When it comes to stable running electricity, there are still some parts of the world which do not have access to it, which really makes us think about it and how we should not be taking our facilities, so readily available, for granted.
With schools these days starting to adopt technology as part of their teaching process, what do schools without electricity do for education? Sure there are books and chalkboards but according to John Walusimbi, a trainer with the Maendeleo Foundation, computer skills are necessary if children don’t want to be left behind in the world.
So what can they do about it? Well their solution is to basically drive a vehicle that has been outfitted with photovoltaic solar panels to outlying schools in Uganda, and when it gets there, set up a pop-up classroom where the charge that the solar panels managed to store is good enough to power laptops that are used for a computer lesson that will last several hours.
This is a project by the Maendeleo Foundation who currently have two jeeps, with each jeep attending to five schools each week in rotation that has the ability to reach out to about 2,000 students.
While technology like laptops and smartphone are not unknown in the rural areas of Uganda, getting access to them can be problem because not only are they expensive, but the lack of electricity to power the technology is an issue as well.
Apart from educating students, Maendeleo Foundation’s co-founder, Asia Kamukama believes that technology and the internet will help local communities as well to improve health and education services and provide them with information that perhaps the rest of the world might be taking for granted.
It sounds like a very good initiative although we reckon with more jeeps and funding, they will be able to reach a much larger audience. What do you guys make of this?