The Mobile Solar Computer Classroom helps bridge the digital divide in Uganda by making computer skills accessible and relevant to rural and suburban schools, libraries and communities in Uganda.
The project is designed to address the problem of limited hands on computer training in schools and communities. It overcomes the lack of infrastructure and resources by maximizing scarce resources through the use of solar power and reusing reliable, efficient computers to reach under resourced schools and communities.
Using two modified all-terrain vehicles equipped with solar panels, laptops, an internet router, a tent, tables and chairs, the project provides lessons on computer skills and ICT sensitization camps at schools, libraries and community centres; offering a digital curriculum delivered over the course of two years.
The project contributes to the improvement in the quality of education through building digital skills and the confidence of trainees.
Over 57,000 people have been impacted.98% of the people reached were touching the computer for the very first time, 60% of the trainees had no hope of ever seeing or even using a computer in their lives. These trainings have been conducted conducted in 85 low income rural schools and 25 rural community libraries.

http://maendeleofoundation.org/projects/mobile-solar-computer-classrooms/

• Uganda

The project has potential for replication in other areas; in fact, many NGOs (in Africa and India) are always consulting with us to find out how they can adopt our model. Organisations like UNICEF Uganda, Close the Gap Netherlands, Red Cross Netherlands, BRAC Uganda, and many More have consulted with us to borrow some concepts from our innovative approach to closing the digital divide.
An NGO in Kenya; Kageno has already borrowed a leaf from our project and replicated it to serve rural communities in Kenya. We spent considerable time training these partners in our designs and methods.

This is a very sustainable model that can also scale easily. The current MSCCs were built using corporate grants and individual donations and outside , both from inside Uganda, but the program now is run on corporate and partnerships with various organizations. Our affordable, innovative MSCCs have drawn interest from various organizations that wish to partner with us in different projects and the funds received from this are used to run the project.
Moreso, we have started getting interest from middle income schools that are willing to pay for the program.

The project bridges the digital divide gap between rich and low income schools and communities in Uganda. While students who go to high income schools are introduced to computers as early as primary school, those from poor families get to touch a computer at secondary school; if they are lucky or at the job market. With the Mobile Solar Computer Classroom reaching the remotest of villages in Uganda and serving low income schools, students from poor families get a chance to touch and learn computer skills so that they can create, access, utilize and share information and knowledge, enabling them,to achieve their full potential in promoting their sustainable development and improving their quality of life.