About 60 years ago, library vans brought the joy of learning and reading to semi-rural / rural areas of our great nation. The operative slogan then was, “Be all you can be-read”. Now in the digital age the need to maintain a grip on life-long learning is even more crucial to realize one’s potential, for we live in an unforgiving global economy.

Many of us living in a developed country merely need to access a hand-held device to keep abreast of what is happening. For African students living in remote, far off-the-grid locations, learning about computers and digital technology is virtually impossible. But what if the digital world were brought to them?

That’s the idea behind the DigiTruck project, a fledgling initiative, rolling out in 2016, that hopes to deploy a fleet of mobile, solar-powered digital classrooms that can travel self-sufficiently to rural African communities. A standard 40-foot shipping container is the new school house in rural areas-fitted with solar panels and a power management system designed for extended off-the-grid use. The container can be transported via standard tractor-trailer trucks.

Inside the mobile classroom, are workstations stocked with refurbished computer equipment, including laptops, routers, a large LED display screen and a printer. The classroom can accommodate up to 18 students and run off solar energy and rechargeable battery reserves for days at a time.

The DigiTruck can also be used as a mobile health center or training space, depending on what’s needed.

“I have more respect for the fellow with a single idea who gets there than for the fellow with a thousand ideas who does nothing.”

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