Uganda: Addressing Lack of Internet Access through an Open Source Education Platform and Raspberry Pi Technology

Education remains tenuous in Uganda and across East Africa. In rural communities, where most people live, students must travel long distances to attend school and graduation rates are low, especially for girls. The ongoing pandemic has made the situation even worse. In Uganda, schools closed for more than a year, without opportunity for remote instruction or learning. With no access to internet, Wifi, or computer deices, disruption to education has been severe and pervasive. Even those with college degrees lack access to technology, internet, or the ability to connect with valuable web-based resources. 

While lack of internet access represents a fundamental obstacle to education and vocational development, it is also an opportunity for innovation. Through open source education platforms, like Kolibri, students can access "curated libraries of educational content from sources all over the globe, with the content available completely offline, on low cost devices."  Kolibri utilizes single servers (connected to internet)  to download educational content and seed other smart devices allowing for sharing and engaging in low resourced areas without internet connectivity. 

Through a new ELN project, we seek to explore the possibilities of utilizing Kolibri to provide educational and vocational enrichment within target communities in rural Uganda. The ELN will partner with Tokens Life Uganda, an NGO established in 2013 by generous committed individuals, who came together to improve and promote the lives of the vulnerable persons, youth, elderly, illiterate, those faced with poverty, those living with HIV/AIDS and those fighting all kinds of economic and social barriers in the various communities of Uganda.

Together, we invite UB students to collaborate through the following categories of activities:

1. Exploring the functionalities of Raspberry Pi technology related to hosting the Kolibri platform and collaborating with Tokens of Life Uganda to develop and disseminate educational and vocational resources in nearby regions.
2.  Engage with members of Tokens of Life Uganda to explore available open source content and identify areas fro content development related to participating schools and groups of young people interested in connecting with emerging opportunities. this exploration will generate new project opportunities for UB students.