Thursday, December 26, 2024
Until recently, many young Kenyans saw farming as an unskilled, unrewarding profession, suitable only for the retired or the uneducated. Now, however, a group of determined young farmers are challenging traditional prejudices and trying to explain the attractions of farming as a profession. They are the ‘Mkulima Young Champions’ and have become figureheads for a digital initiative to change the way farmers are viewed […]
The weather is an important factor in the success of any farming enterprise. A good farmer should always plan for possible change; “cursing the weather”, as the saying goes, “is never good farming”. In much of Africa, however, getting accurate information about the weather, in order to make decisions about activities, such as sowing, irrigation and harvesting, has always been difficult. Climate change, which […]
Home to the largest lake in Africa – Lake Victoria, source of the River Nile – Uganda is located in East Africa, with Kenya lying to the east, South Sudan to the north, the Democratic Republic of Congo to the west and Rwanda and Tanzania to the south. With a population of 35.4 million people [mid 2013 estimates], Uganda is becoming ever more densely […]
We’ve heard the clichés: we live in an interconnected global village in which is it just as easy to interact with a stranger on the other side of the planet as it is to talk to your next-door-neighbour. In fact, in some instances it may even be easier to reach that stranger living thousands of miles away; for the ever-optimistic borderless outlook of our […]
Africa never stops changing. Since the Namibia edition of eLearning Africa in May, we’ve been keeping our eyes peeled for fresh developments on the Continent. And what a few months it’s been: Africa seems more buoyant than ever, with new eLearning projects blossoming everywhere. International interest in Africa is also growing – the Obamas visited Senegal, Tanzania and South Africa at the end of […]
According to 2012 estimates, internet penetration in Africa has reached 15.6%. Though the actual number of people on whom the internet has an impact is undoubtedly much higher, this statistic does demonstrate a significant infrastructural disparity between Africa and other continents. Currently, this connectivity gap is being filled by other media – if the astonishing growth rate in the African mobile market is anything […]
Gladys Rotich’s remarkable story serves as an inspiration to disabled students in Africa. Blind since the age of four following an illness, her path to university meant overcoming adversity. Now at the age of 28, Rotich is a lecturer and administrator at Mount Kenya University’s Eldoret Campus and pursuing her PhD. But things were by no means easy as a blind student, Gladys told […]
Anybody who has been paying any small amount of attention to educational headlines in the past few years will be well rehearsed in the proposed benefits of MOOCs. A cursory online search will provide you with endless news articles, blog posts, TED talks and accompanying comments that cite the reasons why MOOCs, enabling global access to Ivy League-standard education, are the biggest thing to shake up […]
Technology vendors Dell and Microsoft have been working to deliver classroom technology for remote regions and, in particular, into schools that have not previously had access to any form of computing technology. Mamoeketsi School in Lesotho is profoundly aware of the importance of technology in educating and empowering young people. The school is located in Lesotho, near Maseru. HIV/AIDS affects a third of the […]
An Interview with Darlyne Komukama, Founder of Shakai Media eLearning Africa: Please tell us about your personal journey: what was your most influential formative educational experience as you were growing up? Darlyne Komukama: I have always loved to read, as far back as I can remember, I have had some sort of literary fiction in my hands and this all started with the very first […]
