A major e-learning and community development project in rural Zambia
Zambia, located in Central Southern Africa, remains one of the poorest countries in the world. The impressive economic growth for which the region is now known has little effect outside main urban areas, with 78% of the rural population living below the official poverty line, on under $1 a day. Life expectancy hovers at around 40 years, and there are high levels of malnutrition in rural areas, where climate can be irregular and most of the population survives by subsistence farming.
The combination of e-learning with a service centre that offers essential services and internet connectivity is potentially transformational in a rural area
The Mwandi Project brings modern technology to one of these rural areas. The project combines the use of e-learning with services for the community, while monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the implementation of the technology in a rural setting.
Six primary schools in the Mwandi area have been equipped with e-learning tablets containing the entire Zambian primary school curriculum, in English and 8 different Zambian languages. Lesson plans for teachers guide them towards modern interactive enquiry-based learning, and away from conventional rote methods. For students there are thousands of matching fun multi-media animated lessons.
For things to change requires some key structural changes, chief amongst which is improved access to modern education.
Teacher training is provided to all the teachers in the schools. A support teacher is provided who ensures that the new style of teaching is continued in all schools; supporting all the teachers as they adopt the new methodologies.
The project locates a Service Centre near each of the schools, providing security and charging facilities for the tablets when not in use at the schools, plus internet, printing, technical support and a range of other services to help the community. This enables the rural communities to access better information and markets, thereby helping them to break out of the poverty trap.
Local communities around each school are able to use the tablets for adult literacy and numeracy; financial literacy; computer use, including email; access to learning about farming and the ability to begin to trade via the system; plus learning about improved health care.
