer lab and eventually develop a training program in computer science.