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October 2022

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Project Giga; Redefining Digital Education for every school in Sierra Leone.

It’s a hot Friday afternoon, and lunch break at the Dr. S M Broderick Municipal school is set to begin. Within seconds, after the bell tolls, the air is buzzing with throngs of excited school children rushing to annex the most coveted spots on the playground. 

Children At Play During Lunch Break

Whether this excitement is in anticipation of the thrills of life at home on weekends or whether they were just happy to be out in the open enjoying their favorite pastimes is anyone’s guess. 

Our team, however, comprising UNICEF and DSTI staff, had a different reason for being excited. The project to connect 11,000+ schools to the internet across Sierra Leone had begun, and here we were finding out how this intervention is amplifying EdTech and improving learning outcomes in the first three connected schools; Dr. S. M Broderick Junior Secondary School at Ferguson Street, Saint John’s Primary School at Savage Street, and Mabella Municipal Primary School at Sani Abacha Street.

Children In Class 3 At The Dr. S. M Broderick Junior Secondary School

Project Giga is a global initiative launched in 2019 by UNICEF and the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) to connect every school worldwide to the Internet by 2030. With 2.9 billion people still offline and 96% of these people living in developing countries, such an intervention comes as welcomed news, noting that the lack of connectivity could significantly diminish learning opportunities for children in underprivileged communities and limit the ability to fulfill their potential in the coming years.

Children In Class At The Dr. S. M Broderick Junior Secondary School

The Government of Sierra Leone, as part of its Medium Term National Development Plan (2019-2023), seeks to not only address traditional challenges in the education sector but equip young learners with the skills and tools needed to be productive in the fourth industrial revolution (4IR). This objective perfectly dovetails with the larger agenda of achieving its Human Capital Development aspirations, especially in skills acquisition and enhancing the overall quality of education in the country. 

Computer Lab At Saint John’s Primary School Provided By Bridge The Digital Divide Also Known As ST Foundation

“Connecting schools allows children to develop digital skills and enhance access to online learning content. In the process, schools can also become anchor points for surrounding communities: if you can connect the school, you can also connect local businesses and essential services.  This creates opportunities for service providers to generate revenue from paying users, making connectivity more sustainable and enriching the local digital economy” – Norman Muhwezi, Innovation Specialist, UNICEF.

A Child In Class At Saint John’s Primary School 

Speaking to the children at Saint John’s school, one recurring theme is that the internet represents more than screens and keyboards; for these children,  the internet literally translates to information, choice, opportunity and most importantly hope for a brighter future. When asked what they’ll do now that they are connected to the internet, one kid excitedly exclaimed “EVERYTHING”.

Mrs. Florence Collier in charge of Class Three (3) Red at the Dr. S. M Broderick Nursery, Preparatory, and Junior Secondary School stated:

“As one of the first beneficiaries, I am deeply moved and strongly in support of this initiative to provide free internet to every school across the country. This will bridge the digital divide with access to teaching and learning materials, particularly for teachers to keep up with contemporary techniques. For instance, young children learn better in fun and exciting settings, so with the installation of this internet, I can download nursery rhymes and play them in class for the children. This initiative will spark creativity in young children for years to come”. 

Mrs. Florence Collier, Class 3 teacher, S.M. Broderick  

Following the successful connection of these three initial schools, Project Lead for Giga at DSTI, Hafsatu Rakie Sesay, indicated that the project’s next phase would involve connecting 39 schools, particularly in the provinces.

DSTI prioritizes human capital development as one of the key pathways for achieving the goal of transforming Sierra Leone into an innovation and entrepreneurial hub. Our approach to digital education is based on the core principles of Universal Access, Radical Inclusion, Accelerated Service Delivery, and Quality Learning.  Our entire team feels incredibly passionate about this, and there’s much enthusiasm, energy, and hard work currently being invested in making sure the project makes the desired impact”, she concluded. 

Blog

SORA Technology joins the support of the Government Of Sierra Leone in quality health care delivery

On December 24th, 2021, the Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation (DSTI), and Njala University signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SORA Technology, to support the government of Sierra Leone’s initiative to improve health care delivery through the use of drone technology, for the delivery of life-saving medical supplies. 

