Partnerships Archives - Page 2 of 3

Partnership with Helios Towers

October 20, 2023

by johnfisher Partnerships Tanzania

Helios Towers is a leading multinational independent telecommunications infrastructure company, focused on driving the growth of mobile communications across Africa and the Middle East. As the leading independent towerco in Tanzania, Helios Towers Tanzania supports mobile operators as they expand their coverage across the country.

Last year, Helios Towers Tanzania donated computers and funded Camara Education Tanzania to set up an eLearning Centre at Kurasini Secondary School in Dar es Salaam. The success of that project has led Helios to commit to supporting at least one more school a year in the future: the centre at Mkwajuni Secondary School in Zanzibar was completed in time for the new school year in September 2023; a centre at Mzumbe Secondary School in Morogoro region will become operational later this year.

As ever, Camara’s contribution involved much more than installing the networked computer lab – at Mkwajuni we provided a broad range of locally-appropriate learning materials and conducted an intensive 5-day training program for school leaders, teachers and students. This training initiative was a transformative experience, equipping a total of 27 dedicated teachers and 7 school leaders with the skills necessary to effectively manage their classrooms, create educational materials and confidently navigate the digital realm. 45 students also took part, learning how to leverage computers to enhance their learning, acquire essential digital skills, and explore the endless possibilities offered by the digital age. These skills will be passed on to their peers.

The grand unveiling of the computer lab at Mkwajuni school was graced by the presence of Tom Greenwood, Group Chief Executive of Helios Towers, and the Head of the ICT Training Department from the Ministry of Education and Vocational Training in Zanzibar, Sadiq Makanyaga.

*Tom Greenwood, Group CEO of Helios Towers, speaking at the launch*

Tom Greenwood delivered an inspiring message to the students, encouraging them to embrace a lifelong journey of learning and to dare to dream big. He underlined that their potential was boundless, with the power to become engineers, doctors, athletes, or anything they aspired to be. Furthermore, he urged them to harness these computers as tools for their personal growth and transformation.

In a parallel context, Sadiq Makanyaga, Head of the ICT Training Department, emphasized the pivotal role of teachers in ushering in this educational transformation. He pledged continued support and ongoing training for educators to streamline and enhance the teaching process. Mr Makanyaga expressed a strong desire for teachers to shift away from traditional teaching aids such as blackboards and chalk, noting the success of smart classrooms in many other countries.

And this is what a couple of the students at Helios schools had to say:

“Experiencing a computer for the first time was like stepping into a whole new world. I had never touched a computer before, and to be honest, I was a bit nervous. But the teachers and Camara Team guided us patiently, showing us how to navigate the system and use basic applications. As I started exploring, I was amazed by the vast amount of information and learning resources available. The computer became a window to a world of knowledge that I had never seen before. It opened my eyes to new possibilities, and I’m excited to continue learning and exploring with this incredible tool”

Mwanaidi Othumani

“Receiving the computers has changed the way I approach learning and problem-solving. Before, I struggled with accessing the latest information for my science and history projects, but now, I feel more confident and informed. Computers have opened up a world of knowledge that has inspired me to delve deeper into various subjects and expand my horizons.

James Liwale

MOU signed with Makueni County

September 19, 2023

by johnfisher Kenya Partnerships

Camara Education Kenya and the County Government of Makueni signed a new Memorandum of Understanding at a meeting presided over by Makueni County Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili and attended by Camara Country Director Biniam Yayehyirad, County Executive Committee Member for ICT, Education and Internship Elizabeth Muli, Camara Kenya Technical and Communication Officer James Jira, and other representatives of the county Government of Makueni.

