When it comes to technology, city dwellers have always been spoilt for choice. Even the nooks and cranny of India have now tagged along. IT boom bridged those gaps which seemed to be a mountain-shifting task at one point of time. But we cannot rave about it all. We are well aware of a world where disparity is a bitter yet real part of life, a world where IT is a faraway prospect and far-fetched dream.
Mathare in Nairobi Kenya is one such place where the far-reaching tentacles of IT are yet to evade its space. For those of you who just said, “Ah! It’ll be there in no time”, would find information like its non-existent sanitisation, an equally non-existent school system and many absent elements of civilization pretty disturbing. College is still an alien concept in this part of the world. Whom do we blame?
While a substantial chunk of the civilized crowd set out on a mission to find a suitable party who can be blamed, a small group of people, in the meantime, decided to bring about an air of change. Keepod Unite took a giant step to change the IT scene of Mathare in a small way.
What is Keepod?
It is a United Kingdom based initiative which decided to provide the natives of Mathare USB sticks loaded with an OS. But then, this can be plugged onto specific systems, right? Well, wrong! This can be plugged unto any shared system (i.e. PC).
But that would be an expensive affair, right?
It sounds to be one, but one would find it to be otherwise. The USB is predominantly built on Linux and comes loaded with a number of pre-installed apps with an available space of 8 GB for storage. Yes, the PC onto which the USB can be plugged into needs to boast of certain specifications such as an x86 processor, 1GB RAM, 1024*768 resolution display and a USB port of 2.0 or higher. It is officially claimed to be not compatible with a Mac.
The idea behind handing out an OS in a USB stick instead of distributing personal PCs is that of economic feasibility. If one loses a USB stick it can be instantly replaced at a meagre rate as compared to that of a PC.
Apart from all these, Keepod has launched itself on various portals which would financially keep them afloat throughout the project.
For a place which sounds like this where in the world would they arrange a public PC?
Keepod is not just another foreign campaign with unrealistic imaginations and goals. The team plans to build a team with local manpower who would be specifically trained to deal with hubs set right in the midst of the slums which crowds Mathare.
But how can an IT boom change the scene in Mathare?
For now, they aren’t aiming for an IT boom; they are aiming to introduce the inhabitants of the region to a life which is human reside worthy. With projects like HIV, education, sanitisation, human rights and other pressing issues making noise in Africa on its mind, this is responsible technology at it best. Their associate partners are aptly called LiveInSlums.
Let’s make this world a better place! A browse through their site would restore you faith in humanity.
