In over a decade, Camara Education has been involved in the provision of ICT skills and products to teachers and schools in more than 800 schools in Kenya. Working under a social enterprise model, the organization supports and aligns with the Ministry of Education’s Digital Literacy Project. Camara has also been working together with renowned technology company Dell and Computer Aid to offer access to IT and skill through the Dell Digital Youth Learning Program that targets to alleviate the constraints schools face when transitioning to ICT-based activities.
In the past week, the foundation took its program to Kajiado Country where two schools, Al-Huda Muslim Primary and Ngong Township Primary were beneficiaries of an ICT-in-education project. The systems were set up in classrooms and solar-powered computer labs.
The idea of a solar-powered computer lab may be appealing to a lot of people who believe in green energy that delivers sustainable and affordable connectivity to schools found in remote or underprivileged regions. Folks who installed the system lauded its features as it uses less than 4 per cent of typical PC that is hooked to hydropower.
The project to equip schools with PCs was started in early. Together with Dell and the Ministry of Education, Camara picked learning institutions based on criteria such as lack of access to electricity and location (if close to an underserved community).
Dell provided computers and their associated peripherals that were then deployed by Camara Education.
The solar program is supporting the implementation of the Digital Literacy program by the Kenyan Government (DLP) that aims to up access to ICT skills in all 23,951 public primary schools in the country. Also referred to as DigiSchools, DLP targets to leverage digital technologies with an emphasis on a digital platform and not devices. The project aims to deliver more than 1.2 million devices in a span of 24 months at the cost of Kes 29 billion that should also cover training, electricity connection and content development.
Quotes
“This project is going to impact very much positively to this community, and I am sure the youth are going to realize their dreams through research, experience, and networking. It is the best thing to me that can happen to a visionary society,” said Mr Mayquva Wanjala, the Principal of Al-Huda Muslim Primary School
“We are very privileged to work with the various relevant Kenya government entities in supporting this initiative. Camara Education will continue to focus on contributing towards the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 4 quality education and 8 which aims to ‘promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.’ The partnership with Dell, Computer Aid, and the Kenya government has developed a new lesson,” noted Mr Daniel Oloo, the Camara Education Country Manager for Kenya.
“We have been working with schools across five countries in Africa for over ten years, and we are very excited to be part of this project in Kenya, making use of renewable energy and a combination of technologies to support these schools. This is a great platform for students and teachers alike, and we are looking forward to seeing the educational impact of the project.” Added Ms. Lotta Kinnunen, Camara Education’s Head of Africa Operations.
