Tigo transforms Street Library into Digital Mobile Library
- Ghana News Agency
- Apr 24, 2015
- 2 min read
Tigo Ghana, a leading Telecommunication Company, on Thursday took a giant step towards digital inclusion for children in rural communities in the country by outdooring its new Mobile Digital Library.
The project, which is a partnership with Street Library Ghana, founded by Tigo’s 2012 Changemaker, Hayford Siaw, has the interior of the van beautifully fitted with tables and chairs as well as laptops from which children can access books to read.
There are also additional tables and chairs and laptops, which can be set up outside the van to cater for more children.
“Since Tigo is a digital lifestyle brand it gives us great joy to partner Street Library to make digital learning accessible to rural children across Ghana,” she said, adding that, the opportunity would open a new world of possibilities for the children.
Explaining the rationale for the project, the Head of Corporate Communications and Corporate Social Responsibility for Tigo, Gifty Bingley, explained that Hayford was previously travelling around rural Ghana with hard copy books in his mini-van to encourage children to read.
“With this innovation we have taken the project a step further, we have digitized the books, they will also have a hands-on experience with the computers and the digital experience will be the same for every community we visit,” she said.
The Mobile Digital Library will travel to remote communities and ensure digital inclusion for children.
Ms Bingley encouraged other Tigo Changemakers like ‘Tech needs Girls and ‘IT4Teens’to step up and partner with Street Library and offer ICT training in software and web applications for the children.
The founder of Street Library, Mr Hayford Siaw, was grateful for Tigo’s continued support since he became a part of the Changemakers.
He said even though children in rural communities study ICT as a core subject, several of them have neither seen nor touched a computer.
“Children in rural Ghana will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this pioneering project. It will go a long way to support Digital Inclusion,” he said.
Mr Siaw said this year, the Street Library wants to expand to 20 more communities, and to reach more than 10,000 children and said he looked forward to introducing them to the computers and going through downloaded books.
Street Library Ghana is nonprofit social enterprise that responds to educational needs of vulnerable children in Africa by providing sustainable literacy, cultural resources and personal development.
Incorporated in 2012, Street Library Ghana’s mission is to raise the youth literacy rate among children in under-resourced rural communities.
The street Library pushes libraries from their traditional, static role of being a permanent building for books, to being a revolutionary and vibrant outdoor environment where books travel to children without access to library resources.
Source: Ghananewsagency.org
