Increasing access to technology in developing countries is a primary concern for many non-profits, NGOs, and philanthropic individuals. Students with restricted access to technology often times lag behind their peers in education and future career opportunities, most of which require use of technology. Mission-Africa Tanzania recently used computers they bought from InterConnection to build computer labs in Tanzania in an effort to create sustainable change in underserved schools in Tanzania by helping to prepare students for further education. Emil and Regina Kapinga started Mission-Africa Tanzania based on their own experiences in the small villages in Tanzania they are from, where they saw that very few children who went to school continued on to college.
Tanzania has prioritized education and, as a result, is on the way to reaching universal primary education, helped by their free primary education policy and extensive classroom construction. However, school coverage at secondary and higher education levels is still low compared with other African countries, though it is rapidly increasing especially at the higher education level. Despite growth in all educational levels, children begin to drop out of school after primary school, with the transition rate from primary to secondary education at only 56.7% in 2007 (URT, 2010).
This drop off rate after primary school is the result of many factors, but it can be helped by increasing the amount of technology available in schools. As almost 80% of Tanzanians do not have access to technology (Pew Research Center, 2015), being able to access technology in schools is one of the best and most reliable ways to ensure that children growing up will not be left on the wrong side of the technology gap. Though Mission-Africa Tanzania is not currently able to provide computers to all of the schools in its pilot areas, they hope to be able to fully outfit its selected schools with computers through the continued help of private donors and organizations like InterConnection. We are very proud to be a part of the change that Mission-Africa Tanzania is creating! How can you help? Donate your computers to InterConnection so that we can continue to provide them to nonprofits like Mission-Africa Tanzania!