*Deputy Governor Lucy Mulili and CEC Member Elizabeth Muli sign the MoU*

*Camara Kenya Country Director Biniam Yayehyirad signs the Agreement*

The key objective of this collaboration is to increase access and opportunities through ICT for as many individuals within Makueni County as possible and specifically:

Increased access and digital literacy for students and community members in Makueni County, both in and out of school;
Increased capacity of teachers and school leaders within Makueni County to incorporate ICT into teaching and learning;
Increased capacity of staff working in Makueni County’s Department of ICT, Education and Internship to use ICT in their roles;
Increased opportunity for students to develop technology-based skills and understanding of STEM subjects through ICT clubs;
Increased learner motivation and engagement by supporting inclusive education;
Technical support and guidance to ensure ICT equipment can be fully utilized and beneﬁted from;
Provision for e-waste management so that all end-of-life equipment is appropriately disposed of; and
Strengthened relationship and partnership between CKE and Makueni County for the overall beneﬁt of Citizenry within the County.

Under our previous agreement, in Partnership with Dell Technologies, Camara Education in Kenya has provided support to 15 secondary schools, 3 technical training institutes, and an innovation centre in Makueni County.

*Biniam and James with the Deputy Governor*

Automation Anywhere CEO visits Tanzania

August 9, 2023

by Sean Miskelly Partnerships

The chief executive and co-founder of Automation Anywhere, Mihir Shukla, recently visited Moshi Technical School in Shirimatunda, Tanzania. Automation Anywhere develops intelligent automation software used by businesses worldwide. They have been donating their end-of-life and surplus IT equipment to Camara for use in our school projects, and Mihir was eager to see the end result.

School Principal Mr. Philipo Mwanga gave the visiting group – which included colleagues of Mihir who had just summited nearby Mt Kilimanjaro with him, as well as Camara Tanzania Country Director Dayani Mbowe – a tour of the school and its facilities. He summarised the school’s history and their longstanding collaboration with Camara, highlighting the numerous benefits they have experienced through the provision of training, technical support and computers. Mr. Philipo emphasized that, as a technical school, they face limitations in acquiring all the necessary machinery for students to learn from. However, by utilizing computers in their laboratory, they have been able to employ simulations and demonstrate a wide range of machines, effectively showcasing their functionalities to the students.

Outside the computer lab, an enthusiastic assembly of over 50 students and ICT teachers greeted Mr. Shukla with a rousing school song. In response, Mihir shared a brief personal history, recounting his humble upbringing in a small town in India, where access to computers was a luxury he did not have until college. Undeterred by this limitation, he went on to found a succession of successful tech companies: he emphasized to the students his firm belief that talent is universally distributed, but opportunities are not. He imparted a message of possibility and empowerment insisting that everything is achievable. Furthermore, he highlighted the role of Automation Anywhere in supporting Camara’s mission, ensuring that more students can gain access to technology and enhance their life prospects.

Inside the lab, students showcased a diverse range of the computer applications they have been working on. They displayed their skills in coding and programming, demonstrated the use of a moon atlas for studying astronomy and explained how computers aided their learning about the African continent, utilizing maps as part of their civics subject. They also highlighted their use of an English-Swahili dictionary to expand their vocabulary in English and demonstrated report generation on Microsoft Excel.

Mihir commented “Seeing the students’ excitement as they demonstrated their coding and automation projects was incredible. Hearing them speak enthusiastically about learning new skills and sensing their optimism about building a better future was truly uplifting. This trip reinforced that rural communities across the globe persevere and thrive despite everyday challenges. Let us support young people pursuing education and technology to unlock their potential. Together we can empower emerging generations to create positive change.”

Camara Education Ethiopia signed a new project agreement with the Federal Ministry of Education

July 17, 2023

by Sean Miskelly Ethiopia Partnerships

Camara Education Ethiopia recently signed a new agreement with the Federal Ministry of Education (MoE). The project, titled “Unleashing the Power of ICT in Ethiopian Schools: Improving student learning outcomes and building the capacity of educators through ICT integration from 2023 to 2028”, aims to continue and expand our collaboration with the MoE for a further five years.

