Akiriamet village in West Pokot County could be in the middle of nowhere, but now, thanks to technology, the residents have become part of the global digital community. They are now celebrating the launch of a digital community platform meant to enhance education and technology.

What is more, the villagers will no longer have to travel far to get a mobile phone signal. A visit to the centre will now solve that problem —  at no extra cost.

The digital centre will be used to educate the villagers on e-health platforms available and through which nearby schools will be empowered to connect to educational content online for free.

Speaking during the launch on Wednesday, West Pokot Governor Simon Kachapin said the objective of the project was to help the community connect to the world by reducing the time they spend searching for mobile network signals.

Host of services

“The platform will enable the people to enjoy a host of services, including mobile voice, data, internet, and a bunch of other added services, including mobile money transfer services,” said Kachapin.

West Pokot has for a very long time been faced with many challenges that call for concerted efforts from stakeholders and communication authorities to address.

The people here “have suffered from marginalisation for a long time. They have on many occasions been travelling long distances, or looking for elevated areas such as hills or trees, in search of signals for communication,” said Kachapin.

He noted that during his administration as the first governor, there was a need to improve the network coverage. “I noted in the first County Integrated Development Plan for 2013 to 2017 that network coverage in the county was at 60 per cent,” the governor said.

He reiterated that one of Kenya’s Vision 2030 objectives is to promote innovation by enhancing technology and making sectors involved in development understand the role of technology in Sustainable Development Goals.

He divulged that the national government has a plan to establish an ICT authority offices at the county level through the national ICT infrastructure County Connectivity Program (CCP).

The Communication Authority (CA) director general Ezra Chiloba, in a speech read on his behalf by Western Regional Manager Musa Etiko, said the platform will change the lives of Akiriamet villagers.

Potency of connectivity

Etiko noted that CA has a goal of creating a digitally transformed nation that will highlight the potency of mobile network connectivity. He said Akiriamet is among 17 sub-locations in West Pokot county that have been connected to mobile network services through the Universal Fund USF project.

He further said that CA applauds ATC for building towers at various sites, enhancing connectivity and, more specifically, launching the digital community resource.

“The digital community initiative will go a long way in complementing other efforts undertaken by the authority, such as supporting the integration of the internet into learning through connecting public secondary schools to high-speed internet,” he reiterated.

He disclosed that five secondary schools in West Pokot County have benefitted from high-speed internet, and assured that CA is focused on ensuring that Kenyans have access to efficient and affordable communication services.

The programme is a global Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative (CSRI) of American Tower Company (ATC) which is an independent owner, operator, and developer of wireless communications infrastructure.

ATC has over 3,300 telecommunications sites across all 47 counties in Kenya. It launched the digital community in Akiriamet in collaboration with CA, Airtel Kenya, and Liquid Technologies.

ATC Kenya CEO Thomas Sonesson, in a speech, read on his behalf, said the company is committed to connecting the world by making wireless connectivity possible.

He explained that the digital community, although based at Akiriamet, is open to all members of the larger West Pokot County.

Villagers Naum Chepsurum and Paul Loktari said they would be visiting the centre to access the internet and watch television.

– Report by Anthony Melly and Richard Muhambe of KNA