Manenberg is located approximately 20 kilometers from the Cape Town central business district(CBD).Shawco has been operating in the area for more than 30 years. It is a predominantly Afrikaans speaking, working class community. Similar to most disadvantaged communities, Manenberg is faced with major social challenges, such as high unemployment (estimated at 65%), gangsterism , violence , overcrowding ,etc.  The concept of starting a computer training centre/internet café in Manenberg emerged about five years ago after Shawco did a presentation at a community forum and the community requested such a service. The feasibility of such a project was explored and once again re-visited just over a year ago when Shawco received funding from the Stempels Foundation in the USA to build a computer centre.  

The first phase of  computer training was launched in June 2008 , with the assistance of students from Vanderbildt University in the U.S.A. We trained 20 unemployed people from the community ( mostly women ) in basic computer fundamentals. This was followed by eight community members doing a 10 week training programme. We are currently preparing for the next phase of training which will start in March 2009.

Further more we are also in the process of launching our own internet café. Our vision is to provide a quality service and strive towards excellence.