Through this new project, Camara aims to:

Equip 875 rural schools with 35,000 computers – 35-40 computers per school – loaded with local curriculum-aligned content and innovative learning platforms.
Train 9,450 educators
Impact 790,000 learners

In addition to offering the support provided in previous agreements for project schools, there have been some additions in this agreement based on our learning over the past few years:

Additional refresher Training to be provided after one year
Scheduled Maintenance after one year
Improved computer specifications to meet current needs
Updated content from MoE and others
35-40 PCs per school, as number of PCs was found not to be enough in schools vs number of students
On request from Camara, the agreement contains further details on the removal of Ewaste from schools previously supported.

Our local team in Addis Ababa unpacks and thoroughly tests the refurbished computers we ship out. They install an open-source operating system (Ubuntu) and load educational software and content aligned to the national curriculum and in local languages on each computer. All the computers are also loaded with an offline version of Wikipedia, creating an extraordinary learning resource for schools which often have no library books and limited internet connections. And most important of all, the computers are installed with PDFs of Ministry of Education textbooks covering the entire school curriculum. Textbooks are in very short supply in many of Ethiopia’s 40,000 schools, so this alone is a crucial resource, enabling students to access information even in areas where the lack of good internet connectivity can mean they have no or sporadic access to online content.

Our technicians travel to each school and kit out a fully functional eLearning centre, installing cabling and anti-surge protection along with 35-40 refurbished computers.

A critical element of our programme is to actively train both school management and teachers to ensure they have the necessary digital skills to maximise the use of the eLearning centre in their school. Follow-up training courses are provided to ensure progress continues and targets are achieved.

Kidist Mulat during training at Semera Girls’ Boarding School

Camara Education and British Council Ethiopia

July 10, 2023

by Sean Miskelly Ethiopia Partnerships

Educating the Whole Family

Camara Education Ethiopia, in collaboration with the Ethiopian Ministry of Education and British Council Ethiopia has installed e-learning labs in seven schools in Afar province and 14 in Amhara. Each computer is stocked with resources and programmes that work off-line.

The labs aim to build skills and confidence for female students. Gender and girls’ club members will be prioritised for using the labs and teaching their peers, raising both their status in the community and achievement levels.

“If the girl is educated, the whole family is educated”

Kidist Mulat

Kidist Mulat leads the gender club in Semera Girls’ Boarding School. This large, clean, well-organised school sits on the outskirts of Semera, the capital city of Afar. Students in Kidist’s school come from the whole Woreda. Though the school is only for girls, they still face many cultural challenges due to their gender.

There are a lot of cultural challenges around our school due to gender. The culture is that the parents will give their female children for marriage early and then they may also have a child too early. The families will arrange this without the daughter knowing. Then they will stop school.

Kidist explained how female students are eager to join gender club seeking their support if they face early marriage. Semera Girls’ Boarding School accepts students from grade five to ten. Students in their gender clubs are high achievers, “Because, they have the capacity to share ideas with their communities and change the feeling of their local culture”.

A Nurturing Community

The students in Kidist’s school form a close-knit supportive community. They may arrive with different mother tongues but learn English and Amharic, “They sleep here and talk together in the dorms and other communal areas.” Visitors are not usually allowed inside the compound, and if they come are met only at the gate.

If a student is unwell ‘student police’ support them, checking on them and finding out the issue. There is an open approach to consequences of periods, with sanitary towels provided. For discipline issues students may be asked to take on garden watering tasks.

The school wants to build the confidence and strength of female students. Along with this close supportive environment female role models are invited in to share experiences. The gender club leads these activities and is vital to helping students through issues they face from families and the community.

If the students have family nearby who want to make their girls have an early marriage the gender club will invite them into the school, encourage them to change their mind and explain why this should not happen. They even took one family to court to stop an early marriage.

Educating the next Generation

Kidist thinks the main priority for education should be raising access to technology, “It’s a big chance for us to show the wider process of technology to our students”. But her concerns about female students accessing education remain. The answer, she believes, lies with the influence of religious leaders.

We need to raise the awareness of religious leaders about the use of education and learning for girls. It’s the female student who will become the child bearer and have a family. If she’s educated her whole family and the next generation will also be educated. The society in Afar accepts the opinions and words of religious leaders more then the government.

