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Communication, Science and Technology minister, Prof Makame Mbarawa, has launched an advanced, solar-powered e-Learning Centre at the Kambangwa Secondary School in Dar es Salaam.
Using a Samsung Solar Power Generator designed specifically for rural areas and regions with erratic power supply, the e-Learning Centre includes Note PCs, a smart e-board and a multifunction printer. Vodacom Tanzania has undertaken to sponsor the connectivity for the centre.
“This is a programme that will make sure that all our secondary schools get connected to the rest of the world. I am, on behalf of the government, grateful to Vodacom Tanzania and Samsung for this great move and I urge all the targeted schools to make good use of this opportunity,” said Mbarawa yesterday.
Head of Vodacom Foundation, Yessaya Mwakifulefule, noted that the initiative is in line with the telecommunication service provider’s goal of supporting Tanzania’s efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
“Education is the key to the development of any society; that is why Vodacom is committed to ensuring that as many students as possible get access to learning facilities without much struggle. Also, in a world where technological developments are rapidly being adopted, we have come out strongly to ensure that we offer access to such developments to schools countrywide,” said Mwakifulefule.
Vodacom Foundation, has in the past been involved in various initiatives aimed at supporting the country’s education sector.
Such initiatives include, among others, the Community Power Initiative, a project launched recently to supply solar power to rural schools located near network sites. The excess power generated from the sites is being supplied to the nearby schools.
Mwakifulefule said the Foundation has also invested heavily in building and equipping classrooms, providing stationary and other learning materials to schools countrywide.
Samsung Electronics Tanzania Managing Director, Dongha Jang, said the Samsung Solar Power Generator, launched in March this year, provides easy and renewable power at an affordable price to schools and community centres across Africa.
The generator can provide power for up to eight years before batteries require a refresh. “By harnessing the sun’s energy, we are able to provide communities in Africa with an extremely affordable power source, characterised by an environmentally-friendly footprint,” he said.
Kambangwa Secondary School is the latest beneficiary of Samsung’s advanced Solar Powered Generator. The first, Phomolong Secondary School in South Africa, received its Solar Power Generator earlier this year, which is expected to slash 90 percent off the school’s power bill and offer significant benefits to learners.
Under Samsung’s global ‘Hope for Children’ campaign, Samsung Africa is focusing on education, rural access and connectivity, and developing programs that speak to the broader basic needs of communities. Through these initiatives, the company aims to directly impact the lives of 5 million Africans by 2015.
SOURCE:
THE GUARDIAN
