By Sharon Runge | Executive Director
It's exciting to have 28 computers in a rural village for the 18,000 school children in our 55 partner schools---It's not a ratio many would imagine in the U.S., but Kenya Connect has worked hard to provide access to computers and to offer introductory computer classes to students and teachers. Students in the U.S. have created an international book group with the goal of having "skyped" book sessions with their friends in Kenya. It all sounds great, but the Internet technology remains a major hurdle yet to cross.
Thanks to the support of so many donors, we were able to network 22 of the computers in the LRC through a cable. This has greatly aided our instructional courses since all computers are connected and can work together in course instruction. We believed this connection would also aid in all computers sharing internet from a single Internet connection. But alas, it didn't work due to the slow bandwidth currently available.
Kenya Connect then contacted Safaricom, the biggest internet service provider in Kenya. They tried connecting the cable to their infrastructure on a trial basis. Sadly, there is not enough bandwith in Wamunyu to allow a clear connection to the U.S.-- especially during peak usage periods.
However, we are not giving up! Kenya Connect is committed to making the internet part of instructional learning. We have reached out to the Governor of our district to see if he can help bring a stronger signal to Wamunyu. If Kenya is to grow, all students and teachers need to have access to the immense resources available on the Internet.
Some may believe we have not achieved our initial goals. However, we are persistent and are confident that we will eventually have our computers fully connected to the internet providing so many rich and varied resources to our community.
By James Musyoka | Field Director & Director of Operations
By James Musyoka | Field Director & Director of Operations
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