Learning through Technology

Students who arrive from rural communities might not have had any exposure to technology. The school had very few computers before the new e-learning lab, not enough for the students to use themselves.

We learn through paper and blackboards now. But using computers motivates students; they have much more interest in using digital media. They learn more in a short time when using computers and phones. They can work for hours, much longer than when they use traditional materials.

Kidist sees digital literacy as adding value throughout her students’ lives. “Alongside their education they can work – they can do administrative tasks, becoming experts and working alongside their education.”

Technology also helps their family see their skills and think of them as valuable. It makes their academic performance greater and society sees their skills and values them.

Supporting Dreams

Kidist’s view reaches much further than the school walls. “I want to make society aware of the value of education, especially the community outside of the town.”

If the girl is educated, the whole family is educated; she will look after her children well and send her daughters to school. If she is aware of education she can stop her daughters from being victims of FGM. One educated female means four to five educated people in the family.

Kidist’s dream for others is reflected in her personal aims “I want to keep being educated, I want to achieve a doctorate. I want to help others through this especially in the rural areas”. She believes education is a right for everyone, and students should be fully supported to follow their dreams too. Empowering female students through digital literacy is one large step towards this.

My dream is seeing my students reach the top level of achievement in their whole lives. That would make me very happy. To reach their full potential in life, work, family and health.

Turning Roses into Computers

June 30, 2023

by johnfisher Ethiopia Girls' education Partnerships

Sher High School in Ziway, Ethiopia, has received not one but two brand-new e-learning centres, thanks to generous funding from the Dutch Flower Foundation and Afriflora.

Afriflora/Sher Ethiopia grows, harvests, grades and packs roses at three farms, the largest of them on the shores of Lake Dembel just outside Ziway. Between 2.5 and 4 million roses are processed every day and transported to Europe for further distribution. This makes Afriflora/Sher Ethiopia the largest rose grower in the world and the biggest supplier of roses in Europe, as well as a major foreign currency earner for Ethiopia. Around half of the students at the Ziway Sher High School are children of Sher employees.

Camara installed 50 computers and two servers in the two centres, and our trainers spent a week training 26 teachers on how best to use the computers to deliver the curriculum and giving advice on basic maintenance. We’ll also provide ongoing support. Camara’s computers run on the Ubuntu open-source operating system. They are pre-loaded with a range of educational software, from simple games to specialized Camara Learning Studio resources for maths and science. All computers are also loaded with an offline version of Wikipedia, creating an extraordinary learning resource for schools with limited internet connections. And most important of all, the computers are installed with PDFs of Ministry of Education textbooks covering the entire school curriculum. Textbooks are in very short supply in many of Ethiopia’s 40,000 schools, so this alone is a crucial resource.

The Dutch Flower Foundation (DFF) aims to improve the living conditions and well-being of people in need and in particular children. They focus on countries where Dutch Flower Group (DFG) companies are active with an emphasis on connected community projects. Through the activities of DFF, DFG gives substance to its responsibility for the world in which we live.

Hundreds of students will benefit from the new computers according to Sher School director Mr Negusse Aga: ‘Computer-skills are extremely important for our students. Sher schools have an excellent reputation in Ethiopia. Almost all the students qualify to attend universities. New computers enable us to uphold our reputation and open the digital world to our students. On behalf of the students and teachers we would like to sincerely thank DFF and Camara for their highly appreciated contribution in this project.’

Dell Technologies Partnership update

June 2, 2023

by John Fisher Ethiopia Partnerships

The second phase of our latest project in partnership with Dell Technologies in Ethiopia was completed in April, as the tenth school was connected to the server at Camara Ethiopia’s offices. This project allows us to remotely monitor the eLearning centres at these ten schools, in addition to the five that were beneficiaries of the first stage of the project.

Each school has been furnished with a networked eLearning centre equipped with 25 desktop computers. In addition, Camara provides teacher and leadership training to promote stakeholder engagement, as well as access to Camara Learning Studio via the server, supplying curriculum-aligned content for maths and science classes for students in grades 9 through 12. Our technicians provide support and use the server to track and evaluate learning outcomes by analysing usage data on the Dell server.