The MoU, titled “ESTABLISHMENT OF MEDICAL DRONE INFRASTRUCTURE IN SIERRA LEONE”,  solidified the common interest in improving health care outcomes, and the use of digital technologies to catapult the country’s human capital development. 

DSTI’s Project Coordinator and 4IR Lead, David Manley, had stressed on collaborating with multiple partners to create enabling environments to seed and test innovations and develop human capacity to effectively engage with these technologies in a Sierra Leone centric way. 

Since the inked MoU, all parties are in discussions geared towards establishing a national Drone and Data Academy, to build local capacity, as well as skills development for young people in the areas of aerial imagery analysis, building and operating drones. 

“Since the inception of the drones project at DSTI, the vision has always been to create the building blocks for the growth of the national drone ecosystem. With the recognition that the players in that space are many and their interests are varied, collaborations like this are all the more necessary for the growth and strengthening of the ecosystem.”- David Manley.

A research team from SORA Tech has also been utilizing the drone corridor, located at Njala University’s Mokonde campus, for testing and conducting further research on Malaria Control so that they can support the progress of Malaria Control Strategic Plan of Sierra Leone.

“We SORA Technology have been providing a new service that can detect and treat high-risk breeding sites of mosquito larvae, using drone and AI. The MoU with DSTI and Njala University strongly accelerated the project, from speedy tests for technical details to collaboration in building original AI. Localization of our technical knowledge is one of our top priorities for sustainable operations of our service, through which we would like to contribute to encourage various innovations and improved healthcare systems in Sierra Leone.” – Masaki Umeda, Africa Business Lead.

SORA continues their ongoing collaboration with HealthGrid Sierra Leone to provide access to electricity, internet connectivity, and other essential services to off-grid health facilities in the country, organized by USAID Global Development Alliance (GDA) and managed by a multi-sector consortium, including the Ministry of Health and Sanitation. 

Next Steps:

  • SORA will be building capacity by training Sierra Leonean on drones in collaboration with DSTI and Njala University.
  • Design and test drone technologies across multiple use cases in Sierra Leone.

About the Sierra Leone National Drone Corridor

Sierra Leone’s drone corridor is one of six supported by UNICEF in the world. Launched in November 2019 by DSTI, UNICEF, Njala University, Sierra Leone Civil Aviation Authority. As a sandbox where industry, universities, and individuals can test the use of drones for imagery, connectivity, and transport. It has so far provided opportunities for learning and exploration of the use of drones in Sierra Leone and continues to work on creating research opportunities for students and fellows.

About Njala University

Njala University (or simply Njala, as it is fondly called), is a rural comprehensive public research university in Sierra Leone, is committed to providing the highest standards of excellence in higher education in Sierra Leone and beyond, fostering intellectual and personal development, and stimulating meaningful research and service to humankind. Njala University has had a rich history since its establishment in 1964 as a university college based on the model of the American Land Grant University. Since then, it has metamorphosed into one of the leading universities in the country, preparing undergraduate and postgraduate students for careers in a wide variety of specializations including Education, Agricultural Research and Extension, Agricultural Engineering, Environmental Sciences, Community Health Sciences, Social Sciences and Law, Natural Resources Management and in Information Technology, among others. Njala University is a multi-disciplinary university with three campuses–the Njala campus in the Moyamba District, the Bo campus in the Bo District and the newly established Bonthe campus in the Bonthe District. We also operate a location in Freetown.

About SORA Technology

SORA Technology is a Japanese company that utilizes drones and air mobility to promote social transformation after the pandemic of COVID-19. With the purpose of the realization of Universal Health Coverage and Digital Transformation in Africa and Asia, we build and operate drone-based infrastructure, including their flight management systems. We contribute to solving the problems of inaccessibility and inefficiencies by developing completely new infrastructure centered on drones not only for safe, reliable, and timely transportation of goods but also for the effective management of digital information.

Mariama Rogers

Communications Lead 

The Directorate of Science, Technology and Innovation 

E: mariama.rogers@dsti.gov.sl 

P: +(232) 75709963

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