Despite having no computers to use, students at South Africa?s first free university defied the odds and learned how to type at a speed that would leave many professionally trained operators in their wake.

The students, who would otherwise have appeared destined for a life of disempowerment on the fringes of society living in abject poverty, proved their worth using nothing more than photocopies of a computer keyboard to learn how to type.

And an audience in Bermuda heard how the students increased their keyboard typing speed by tapping away on their imaginary keyboards keeping time with music ? building up from Mungo Jerry?s ?In The Summertime? to speedier reggae classics by Bob Marley.

By the time the fledgling university ? built purely from the efforts of supporters and donators ? had managed to secure some actual computers, its paper-trained students were able to type away at secretarial-type speeds of 30 words a minute.

Against the odds, the students outperformed all their wealthier contemporaries in a contest to find the champion Microsoft Word and Excel users in Southern Africa, winning the opportunity to battle with the cream of European scholars.

Taddy Blecher is a shining beacon of miracles that are achievable.

He is the visionary who, less than seven years ago, helped create the CIDA City Campus in Johannesburg out of nothing and has seen South Africa?s first free university-level institution draw praise and backing from former South African President Nelson Mandela, TV celebrity Oprah Winfrey and world-famous business entrepreneur Sir Richard Branson.

Visiting Bermuda to present two speeches, some of those fortunate to hear the first address at a luncheon for the Rotary Club of Hamilton left the event commenting on the infectious enthusiasm projected by Dr. Blecher as he spoke about the university project which, less than ten years ago, many simply laughed off as an unrealistic dream.

Built out of nothing more than determination, self-belief and faith, the CIDA City Campus has given the poorest South Africans from the shanty townships the opportunity to reach for the sky and compete on a level playing field with those able to afford expensive schooling.

The cost of the first year of a degree course at CIDA is $70, after that it is $20 a month for the second, third and fourth years.

?That?s about five percent of the cost of any Government university in South Africa,? said Dr. Blecher, the CEO of CIDA.

?We had to be innovative, so what we did was rethink what are the real goals of higher education and how do we achieve them in a new way and at a fraction of the cost.?

What led to Dr. Blecher, still in his 30s, leading the project stemmed from a night of clarity as he was considering leaving South Africa to start a new life in the US and then re-focusing and spending four years instead living and working in the poorest townships to make a difference to lives of his fellow countrymen and women.

?There were kids who were achieving the most extraordinary things, they would be studying by candlelight at night because they had no electricity, they would have to walk miles to school and had never used a computer and yet, despite all these obstacles, they would go to high school and do well. But then, because they had a lack of funding they could not go on to university.?

Dr. Blecher and his colleagues helped the youngsters from the poor townships get through their schooling.

?We ended up having lots of students who we had helped through the schools and we encouraged them to go to a university but they couldn?t because they did not have the money and they couldn?t start a business,? he said. ?So it was really out of desperation we thought we have to find a way to invest in these people.

?We had no support from anyone. We decided we were going to create the first free university and people just laughed at us. But we reinvented how education is provided. We created a new type of education.?

CIDA is a university that is mostly run by the students themselves, they help manage office administration, maintenance, marketing and catering amongst other aspects. It was created with support and donations and now has visits and backing from the likes of Mandela, Sir Richard Branson and the Dalai Lama.

CIDA provides four-year accredited business, leadership and entrepreneurship degree courses.

Dr. Blecher said the university?s students, as part of their degree courses, go back to their communities and pass on their teaching to others, creating a cycle of learning that benefits many thousands.

He added: ?We are trying to run a free university. The city model works and next year we want to do a rural university and then take it across the country.?

Dr. Blecher is due to give a public talk on the CIDA City Campus project at the Bermuda Underwater Exploration Institute tomorrow at 7 p.m.