The principal aims of the project are two-fold: to improve teaching quality through training; and to enhance students’ experience, academic results and life chances with digital education.

Each school has been furnished with a networked eLearning centre equipped with 25 desktop computers. In addition, Camara provides teacher and leadership training to promote stakeholder engagement, and access to Camara Learning Studio via the server, supplying curriculum-aligned content for maths and science classes for students in grades 9 through 12. Our technicians provide support and use the server to track and evaluate learning outcomes by analysing usage data on the Dell server.

The principal aims of the project are two-fold: to improve teaching quality through training; and to enhance students’ experience, academic results and life chances with digital education.

Teachers’ Professional Development will lead to:

Improved teachers’ capacity (both contents and pedagogy) in teaching Science, Mathematics and English subjects with IT
Improved teacher motivation and interest in the teaching profession

Provision of the networked lab and usage monitoring will lead to:

Increased classroom interaction in the teaching and learning process
Decrease in student dropout rate
More efficient management of the ICT infrastructure and resources resulting in more effective eLearning centre utilization

The schools involved in the second phase are:

MISRAK GOH SECONDARY SCHOOL
DON BOSCO DILLA SECONDARY SCHOOL
HARAMAYA SECONDARY SCHOOL
LIDETA CATHOLIC CATHEDRAL SCHOOL
DR. HADDIS ALEMAYEHU SECONDARY SCHOOL
ADDIS ABABA BETHEL MEKANE YESUS SECONDARY SCHOOL
KOMONA SECONDARY SCHOOL
HARAMAYA UNIVERSITY MODEL SCHOOL
DIMTU SECONDARY SCHOOL
BULBUL SECONDARY SCHOOL

While we continue to offer support to the five schools from the first phase:

SHIMELIS HABTE SECONDARY SCHOOL
ASSAI PUBLIC SCHOOL
NATIVITY GIRLS SCHOOL
BASSO SECONDARY SCHOOL
ST. JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE CATHOLIC SCHOOL

Teacher Andualem Tsegaye praised the scheme:

Andulem Tsegaye, ICT teacher at Don Bosco School

“I have been an ICT teacher at Dilla Don Bosco Secondary School since 2005. Now that we are using the new eLearning center based on a timetable, we are noticing a gradual improvement in academic results and students are happier to learn thanks to the Camara computers. They are also more motivated in enhancing their education.”

Empowering Female Students through Digital Literacy

May 17, 2023

by johnfisher Ethiopia Girls' education Partnerships

Camara Education Ethiopia in partnership with British Council Ethiopia

Camara Education Ethiopia has been collaborating with the British Council in Ethiopia on a project involving six secondary schools in the Afar region and fourteen in Amhara. Both areas are in northern Ethiopia and were impacted by the recent conflict there.

In each school the project set up a fully functioning e-Learning centre designed specifically for the school’s individual climate and context. Computers were funded by the Ethiopian Ministry of Education, while Camara Education supplied the hardware, networking and technical support, ensuring that equipment was protected from power surges, heat and dust. The schools provided the rooms, furniture and their own dedication, committing to maintain the labs in the long term.

To support the use of the centres, the British Council and Camara Education provided initial and follow-up hardware support and software training. Each computer is loaded with educational resources and programmes working both on- and off-line. As well as British Council materials, these include resources from the Ministry of Education and Camara Education Ethiopia.

Empowering Girls

The centres aim to build skills and confidence specifically for female students. Gender and girls club members will be prioritised for using the labs and take on the responsibility to teach their peers. Two students per club will lead the training, which will cascade across all the students and staff at the school. This prioritisation aims to improve achievement levels for girls and gender club members, giving them status in the school and society and raising their ability, capacity and motivation to learn.

In Afar, training for teachers, club leaders, directors and education officers took place in the new e-Learning centre at Semera Girls’ Boarding School. The school is situated on the edge of Semera city, almost 600km northeast of Addis Ababa. The e-Learning centre is a clean, well-organized room at the heart of the school, now lined with desktop computers, with fans to cool them in Afar’s hot climate.

