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Roke Telkom & Hello World Partner to Build Solar-Powered Free E-Learning Hubs in Uganda

05/12/2019

Roke Telkom, a Uganda-based telecommunications company and a public service provider of internet for voice and data communications and Hello World, a UK-based charity that provides access to digital education for remote and marginalized communities, have partnered to build 14 Hello Hubs around the country.

The HelloWorld Hubs which are solar-powered, outdoor, Internet-connected computer kiosks are designed to provide communities with access to educational software, games, video and communication platforms. They are setup to give people the opportunity to connect with the world, have a voice in their community, educate themselves, and begin their journey towards economic empowerment.

Speaking at the announcement, the Roke Telkom CEO, Roger Sekaziga told guests that the Roke brand as a family is involved in Corporate Social Investment (CSI) more as a business mandate as opposed to just an activity. “We took the conscious decision to be a virtuous corporate citizen that is wholly devoted to conducting our business in a responsible manner, a mindset that kick-started the company’s annual CSI initiative dubbed #RokeGivesBack in 2016, he said adding that, “Roke has over the last two weekends supported over 90 children in children homes in Mbale and Kampala while the next two weeks, will be in Gulu and in Entebbe and to support similar needy children’s homes, making a total reach of approximately 200 lives being touched” Sekaziga explained.

He remarked that Roke Telkom is honored to be partnering with Hello World on this project intended to improve the lives of the communities while providing digital access to online learning tools in remote areas. “We believe it is a brilliant project and Roke Telkom is happy to support initiatives as this intended to transform and improve the quality of life of people in our communities, especially children,” adding that, “Given our already existing presence in the areas that the Hello Hubs will be set up, especially Nakivale and Fort Portal, our hope is that everyone, everywhere in Uganda gets access to some level of education enabled by internet and technology. Roke Telkom will continue to stand side by side with our new partners to see this come to life.”

Katrin McMillan, Founder and CEO Hello World said, “We are in an education emergency. There are 69 million too-few teachers to hit current targets, and, shockingly, there are 263 million children who have no access to education at all. We know that education is the only way to give children a fair start in life and its time to ensure that this massive deficit is ended once and for all. We developed Hello Hubs using the latest in educational technology so that children can access integrated online learning in even the most isolated environments.

“We are delighted to be working with the teams in Nakivale, Fort Portal and Kampala, alongside our Internet Service Provider partner Roke Telkom, and we can’t wait to work with more Ugandan communities to provide education where it is needed most,” McMillan remarked.

The Hello Hub build works in partnership with the community, training teams in how to install and maintain each Hub so that every community is invested in the success of the hub in the long term. Hubs for child-led digital education in the Nakivale Refugee Settlement, two new hubs in Kampala, and four in Fort Portal, all connected to the internet by Roke Telkom

Nakivale is home to nearly 120,000 refugees from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Burundi, Somalia, Rwanda, Ethiopia and Eritrea and conflicts in neighboring countries are increasing the number of arrivals each day. In Nakivale 53% of children are not at school and there is only one secondary school to serve 68,000 children ( All information from UNHCR 2018 and 2019 https://reliefweb.int/sites/reliefweb.int/files/resources/66773.pdf).

For further information about the Nakivale and Kampala and other regional projects, please visit www.projecthelloworld.org.