Lenovo Foundation is partnering with Jangala to provide WiFi access and hardware donations in education centers for refugees.
After a long flight with no phone service, what is the first thing many of us do? We take our phones off airplane mode and let people know that we’ve landed, we’re ok, and we’ll arrive at our final destination soon. The common instinct to connect with loved ones after a journey is the same for humans everywhere, but for the 37,000 people forced to flee home each day as refugees, the connectivity is vital.
Jangala, a charitable non-government organization (NGO) based in London recognized this need and is working to meet it with their “Big Box” connectivity solution. Jangala’s Big Box creates Wi-Fi that is “easy to manage and scale”, to support thousands of users in a place of need. The Lenovo Foundation has partnered with Jangala to bring connectivity to refugee education centers, ensuring that while people’s lives have been disrupted, they are not isolated from education, learning, and communication with loved ones.
While a portion of Lenovo’s support will provide Big Box solutions in areas of Kenya, Afghanistan, South Sudan, South Africa, Swaziland, and Cambodia, funding will also help Jangala improve their product with better remote network controls for educational use. The connectivity will be deployed to partner organizations, Sky School and Skateistan, who have trusted community education centers with innovative digital educational curriculum for students.
Lenovo will be complementing the Wi-Fi access with hardware donations to the organizations, ensuring they have the equipment needs to fully leverage their connection. Lenovo expects to improve access to education for at least 3,000 students in its first year of partnership with Jangala, Skateistan, and Sky School.