Putting Training into Action

Alem Tsehai, who works in another school in the project, explained the need for these e-Learning centres, “There are lots of challenges in my school”, she said, “there are only a few books and resources. This is a big opportunity to use this training and resources to improve my students’ learning outcomes. We used to have no computers in my school. Now Camara and the Ministry of Education have supplied more than 40”.

Another participant at the training talked about how labs can motivate teachers’ support for female students, “After this training I will have more resources for girls’ education and I will focus on girls’ education”.

Implementing Change

The training considered how to ensure this initiative is accepted and promoted across communities. Engaging the community will increase the impact on girls’ education.

As one of the teachers put it: “We need to work with religious leaders. We need to encourage them to send their girls to school. Once in school we need to support girls to engage more with school and with technology.”

Once back at their schools the teachers’ work must be two-fold, as one participant explained, “I will cascade this training for other teachers when I return to my school and focus on girls’ education”. Another recognised the project aims as sitting firmly within their own hopes for education: “If I was made the Minister of Education I would raise teachers’ professional competency. I would implement policies and improve learning outcomes.”

Leadership Training supported by Dell Technologies

March 22, 2023

by johnfisher Partnerships

As part of our ongoing partnership with Dell Technologies, we’ve been providing school leadership training in both Ethiopia and Kenya. Head teachers and senior administrators play a key role when it comes to integrating digital technology into schools. The objective of this training is to empower school and education leaders so that they can understand the potential and practicalities of digital learning and support teachers’ use of ICT to improve student achievement.

In Ethiopia, support from Dell Technologies in 2022 enabled Camara Education Ethiopia to provide five schools with upgraded eLearning centres, each with 25 computers. Camara and the schools can track usage of the computers through a remote server using Camara Learning Studio (CLS), a platform that provides curriculum-aligned content for maths and science classes for students in grades 9 through 12.

Refresher leadership training was provided for the leaders of the five schools, including a presentation of each school’s usage data as tracked through the remote server and discussion of strategies to increase usage. The schools involved are:

SHIMELIS HABTE SECONDARY SCHOOL
ASSAI PUBLIC SCHOOL
NATIVITY GIRLS SCHOOL
BASSO SECONDARY SCHOOL
ST JOHN BAPTIST DE LA SALLE CATHOLIC SCHOOL

In Kenya we have also been running training for secondary school leaders as part of our STEM STEPS Towards Positive Futures project in association with Dell Technologies. A session at Khadija Secondary School, Mombasa County, was attended by leaders from Khadija Secondary, Kongowea Secondary, Al-Farsy Girls Secondary, Msumarini Secondary and Mnarani Secondary. In Kilifi County, north of Mombasa, a training session at Shangia Secondary School included leaders from Shangia Secondary, Migundini Secondary and Mwijo Secondary.

Images from the training sessions at Khadija and Shangia schools

Also this month. in Makueni County, leadership training at the Makueni PWD Vocational Training Centre, attracted heads and administrators from five secondary schools and three vocational training institutions: Moi Girls Kibwezi, St Jude Girls, Kavingoni Secondary, Kambi Mawe Girls, Mwaani Girls, Kathonzweni County Technical Training Institute, PWD Vocational Training Centre and Makueni County Technical Training Institute.

We would like to thank Dell Technologies for being such an amazing partner throughout this journey of the STEM STEPS towards positive futures project.

A Container of Computers

February 9, 2023

by John Fisher Partnerships

The latest consignment of computers has arrived at our offices in Mombasa, Kenya, part of our ongoing partnership with Dell Technologies to bring educational technology and digital access to marginalised areas. 23 Kenyan schools will benefit from new eLearning centres, and we’ll also be setting up three ICT innovation hubs.

As soon as the container arrives it is unloaded, prior to thorough final checks on the equipment before it can be dispatched to a waiting school. Thanks @DellTechnologies!