There is no doubt about the powerful role education plays in empowering youth and breaking the cycle of poverty.

Goallover has repeatedly reported on the success of education programmes in developing nations and is excited to report on a new project aimed at furthering this cause.

NEW TOOLS, NEW SKILLS FOR AFRICAN YOUTHS

Most initiatives within development strategies include educating young people to render them less vulnerable to dangerous job conditions or unskilled, indentured labour situations.  Living in the age of instant, global communication presents the potential to reach and educate children in even the most remote locations-given the right equipment.

The East African Community (EAC) has just announced it has partnered with the “One Laptop Per Child” organization whose aim is to connect every child to modern education.  They are pledging to provide several rural schools with cost-effective laptops for primary school children across Eastern Africa.

The two companies are working together through this programme to promote wider access to education at the primary level in the hopes that this will engender more proactive  youth and adults to participate in the development of their communities.

The concentration is on more isolated and rural schools throughout East Africa, as they have not always enjoyed the same level of development and technology as neighbouring, larger urban centres.  The laptops are equipped with latest programmes and will promote IT skills amongst school-aged children.

Speaking at the ceremony to announce the partnership, Amb. Juma Mwapachu, Secretary General of the East Africa Community, said, “If you want to build a knowledge economy, you must have a computer literate population, starting from primary, secondary school children and all the way to university….This is a very ambitious project for which we will have to partner with various people and institutions to mobilise and find the resources required to meet our objectives by 2015.”

You can help bring education to children throughout the world.  Why not SPONSOR A CHILD from a location of your choice.