Vodacom Tanzania installs new base station at refugee camp to boost connectivity

In addition to improved service for refugees and surrounding population, the improved network will benefit the Instant Network Schools programme which was developed by the Vodafone Foundation and UNHCR to introduce tablet-based learning in some of the world’s most poorly resourced refugee camps.

Instant Network Schools provide internet connectivity, hardware, software & teacher training that enables students and teachers to access free digital educational content.

The ‘school in a box’ takes only 20 minutes to set up and is specifically intended for areas where internet connectivity and electricity are unreliable, scarce or unavailable.

This is part of the joint wider Instant Network programme, which has deployed networks & classrooms to refugee camps in Kenya, The Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania and South Sudan.

The Vodafone Foundation  announced the Instant Classroom, a digital ‘school in a box’ that can be set up in a matter of minutes back in 2015, helping give children and young adults in some of the world’s largest and poorly resourced refugee camps the opportunity to continue their education. In partnership with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the project was set to deploy to 12 schools in Kenya, Tanzania and the Democratic Republic of Congo over next 12 months.

In 2014, the Vodafone Foundation worked with UNHCR’s Education and Innovation units to develop the Instant Network Schools programme, which introduced tablet-based learning to around 18,000 pupils in the Dadaab refugee settlement in northern Kenya.