Intel using education as a force for change in Kakuma refugee camp

In a tin roofed classroom where solar powered ceiling fans provide some respite from the sweltering heat of Northern Kenya we watch a group of primary school teachers working on their laptops eagerly learning from an instructor across the world.

We are in Kakuma refugee camp to see firsthand the multiplier effect technology is having on a revolutionary teacher training program developed by Jesuit Worldwide Learning (JWL). The internationally accredited learning facilitator course is delivered by local and global university professors, online tutors, as well as onsite facilitators through a blended learning approach.

The course was developed in response to the overwhelming need for learning and education at all levels within refugee and other marginalized communities. Among other course content, the training integrates Intel® Skills for Innovation framework which helps educators use technology to embrace new ways of teaching from any location and to adapt instructional technology to meet future needs.

Educators like Israel, a South Sudanese national who’s been in Kakuma refugee camp for thirteen years, initially hoped to be a professional footballer but found a new passion in being an educator. The poet William Yeats once said, “Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire”. This fire is apparent in the teachers’ eagerness to pass it on to the next generation of learners.

Education is a transformative force for good. Thirty-year-old Matthew, also from South Sudan explains that education is a force for peace and stability. He posits that their people fight for lack of education and in areas where education rates are high conflicts are fewer and less explosive.

Matthew Teaching a Class.

Education also serves to bring human rights, inclusion and social justice to the fore. Twenty-year-old Anyeth a teacher at Kadugli Refugee camp explains that with inclusive education, marginalized women such as herself get a voice in the community and an opportunity to live out their dreams.

Anyieth teaching a class

These young people have access to higher education from leading universities around the world, right from Kakuma Refugee Camp. In the last 6-months, 100 teachers from 26 local schools in marginalized communities of Kalobeyei and Kakuma have benefited from the free teacher training program courtesy of JWL and Intel Corporation through the Intel RISE Technology Initiative (IRTI). The company has partnered with organizations around the world to apply technology solutions and expertise to geographically unique problems as well as global challenges.

Lodwar to Kakuma Road.

Kenyan teachers in Kakuma refugee camp are also beneficiaries of the training program accredited by the Catholic University of Eichstätt-Ingolstadt.

Intel’s role has been to provide the learning devices, connectivity to partnering universities while JWL has developed the curriculum, managed its delivery, and provided on ground support in Kakuma. This is a glimpse at what can be achieved through technology, strategic partnerships and a collective desire to do good.

Watch our experience in Kakuma refugee camp as we spoke to the beneficiaries of this program.