The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has partnered with Microsoft and HP to launch the Community Technology Access (CTA) project to boost education provision in the world’s largest refugee camp, Dadaab in northern Kenya.
Microsoft has contributed US$250,000 for vocational youth centres, computers, training support and for the building of 43 primary and secondary schools, while HP has provided 60 computers.
“We warmly welcome this initiative,” said Elike Segbor, UNHCR’s representative in Kenya. “Access to quality education is a key precondition for the economic development and self-reliance of refugees as well as the enjoyment of many other human rights.”
The Dadaab camps were constructed in the early 1990s, first settled by refugees fleeing the civil war in Somalia.
Computer studies are already in place in the camp, with 20 workstations established to provide learning, enabling 145 students to enroll for IT classes.
“Access to ICT helps populations everywhere, including those in such difficult circumstances, to obtain the skills they need to build a new future themselves,” said Jeffery Avina, Microsoft’s director of citizenship and community affairs (Middle East and Africa).
“This partnership has empowered youth to imagine and realize their full potential by connecting them with greater opportunities for education, employment, and entrepreneurship.”
Avina said the partnership was in line with the recently launched Microsoft 4Afrika initiative, through which the company will actively engage in Africa’s economic development to improve its global competitiveness.
Formal education, vocational training, and community e-learning are the three main areas targeted by the CTA project which started in 2012.
Segbor said the project will address refugee issues in order to enable them learn effectively.
“Refugees have taken full ownership of this project in identifying challenges, suggesting solutions and sharing responsibility over its implementation,” he said.
