We are now on air! Thank you!

After over 45 days of total lockdown and another month of waiting for permission to gather, on a rainy Saturday morning of 18th September, AccessPlus and Tango finally set out on a Journey to Patongo in Northern Uganda to deliver 10 smartphones to the women in the Gwokke Keni women group. With visible grateful hearts, when they received their phones, the women chorused songs and many words of appreciation and blessings: “Wapwoyo, wapwoyo matek!” (Thank you, thank you very much!)

Information Technology devices like desktop computers and WiFi systems are among the investments that community development initiatives provide to organized groups in the hard-to-reach communities. Ultimately, the ICT devices provided are meant to introduce the communities to ICTs, provide ICT skills, spread awareness about the benefits of the Internet and contribute to the economic and social development of the individuals. These in-kind items are normally community/group- owned and managed.

However, smartphones/basic phones are not usually considered by community initiatives because they are normally perceived as personalized items for personal use. The COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and control measures present more reasons for initiatives to extend smart devices to the women, the differently abled and vulnerable groups. A deliberate effort to provide smartphones to these groups will not only expose more family members to the benefits of the Internet and reduce the digital divide but also eventually interest more community members especially the women and girls to own and use smartphones after they’ve realized the benefits

Reach and Impact

In our effort to sensitize the women in the rural community of Patongo to learn and use smartphones, our first support was in the form of two smartphones that we gave to the entire group of over 15 members. This was to introduce smartphones to the women and for them to learn the advantages of smartphones over the basic phones. After one year of trials and learning the benefits, the members reached out to us for additional phones, indicating that it was becoming difficult to use the phones in a group, especially during the lockdown where movements were equally restricted!

Through its friends and well-wishers, AccessPlus has since provided a second batch of 10 smartphones to the individual women of the Gwokke-keni community in Patongo. The availability of the phones has made 8 of the 10 women who received the new phones but initially had no phone at all, to acquire sim cards, register for mobile money, and gain access to the internet. Some of the beneficiaries are students who are excited to get online to understand how people search the internet for educational materials. Considering the fact that every household has an average of 7 members, the 10 phones given to 10 families translate to an average of 70 people who are directly and indirectly benefiting from the mobile phones.

The group has since agreed to form their own WhatsApp group, which they all agreed to call “Gwokke keni Smart”. The rest of the group members hope to acquire phones to enable the entire group to be connected so they can easily share information, reach out and support one another. 

Appreciation

On behalf of Accessplus and of the community, we would like to extend our sincere appreciation to the following individuals and student group, for their financial support that enabled us  to purchase and deliver the additional 10 smartphones:

• Barbara Waugh
• Bea Covington
• Brett Zalkan
• Catherine Osborne
• Julie Trute
• Kitty Lusse
• Lauren Seaton
• Marcella Willis
• Mark Lewin
• Simon Bernstein
• Sreelakshmi Haridas
• Tom Marentette
• WISE@UToronto (a student group)

Thanks to Dr.Revi Sterling Sarah, for the continued support and for leading the fundraising.

We thank the Gender Community Development Officer, Agago District -Ms. Adong Paska, the Chairman LC III Patongo Town Council -Mr. Komakech Joseph, who were present at the handover and the Gwoke keni community leadership; Ms. Jane Margaret Adong and Mr. John Oketch for their continued support to the women. 

To the team that traveled all the way from Kampala and Gulu to  Patongo -Esther Patricia Akello (AccessPlus), Peter Edopu (Tango Consult), John Ken Okot (Northern Uganda Media Club), Caroline Ayugi (Uganda Radio Network) and Lillian Achom (AccessPlus), thank you!.

Written by Lillian Achom, Reviewed by Esther Patricia Akello